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Nov. 16, 2009

2010 Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner Registration Form in PDF Format

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - 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 registration form above 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.