Feb. 7, 2001

Columbia, Mo. -- The University of Missouri baseball team will open its 105th season with three games in California this weekend as part of the Cal Poly/J. Carroll Classic.

Here are Missouri's games:
*Friday, San Jose State, 3 p.m. in San Luis Obispo, Calif., at Baggett Stadium
*Saturday, Cal Poly, at 7 p.m. at Baggett Stadium
*Sunday, Pepperdinem at 3 p.m. at Eddy D. Field Stadium in Malibu, Calif.

Upcoming Opponents San Jose State: The Spartans are 4-1 and average just under 12 runs per game. Junior Ruiz and Gabe Lopez are hitting .571 and .500, respectively, and are among the team leaders in home runs and runs batted in.

Cal Poly: The Mustangs have gotten off to a 6-1 start this season. Outfielder Bryan Gant is hit .476 to lead the Mustangs' regulars. Right-hander Tyler Fitch (1-1, 4.15 ERA, 10 K) is scheduled to start against Missouri.

Pepperdine: The Waves are now 5-0 after sweeping Nevada and downing Louisville. Woody Cliffords (.556) and Jared Pitney (.474) lead the offense. Pitcher Daniel Haren (2-0, 2.25 ERA) leads the starting rotation. Pepperdine is ranked No. 18 by Baseball America, No. 28 by USA Today/Baseball Weekly and No. 37 by Collegiate Baseball.

Preseason Honors: Junior shortstop/relief pitcher Ryan Stegall has collected a number of preseason honors this season. *Named to Rotary Smith Award's watch list for Player of the Year *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.

2000 Recap: The Tigers went 33-24 in 2000 and advanced to the Big 12 Conference Tournament for the fourth consecutive campaign. Ryan Stegall was honored as the first-team all-Big 12 shortstop and was named an All-American utility player by two organizations. Jayce Tingler was named to the Freshman All-American team.

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).

Going Home?: MU pitching coach Chal Fanning is an alumnus of Cal Poly, class of 1992. Fanning was a pitcher for the Mustangs and was part of their 1992 NCAA Division II College World Series team. Matt Hobbs (Jr., Alta Loma) and Felipe Tetelboin (Fr. Van Nuys) also call California home.

Another Season, Another 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.

Pitching Rotation: The Tigers have not yet announced the weekend's starting pitchers. A list of the five candidates considered are: Logan Dale, Matt Hobbs, Drew Endicott, Jon Harris and Mitch Kiler.

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 will compete in the Applebee's 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.

Broadcasts: All of the Tigers' games this season will be carried on KWWC (90.5 FM) as well as on www.mutigers.com. 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.

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.

Big 12 Predictions: 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 five seniors to this year's squad among its 15 letterwinners. Catcher Jon Williams leads the way for MU with a .315 career batting average. Pitchers Logan Dale, Jon Harris, 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. Harris led the team in wins and strikeouts in his only season with MU. 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.

Academic Success: Seven members of the Tigers' squad were named to Missouri's Fall Student-Athlete Dean's List. They are: Dan Bane, Garrett Broshuis, Logan Dale, Bo Davis, Mitch Kiler, Malachi Momper, Andy Runyan.