Feb. 19, 2002

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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri baseball team, off to a 3-1 start, will play three games in the University of New Orleans Maestri Classic, held this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The classic consists of Missouri, nationally ranked Notre Dame, Southern Illinois and New Orleans. The head coaches of the schools involved all played for former UNO head coach and athletic director Ron Maestri and were members of the 1979 Privateer squad which won a conference title. Maestri will have the field named in his honor during the tournament. Missouri will play:
*No. 4/9/19 Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m., Friday
*Southern Illinois, 5 p.m., Saturday
*New Orleans, 2 p.m., Sunday

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish are ranked fourth by Baseball America, ninth by Baseball Weekly/ESPN/ABCA Coaches and 19th by Collegiate Baseball. The Fighting Irish have not yet played this season and return 16 letterwinners from last season's 49-13-1 squad. Notre Dame is the defending Big East Confererence champion. Peter Ogilvie, who posted a 5-1 mark for the Irish in 2001, is slated to start against Missouri. Ogilvie, a junior right-handed pitcher, had a 1.90 earned run average last year.

Southern Illinois: The Salukis are 2-1 after playing a three-game series against Louisiana-Monroe. Ross Kowzan is hitting a team-high .545 with one home run and five runs batted in. Jerel Deitering, a sophomore right-handed pitcher, struck out 11 batters in eight innings while picking up a win over Louisiana-Monroe.

New Orleans: The Privateers, like the Tigers, are receiving votes in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN/ABCA Coaches poll. New Orleans is also 2-1 this season after playing a three-game series against Lamar. Mark Monaghan is hitting a team-high .556 with two stolen bases. Tom Lipari, a senior left-handed pitcher, struck out six batters in a seven-inning stint against Lamar.

Great Start: Missouri's 3-1 start this season is one of the best starts under head coach Tim Jamieson. MU went 4-0 in 1996, the last season Missouri qualified for NCAA postseason play, and was 4-0 in 1999. In 1999, however, MU's four wins were not against NCAA Division I competition. The Tigers were also 3-1 in 1998.

Against ...: These teams all met in New Orleans in 1999. Missouri picked up a 13-1 win over Notre Dame and a 14-12 victory over Southern Illinois before suffering a 9-4 loss to New Orleans. All-time, MU is 1-0 against Notre Dame, 14-11 against Southern Illinois and 2-5 against New Orleans.

Great Start II: Jody Roughton (Jr., Carthage, Mo.) is hitting .588 with three doubles, one home run and six runs batted in while Cody Ehlers (So., Stillwater, Okla.) is hitting .500 with two doubles, one triple, two home runs and seven RBI. Luke Cassis (Sr., Wheaton, Ill.) is hitting .500 while Mick Weiss (Sr., St. Peters, Mo.) is hitting .353 and Jayce Tingler (Jr., Smithville, Mo.) is hitting .350. A sixth member of the starting lineup, Lee Laskowski is "only" hitting .333.

Among Big 12's Best: Jody Roughton ranks second in hitting with his .588 batting average. Luke Cassis and Cody Ehlers are tied for seventh. As a team, MU's .349 batting average ranks fourth.

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.

In Non-conference Games: MU's 3-1 start is indicative of last season when 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.

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 229-166-1 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, 2001. 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

Home Opener: Missouri is slated to begin the 2002 home season against Saint Louis in a 4 p.m. contest on Feb. 26. It is the first of 34 home games this season. Missouri will then play Youngstown State in a three-game set, held March 1-3.

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.

Injury Report: Ryan Rothford broke a bone in his middle finger of his left hand during practice the week of Feb. 4. He is expected to miss three to six weeks.

Success: The Tigers open the 2002 season ranked 36th among all NCAA Division I teams with 1,774 wins. In its 106 seasons of baseball, MU 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.

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.

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 have hit 3 home runs in 2002.