National League Rookie of the Year and Florida Marlins
outfielder Chris Coghlan and New York Mets outfielder Jeff Francoeur
will headline the 2010 Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner sponsored by
Republic Bank on Feb. 5, 2010 at 7 p.m. ET, in the South Wing of the
Kentucky Exposition Center.
Tickets for the event can be purchased for $50 each by calling (502)
852-2015 or by completing the form at UofLSports.com and emailing it to
specialevents@louisville.edu. The deadline to register is Jan. 29, 2009.
The annual dinner is the primary fund-raising event for the U of L
baseball team. Last year’s event was headlined by New York Yankees’
manager and World Series champion Joe Girardi, while other previous
headliners include Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Alex Rodriguez, Tino
Martinez, Scott Rolen, Tommy Lasorda, Sean Green, Nick Swisher and Chris
Burke among others.
Coghlan, who was named the NL Rookie of the Year on Monday, had an
outstanding summer leading all rookies and ranking sixth in the National
League with a .321 average to go along with nine home runs and 47 RBI. A
first round selection in the 2006 MLB Draft by the Marlins, Coghlan
worked his way through the organization before making his MLB debut in
May 8, 2009. On Aug. 9, he set the Marlins team record for consecutive
multi-hit games at eight. A Florida native, Coghlan played college
baseball at Ole Miss, where he was coached by Cards’ head coach Dan
McDonnell, who served as an assistant with the Rebels from 2001-06.
Highlighted by his 2007 Gold Glove Award, Francoeur has four and half
years of MLB experience since making his debut with the Atlanta Braves
on July 7, 2009. After spending the first half of the 2009 season with
the Braves, Francoeur was traded to the Mets on July 10 and finished the
season in the Big Apple. A native of Atlanta, Francoeur was the Braves’
first round selection in the 2002 MLB Draft and also played for Team USA
in the first ever World Baseball Classic in 2006.
The 2010 Leadoff Dinner will be the fourth under the leadership of
McDonnell, who led the Cards to a sweep of the BIG EAST regular season
and tournament titles last season and a top 15 national ranking with a
47-18 record overall. The 47 wins in 2009 matched a school record as
Louisville advanced to its second NCAA Super Regional in three years.
The 2010 Louisville squad returns seven position starters and most of
its pitching staff from last year’s team, led by Second Team
All-American Phil Wunderlich (3B/OF) and All-BIG EAST performers Andrew
Clark (1B), Adam Duvall (2B) and Thomas Royse (RHP). The Cardinals will
open the 2010 season with a three-game series at home against Bowling
Green on Feb. 19-21 at Jim Patterson Stadium.
