University of North Carolina Athletics
First Pitch Dinner Set For Jan. 20
December 13, 2022 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The University of North Carolina baseball program will host its 14th annual First Pitch Dinner on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, inside the Blue Zone at Kenan Stadium with three-year Tar Heel letterman and current Arizona Diamondbacks' pitcher Zac Gallen serving as the featured guest speaker.
The First Pitch Banquet, which serves as the unofficial kickoff event for the upcoming UNC baseball season, will include the opportunity to meet the 2023 team, preview the season ahead with third-year head coach Scott Forbes and celebrate the 2013 College World Series team.
The 2023 Tar Heels will be available to sign autographs with UNC baseball lettermen, who have gone on to professional careers in attendance. Silent and live auctions featuring sporting and non-sporting memorabilia and other giveaways will be conducted.
The MVP reception begins at 5:45 p.m., followed by the silent auction and Meet & Greet at 6:30 p.m., with dinner served at approximately 7 p.m. Individual tickets for the event range from $50 - $150. Table sponsorships include eight guests with two members of the 2023 team, and eight MVP reception tickets are available for $1,000.
To register to attend the First Pitch Banquet, please click here.
Gallen was an All-ACC pitcher for the Tar Heels in 2016 and was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round of the Major League Baseball Draft that year. He made his Major League debut on June 20, 2019, for the Miami Marlins.
Gallen, traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks at the deadline in 2019, is coming off the best season of his professional career.
He was a finalist for the Players Choice award for National League Outstanding Pitcher and finished fifth in the Cy Young Award voting. He led the National League with a 0.91 WHIP, second-best in baseball to American League Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander (0.83). He also finished fourth in the NL with a 2.54 ERA.
Gallen recorded the seventh-longest scoreless innings pitched streak in baseball history with 44.1 innings from Aug. 8 – Sept. 4.
The First Pitch Banquet has annually featured some of the top names in program history, including Scott Bankhead, B.J. Surhoff, and Walt Weiss. UNC alum and Baseball Hall of Fame writer Peter Gammons, two-time World Series champion and AL Manager-of-the-Year Terry Francona and former San Francisco Giants general manager and Carolina graduate Bobby Evans have also previously served as the keynote speakers.
The First Pitch Banquet, which serves as the unofficial kickoff event for the upcoming UNC baseball season, will include the opportunity to meet the 2023 team, preview the season ahead with third-year head coach Scott Forbes and celebrate the 2013 College World Series team.
The 2023 Tar Heels will be available to sign autographs with UNC baseball lettermen, who have gone on to professional careers in attendance. Silent and live auctions featuring sporting and non-sporting memorabilia and other giveaways will be conducted.
The MVP reception begins at 5:45 p.m., followed by the silent auction and Meet & Greet at 6:30 p.m., with dinner served at approximately 7 p.m. Individual tickets for the event range from $50 - $150. Table sponsorships include eight guests with two members of the 2023 team, and eight MVP reception tickets are available for $1,000.
To register to attend the First Pitch Banquet, please click here.
Gallen was an All-ACC pitcher for the Tar Heels in 2016 and was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round of the Major League Baseball Draft that year. He made his Major League debut on June 20, 2019, for the Miami Marlins.
Gallen, traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks at the deadline in 2019, is coming off the best season of his professional career.
He was a finalist for the Players Choice award for National League Outstanding Pitcher and finished fifth in the Cy Young Award voting. He led the National League with a 0.91 WHIP, second-best in baseball to American League Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander (0.83). He also finished fourth in the NL with a 2.54 ERA.
Gallen recorded the seventh-longest scoreless innings pitched streak in baseball history with 44.1 innings from Aug. 8 – Sept. 4.
The First Pitch Banquet has annually featured some of the top names in program history, including Scott Bankhead, B.J. Surhoff, and Walt Weiss. UNC alum and Baseball Hall of Fame writer Peter Gammons, two-time World Series champion and AL Manager-of-the-Year Terry Francona and former San Francisco Giants general manager and Carolina graduate Bobby Evans have also previously served as the keynote speakers.
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