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Bellarmine University Athletics

2020 First Pitch Dinner

Baseball by Adam Pruiett, Assistant SID

Knights baseball's Owens announces details of Jan. 11 First Pitch Dinner

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Coach Larry Owens has announced the lineup for the Bellarmine University baseball team's Seventh Annual First Pitch Dinner.

The event will take place Saturday, Jan. 11 at the George G. Brown Center in Frazier Hall on Bellarmine's campus. It will begin at 5:30 p.m. (ET) with a cocktail hour, with dinner and guest speakers to follow at 6:30.

The special guests include former Major League Baseball players Dave Collins, Chris Dominguez, Glendon Rusch and Ernie Young. WAVE 3 sports anchor Kent Taylor will once again be the emcee of the event, which is sponsored by Legends Sports Academy.

Tickets are $115 per person and $850 for a table. For more information or to register, click here.

Here's a look at the special guests:

DAVE COLLINS: Collins enjoyed a 16-year career (1975-90) in the Major Leagues, seven of which came as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. An outfielder and first baseman, Collins racked up 1,335 hits, 187 doubles, 52 triples and 395 stolen bases in his career. That hit total was twice as many as his strikeout total. In 1980, he batted .303 with 20 doubles and 79 stolen bases for the Reds. In 1984, with the Toronto Blue Jays, the native of Rapid City, South Dakota hit .308 with 24 doubles, 15 triples and 60 stolen bases. He was a three-time NL Player of the Week. Following his playing career, Collins spent 10 seasons coaching in the big leagues. His first coaching job came in 1991 in St. Louis under the legendary Joe Torre, and he was on Cincinnati's staff under Jack McKeon in 1999 when the Reds won 96 games.

CHRIS DOMINGUEZ: Dominguez is in his first season as an assistant coach at Bellarmine. He carved out an 11-year career (2009-19) in the professional ranks, including stints with the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds. The Miami native was a member of the Louisville Bats, the Triple-A affiliate of the Reds, for much of 2015. In his pro career, Dominguez played in over 1,000 minor league games and totaled 134 home runs, 210 doubles, 20 triples and 592 RBIs while hitting .263. Dominguez had a phenomenal collegiate career at Louisville. As a redshirt junior in 2009, his final season with the Cardinals, the third baseman was named BIG EAST Player of the Year and a first-team All-American after batting .345 with 25 home runs and 82 RBIs. Dominguez was the BIG EAST co-Player of the Year in 2008 and earned third-team All-America plaudits after hitting .365 with 21 homers and 75 RBIs.

GLENDON RUSCH: Rusch built a 12-year career (1997-09) in the Major Leagues, including three apiece with the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets and Chicago Cubs. The left-handed pitcher amassed 342 appearances, 220 of which were starts. The native of Seattle was a member of the Mets in 2000 when they appeared in the World Series against the Yankees in what is often referred to as the "Subway Series." Rusch won a career-high 11 games that season and posted a 4.01 ERA with 157 strikeouts in 190.2 innings pitched. He had a stellar postseason out of the bullpen, allowing a single earned run with seven strikeouts in 8.1 innings pitched over six appearances. Following his playing career, Rusch spent three seasons as the pitching coach of the Lake Elsinore Storm, the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.

ERNIE YOUNG: Young is a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Hall of Fame. As a junior at Lewis in 1990, his final college season before getting drafted in the 10th round by the Oakland A's, he delivered one of the greatest individual seasons in league history after hitting .365 with 25 homers, 11 doubles, 38 stolen bases, 72 RBIs and 81 runs scored in 63 games. The outfielder spent eight seasons in the Major Leagues, half of which came with Oakland, and was a four-time Minor League All-Star along with being on the gold medal-winning USA Olympic team in 2000. The Chicago native currently serves as the third-base coach on the USA National Team. Young was a minor league manager for four seasons (2009-12), the first two with the Kannapolis Intimidators, the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, where Owens served as the pitching coach.

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