Feb. 12, 2002
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri baseball team will open the 2002 season by competing in the Rawlings/Oakland Athletics Spring Training Tournament in Phoenix, Ariz.
The Tigers will play natonally ranked Washington on Thursday and on Sunday, Feb. 17, in addition to playing Portland on Friday and on Saturday.
Missouri returns 15 letterwinners and each one saw action in the starting lineup last season, when it went 31-24-1. The letterwinners (in alphabetical order) are: Garrett Bauer, Luke Cassis, Brian Desch, Cody Ehlers, Drew Endicott, Wes Fewell, Matt Hobbs, W.T. Hoover, Lee Laskowski, Kurt Propst, Ryan Rallo, Jayce Tingler, Tony Vitello and Mick Weiss. Dan Bane is also a returning letterwinner but sat out the 2001 season as a redshirt.
First Foe: Washington is ranked 24th by Baseball America and is receiving votes in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN/ABCA Coaches poll. The Huskies were 29-23 last season and are coached by Ken Knutson. Senior infielder Michael Done hit .342 with seven home runs and 36 runs batted in last season. Senior Shawn Kohn anchors the pitching staff after posting a 6-2 record with a 2.57 earned-run average in 2001. Kohn also had 65 strikeouts in 81 innings pitched. The Tigers will also play Washington at Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field on April 5-7.
Portland: The Portland Pilots, who are coached by Chris Sperry, return 21 letterwinners from last season's 20-34 campaign. The Pilots are members of the West Coast Conference.
Top Class: Missouri had one of the nation's top recruiting classes this past year, according to Collegiate Baseball in its annual compilation of top recruiting classes. Missouri was listed in the "other top classes" category.
Coaching Staff: Head coach Tim Jamieson begins his eighth season with an overall mark of 226-165-1 and a record of 97-100 in Big 12/Big 8 play. He recorded his 200th career victory with a 9-8 win over Wichita State on March 7. A University of New Orleans graduate, Jamieson was an assistant coach for the Tigers for six seasons before taking over the top spot. He led the Tigers to the 1996 Big 8 regular season crown and a berth in the Midwest Regional. Jamieson is assisted by Chal Fanning (pitching coach, sixth season), Evan Pratte (hitting coach/infield, fifth season) and Chris Smith (outfield, second season). The Tigers have had 19 players enter professional baseball during Jamieson's tenure. Jamieson's milestone victories:
*1 - Missouri 12, Lincoln 2 - Feb. 27, 1995
*50 - Missouri 8, Nebraska 2 - April 24, 1996
*100 - Missouri 3, Eastern Michigan 0 - March 14, 1998
*150 - Missouri 5, Oklahoma 2 - April 17, 1999
*200 - Missouri 9, Wichita State 8 - March 7, 2001
Preseason Talk: Jayce Tingler was named the Big 12 Conference's best baserunner by Baseball America while Abel Newton was named one of the league's top newcomers.
Home Opener: Missouri is slated to begin the 2002 home season against Saint Louis in a 4 p.m. contest on Feb. 26. The game is the first of 34 home games this season.
A Different Ending: The 2001 season marked the first time since the inception of the Big 12 Conference Tournament that Missouri was not be in the field. The last time Missouri did not appear in a conference tournament was in 1995 when the Tigers did not make the Big 8 Conference field.
Records Set in 2001: Missouri tied the school's single-season stolen base mark when W.T. Hoover stole second base in the first inning against Eastern Kentucky on May 6, 2001. The swipe gave the Tigers 83 thefts, tying the mark set in 1979. Ryan Stegall recorded 10 assists against Eastern Kentucky (5/5/2001 - game one) to tie the school record for most assists in one game. Stegall shares the mark with Torre Tyson, who had 10 assists against Oklahoma on May 1, 1996.
30 Wins Again: In 2001, Missouri recorded its sixth-straight season with 30 or more victories and its 15th such season in the past 17 years.
Triple Play: Missouri turned the "conventional" 5-4-3-2 triple play in the first inning of the second game of the two games against Eastern Kentucky on May 5, 2001. It was the first triple play the Tigers have turned since 1981 when MU turned the trick on May 9, 1981 against Oklahoma.
In Non-conference Games: The Tigers were successful against its non-conference competition, posting a 20-5-1 record. Twelve of those wins have come at Taylor Stadium/Simmons Field.
Tough Competition: Missouri's schedule, which features 55 NCAA Division I opponents, ranks among the nation's toughest. Five of the Tigers' foes are ranked in the nation's top 25 with as many as nine seeing some recognition.
The Running Tigers: Individually in 2001, Jayce Tingler had a team-high 20 stolen bases and he was one of six players with five-or-more thefts. The 20 stolen bases in a season ranks fourth all-time at MU. Tingler's 34 career stolen bases rank fifth all-time at Missouri.
Injury Report: Ryan Rothford broke a bone in his middle finger of his left hand during practice last week. He will undergo surgery this coming week and is expected to miss three to six weeks.
Success: The Tigers opens the 2002 season ranked 36th among all NCAA Division I teams with 1,774 wins. In its 106 seasons of baseball, Missouri has won 60.5 percent of its games.
Broadcasts: The Tigers' games this season were carried on KWWC (90.5 FM) as well as on www.mutigers.com. Sean Kelley enters his fourth season as the play-by-play announcer.
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. The Tigers hit 41 home runs in 2001.
What's Next? Missouri will play in the University of New Orleans Tournament against Notre Dame, Southern Illinois and New Orleans on Feb. 22-24.