Jan. 17, 2001
Columbia, Mo. -- The University of Missouri baseball team will open its 105th season with preseason practices on Sunday at 5:15 p.m. at the Daniel J. Devine Pavilion.
Practice Schedule: Here is a rundown of the Tigers' schedule until the squad heads to California on Feb. 8:
Jan. 21 5:15 p.m.
Jan. 22 1 p.m.
Jan. 23 1 p.m.
Jan. 24 Off
Jan. 25 5:45 p.m.
Jan. 26 5:45 p.m.
Jan. 27 10 a.m.
Jan. 28 8 a.m.
Jan. 29 Off
Jan. 30 1 p.m.
Jan. 31 5:45 p.m.
Feb. 1 5:45 p.m.
Feb. 2 2 p.m.
Feb. 3 2 p.m.
Feb. 4 8 a.m.
Feb. 5 1 p.m.
Feb. 6 1 p.m.
Feb. 7 5:45 p.m.
Media Day: The Tigers are scheduled to hold media day on Friday, Feb. 2. Head coach Tim Jamieson and various members of the team will be available for interviews at approximately 1:15 p.m. The media is invited to videotape or photograph practice following the interviews. All practices are scheduled to be inside the Devine Pavilion unless weather permits the team to practice at Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field.
Preseason Honors: Junior shortstop/relief pitcher Ryan Stegall has collected a number of preseason honors this season. ?Big 12 Player of the Year by Collegiate Baseball, ?Second-team All-American utility player by Collegiate Baseball ?Third-team All-American utility player by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
Sophomore outfielder Jayce Tingler and senior pitcher Mitch Kiler were mentioned as "Players to Watch" in the Big 12 by Collegiate Baseball.
Coaching Staff: Head coach Tim Jamieson enters his seventh season and has an overall mark of 195-141 and a record of 79-61 in Big 12/Big 8 play. A University of New Orleans graduate, Jamieson was an assistant coach for the Tigers for six seasons before taking over the top spot. He is assisted by Chal Fanning (pitching coach, fifth season), Evan Pratte (hitting coach/infield, fourth season) and Chris Smith (outfield, first season).
Another Season, 30 Wins: Missouri has won 30-or-more games the past five seasons and in 14 of the last 16 campaigns.
Success: The Tigers open the 2001 season ranked 35th among all NCAA Division I teams with 1,743 wins. In its 104 seasons of baseball, Missouri has won 61.0 percent of its games.
Season Openers: Missouri is 66-34-1 all-time in season-opening games. Results are not available for the 1894, 1895 and 1897 seasons. The Tigers actually have won 67 of those contests but had to forfeit the 1959 opener.
Road Start: MU opens the season with 12 of its first 14 games on the road, including the first two series in Big 12 Conference play. Missouri meets two teams, San Jose State and Texas, which advanced to the NCAA College World Series and five other teams, Creighton, Wichita State, Nebraska, Baylor and Oklahoma, which advanced to NCAA Regional play in 2000. The Tigers first travel to the California cities of San Luis Obispo and Malibu for three games. MU opens with San Jose State, which went 41-24 last season and return 10 letterwinners, before taking on Cal Poly. The Tigers close the road trip at Pepperdine. Missouri will compete in the Spaulding Baseball Fiesta, meeting Mountain West schools Nevada-Las Vegas, New Mexico and Utah, in Albuquerque, N.M., Feb. 16-18.
Home/Big 12 Opener: Mizzou hosts Creighton on Feb. 21 before heading to Stillwater, Okla., to meet the Cowboys of Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Conference opener. The Tigers and Cowboys have not played the past two seasons due to weather.
Home Runs for Kids: Again this season, the Tigers have teamed with the University of Missouri Children's Hospital to develop a special program called "Home Runs for Kids." The program is geared to raise money for sick children at the Children's Hospital at University Hospital and Clinics. The fund-raising program will recruit baseball fans, individuals, businesses, clubs and organizations, to pledge 25 cents to $10 or more for every home run the Tigers hit this season. All of the money raised by the "Home Run for Kids" program will be used locally to fund equipment, research and programs for patients at Children's Hospital.
Broadcasts: All of the Tigers' games this season will be carried on KWWC (90.5 FM). Sean Kelley will serve as the play-by-play announcer while color commentary will be provided by Mike Cronemeyer (home games) and Matt Schmidt (road contests). Kelley is in his third season as the voice of the Tigers.
Picked Eighth: Missouri is picked to finish eighth in the Big 12 this season by Collegiate Baseball. Its rankings are as follows: 1. Nebraska 2. Oklahoma 3. Baylor 4. Texas 5. Texas A&M 6. Oklahoma State 7. Texas Tech 8. MISSOURI 9. Kansas 10. Iowa State 11. Kansas State
Experience Counts: Missouri returns four seniors to this year's squad among its 14 letterwinners. Catcher Jon Williams leads the way for MU with a .315 career batting average. Pitchers Logan Dale, Mitch Kiler and Pete Sansone will be counted on to lead the pitching staff again this season. Dale has been one of the Tigers' mainstays the past three seasons, ranking among the team's leaders in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts. Kiler, who had a stellar starting performance in the 2000 Big 12 Tournament, moves to the starting rotation after leading the Tigers in appearances (28) last season. Sansone moves to the bullpen after posting a 5-1 mark in 2000. He missed the previous two seasons due to injury and transfering to the program.