BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball program held its annual First Pitch Dinner Thursday evening at Cooney Hall on the Samford campus.
 
The dinner is put on by the Samford Diamond Society. Established in 2016, the Diamond Society provides direct financial support for the Samford baseball program.  Diamond Society members receive various benefits including season ticket passes, exclusive access to special events, content and apparel. Fans interested in joining the Diamond Society may contact Bo Kerr at (205) 726-2139.
 
The featured speaker for the event was Marlon Anderson, who spent 13 seasons in the Major Leagues after being an All-American at South Alabama. Anderson now serves as Samford's director of player development. First-year Samford head coach Tony David talked about the what the dinner means to his program and about having Anderson be a part of it all.
 
"It's a celebration of the program and a kick start for it," David said. "It's an appreciation for our donors that, at all levels are critical, but at our level are beyond critical for what we're doing. It's the excitement of things getting started. We started practice a week ago, which we're all excited about. Marlon and I played together at South Alabama in college, and we've stayed in close contact over the years. When I had this opportunity, he was one of the first people I called. I wanted him to be involved in our program growth, of trying to take the next step and being an influence on our guys."
 
David, who spent the last 17 seasons as Samford's associate head coach, talked about what he is looking forward to the most about stepping into the head coaching role.
 
"Really, the day-to-day of baseball, being in control of every aspect of the on the field stuff and off the field stuff," David said. "Running the game, managing the personalities, managing the game, the ins and outs of it, and just controlling the type of baseball we want to play. We always look forward to game day, but it's a different kind of feel towards the overall development process I think in this role."
 
Samford will open the 2022 season on Feb. 18, when the Bulldogs host Arkansas State at 4 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Season tickets are now on sale at the following link: PURCHASE TICKETS.
 
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