PHOTO GALLERY #1

PHOTO GALLERY #2

Austin, Texas – The Concordia University baseball program hosted what turned out to be a successful Second Annual 1st Pitch Dinner at the CTX Field House on Friday, Jan. 20. The event was attended by nearly 200 people and included coaches, current and former players and their families, CTX faculty and staff and other special guests.

The night started off with head coach Tommy Boggs talking about the recent success the program has had in addition to previewing the upcoming year before introducing Chuck Licata of K-MAC Sports, which will be broadcasting most of the team's games this year. Afterwards, Mark Johnson, the former head coach at Texas A&M and Sam Houston State, addressed the crowd as the extraordinary guest speaker. Aside from championships and College World Series appearances, Johnson is a nationally-recognized speaker and has received some of the greatest awards that college athletics and groups like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes have to offer.

The 10-member 2011 senior class then received their framed jerseys before several items were auctioned off as a fundraiser for the program. The items included a Josh Beckett Florida Marlins signed jersey, a Scott Linebrink Atlanta Braves signed jersey and a painting made by Robert Hurst of the squad in its dogpile after winning the American Southwest Conference championship. The evening concluded with the 2011 team receiving its ASC championship rings.

Concordia, which also hosted an alumni game over the weekend, will open its 2012 season at Tornado Field against Southwestern on Friday, Feb. 3 at 4 p.m.