Cardinals Host Leadoff Dinner, Unveil Pro Locker Room
January 28, 2019 | Baseball
Louisville kicks off preseason with busy weekend of activities, including two scrimmages at Patterson Stadium
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville baseball team kicked off the first weekend of full-squad practices with a flurry of activities on Friday as the No. 4 Cardinals conducted an open practice, unveiled the Flaker Family Pro Locker Room and hosted the 23rd annual Leadoff Dinner presented by Republic Bank.
Louisville, ranked in the top 11 in five different preseason national polls, used the first day practice day on the diamond to conduct a two-hour session at Jim Patterson Stadium. Head coach Dan McDonnell, who is in his 13th season at the helm, guided the Cardinals through a series of defensive drills, baserunning activities and batting practice. The work on the field for UofLÂ during the first weekend of activities continued with intra-squad scrimmages on Saturday and Sunday.
Along with Friday's practice session, the Cardinals also unveiled the newly completed Flaker Family Pro Locker Room at Jim Patterson Stadium. UofL Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics/Director of Athletics Vince Tyra and McDonnell were joined by Aaron and Ashley Flaker, who provided the lead gift on the Pro Locker Room, for Friday's ribbon-cutting ceremony and news conference to officially open the space. More than a dozen UofL alumni in professional baseball as well as this year's UofL baseball team were in attendance for the event. Â
Located behind the UofL dugout and accessible from the first base concourse, the Flaker Family Pro Locker Room features 10 spacious lockers, two showers, one kitchenette and lounge space with a couch, two chairs and two televisions. The Pro Locker Room will be open to UofL alumni in professional baseball for off-season training while also serving as an umpires' locker room on game days at Jim Patterson Stadium.
The busy Friday for the Cardinals concluded in the evening with this year's edition of the Leadoff Dinner at the Louisville Marriott Downtown, where a crowd of more than 650 filled the Grand Ballroom for another entertaining event. Louisville baseball alumni Nick Burdi (RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates) and Josh Rogers (LHP, Baltimore Orioles) were the featured guests for this year's Leadoff Dinner after both players made their Major League Baseball debuts in 2018.
This year's edition of the Leadoff Dinner included a season-opening message from McDonnell as well as remarks from Tyra. The event began with the introduction of the 2019 Louisville baseball team while later in the evening, John Ramsey introduced senior righthanded pitcher Bryan Hoeing as the recipient of the fourth annual Muhammad Ali Leadership Scholarship.
The 2019 Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner presented by Republic Bank was the 13th under the guidance McDonnell, who has placed the Cardinals among the nation's elite programs with four College World Series berths, seven NCAA Super Regional appearances, 11 NCAA Regional bids, eight regular season conference championships, two conference tournament titles, 37 All-Americans and 554 wins overall in his 12 seasons.
Since its debut in 1996, the Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner helps launch the baseball season by bringing some of the biggest names in the game to the Derby City. Last year's event was headline by a pair of Cardinals alumni in Chicago White Sox outfielder Adam Engel and lefthanded pitcher Kyle McGrath from the San Diego Padres. Other previous guests include Adam Duvall, Jose Bautista, Josh Hamilton, Andy Pettitte, Joe Girardi, Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Alex Rodriguez, Tino Martinez, Scott Rolen, Tommy Lasorda, Chad Green, Chris Coghlan, Jeff Francoeur, Sean Green, Nick Swisher, Adam Wainwright, Chris Burke, Chris Dominguez, Justin Marks, Trystan Magnuson, Zack Cozart, B.J. Rosenberg, Cody Ege, Matt Koch and Rick Sweet.
The No. 4 Cardinals are scheduled to open the 2019 season against No. 20 UConn with a three-game series on Feb. 15-17 at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, the spring training home of the Detroit Tigers. Louisville's home-opener at Jim Patterson Stadium is set for Feb. 20 at 3 p.m., ET against Eastern Kentucky.
2019 LOUISVILLE BASEBALL SEASON TICKETS
After one season of ticketed admission for all home games, the Cardinals are giving free admission back to the fans in 2019. Louisville's 15 ACC games as well as non-conference games against UK and Vanderbilt will be ticketed events at Jim Patterson Stadium. All other non-conference matchups, including games against Ole Miss, Western Kentucky and Xavier, will have free admission.
The 2019 reserved chairback ticket packages, which include one ticket to each of the 17 ticketed games, are priced at $110 for adults, $90 for senior adults/youths and $90 for families of four or more. Season tickets for the Left Field Berm are also available at $50 per ticket. Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online here, by calling 502-GO-CARDS or by visiting the Louisville Cardinals Ticket Office, located near Gate 2 at Cardinal Stadium (2800 South Floyd Street) on weekdays from 9 a.m., until 5 p.m., ET. Complete details on 2019 UofL baseball tickets can be found at gocards.com/bsbtickets.
FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at @LouisvilleBSB.
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