LOUISVILLE, Ky.--The Bellarmine University baseball team will host the inaugural "First Pitch Dinner" on Saturday, Jan 11, 2014 at 6 p.m. in the Amelia Brown Frazier Convocation Hall on Bellarmine's campus.  The event, which is being sponsored by Legends Sports Academy, will kick off the beginning of the Knights 2014 campaign under first year Head Coach Larry Owens and feature appearances by five former Major League players, who will share their thoughts, stories and points of view based on their experiences as Major Leaguers.

Emceed by John Asher, the evening will include a cocktail reception, followed by remarks from Coach Owens.  After dinner, Asher will moderate a round-table type of discussion with the panel of former big leaguers. 

Headlining the group will be former Cincinnati Red and Major League manager Buddy Bell, who enjoyed an 18-year playing career as a third basemen with the Reds, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and Houston Astros.  A 5-time All-Star, Bell also picked up six Gold Gloves along with the Silver Slugger (1986) and Lou Gehrig Memorial (1988) awards.  Bell, who is a member of the Rangers Hall of Fame, also managed the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals for three seasons each.  He is the son of former Major League outfielder and Louisville Flaget High School Alumnus Gus Bell and the father of former Major League third basemen David and Mike.  He is currently vice president and assistant general manager for the Chicago White Sox.

Joining Bell will be former Major Leaguers Pete Rose, Jr., Todd Wellemeyer, Chris Burke and Matt Anderson.

Rose played professional baseball for 21 years and is currently managing minor league ball in the Chicago White Sox organization.  In 2014, he is slated to manage the Kannapolis Intimidators of the South Atlantic League (Low Class A) for his fourth season.  Rose made his MLB debut with the Cincinnati Reds and is the son of the all-time hits leader Pete Rose, Sr.

Todd Wellemeyer owns the distinction of being the first former Knight to make it to the majors.  A fourth round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs out of Bellarmine in 2000, Wellemeyer spent eight seasons in the majors with the Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants.  Wellemeyer's manager while with the Royals was Bell.

The son of former Bellarmine baseball player and coach Al Burke, Chris Burke was a first round pick in the 2001 MLB draft by the Houston Astros, with whom he made his big league debut.  He went on to play with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres during his six year Major League career.  Burke hit the series-winning walk-off home run off the Atlanta Braves' Joey Devine that ended Game 4 of the 2005 National League Division Series. The game, which lasted 18 innings and took five hours and 50 minutes to play, stands as the longest playoff game in major league postseason history.

Louisville native and St. Xavier High School alumnus Matt Anderson starred as a pitcher at Rice University before being the first overall pick in the 1997 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers.  He went on to play seven Major League seasons with the Tigers and the Colorado Rockies.  Anderson was known for having one of the best fastballs on the planet.  His "heater" was regularly clocked at over 100 miles per hour and twice hit 103 on the radar gun. He pitched for a Bell-managed team in Detroit in 1998. 

Tables (of eight) for the First Pitch Dinner are available for $800 and single seat tickets are available for $110.  For reservations and further information, contact Coach Owens at 502-272-8278 or lowens@bellarmine.edu.