Lou Piniella to headline Diamond Dinner

New season kicks off with legendary major leaguer at Feb. 11 fundraiser

Former Major League outfielder and manager Lou Piniella will be the guest speaker at the Feb. 11 Diamond Dinner.

Coming off a 2010 Sun Belt championship and back-to-back NCAA regional appearances, the FIU baseball team will chase the next step in the program’s growth in 2012. It all starts with the annual Diamond Dinner Saturday, Feb. 11, the annual fundraiser for baseball and softball.

Special guest speaker for the event will be the legendary former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager, Lou Piniella. The Diamond Dinner begins at 6 p.m. with a cocktail reception in the Graham Center Ballrooms at MMC. Live and silent auctions will feature once-in-a-lifetime vacations and one-of-a-kind sports memorabilia.

In 2011, the Diamond Dinner brought in more than $155,000 for the FIU baseball and softball teams — an FIU fundraising record. To purchase tickets, contact Joey Corey with the Panther Club at jmcorey@fiu.edu or at 305-348-1919.

“This is the crown jewel of fundraisers for the FIU baseball and softball programs,” Baseball Coach Turtle Thomas said. “Last year we set an unbelievable record for the amount of money brought in to our programs, and I know we can top that number this year. I can’t thank our supporters enough for their generosity toward our student-athletes to ensure they are able to compete at the highest level possible.”

One week after the Diamond Dinner, FIU baseball will open its season at Rice. With two-thirds of the lineup back, the Panthers will strive to win in the regional and possibly head to a Super Regional this coming season.

“In 2010 we lost the first game of the conference tournament,” Thomas said. “We talked about breaking through the pressure barrier and sure enough the second game we won and then went on and won the rest of the games in the tournament. I think the same thing can happen in the near future about winning a regional game and then going through it and winning a regional. Reaching that next step is what we are looking for and going forward in the program.”

Since Thomas took over at FIU in 2008, the Panthers increased their win total each season going from 20 wins in 2008 to 34 in 2009 to 36 in 2010 to 40 wins last season. FIU also achieved a No. 20 national ranking last season — the first time an FIU baseball team has been ranked since 2003.

FIU returned to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in 2009 under Thomas. The Panthers made it back to the NCAA regionals in 2010 after winning the Sun Belt championship. Last season with its national ranking, FIU secured an NCAA berth at the Chapel Hill regional.

“We have some key guys back this season,” Thomas said. “The pitching staff took a bit of a hit through graduation. Pitching is a work in progress. We know that some young guys are going to get an opportunity to pitch quite a good amount. It should be an exciting, interesting season. We are really looking forward to this year, no doubt about it.”