CHARLESTON, SC - Miller Lite has stepped up to the plate to sponsor the RiverDogs 9th Annual Hot Stove Banquet, ensuring the event will have great taste and despite the expected sellout still be less filling. Former Miller Lite spokesperson and Baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs is slated as the banquet's guest speaker.

The event, which will be held on Friday, February 1 at the Charleston Marriott on Lockwood Blvd., is presented by Tom McQueeney State Farm Insurance for the sixth consecutive year. Miller Lite, a longtime favorite of Boggs', will serve as the official sponsor of the adult beverage stations at the banquet.

The Hot Stove Banquet is an annual event that is coordinated by the Charleston RiverDogs to whet the appetite of Charleston area baseball fans. Proceeds benefit The Citadel, College of Charleston and Charleston Southern baseball programs as well as the MUSC's Storm Eye Institute, the RiverDogs' primary charity.

The reception begins at 6 pm with the dinner starting at 7 o'clock. Tickets are $65 per person and include dinner and beverages. Tables with preferred seating for ten individuals are available for $650.

Boggs spent his 18-year baseball career primarily with the Boston Red Sox (1982-92), but also played for the New York Yankees (1993-97), with whom he won his only World Series, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998-99), with whom he recorded his 3,000th career hit. His hitting in the 1980s and '90s made him a perennial contender for American League batting titles. Boggs was elected to the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.

For individual tickets and additional information, please contact the RiverDogs at (843) 577-DOGS (3647). Tickets may also be purchased online at www.riverdogs.com.

--RIVERDOGS--