The Tiger softball team will participate in the fifth annual Wheelchair Softball Clinic and Demonstration, Sunday, Sept. 7.The Tiger softball team will participate in the fifth annual Wheelchair Softball Clinic and Demonstration, Sunday, Sept. 7.
Softball

Missouri Softball Participates in Wheelchair Clinic and Demonstration

Sept. 4, 2003

The Missouri softball team will travel to St. Louis on Sunday, Sept. 7, to participate in the fifth annual Wheelchair Softball Clinic and Demonstration. Held on Spirit Field at Spanish Lake, the St. Louis and Kansas City Wheelchair Athletic Associations will combine with the Tigers for a 12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. practice. The wheelchair-accessible Spirit Field was opened in 2002 and funded by the St. Louis Cardinals. Last year, the Wheelchair Softball Clinic and Demonstration was held at Stankowski Field.

The Sunday softball exhibition will precede a three game fall-ball schedule against former alumni Saturday, Oct 11, and Johnson County Community College in a double-header (2 p.m. and 4 p.m.) on Saturday, Oct. 18.

Former Mizzou softball alumni are invited to return to University Stadium for the annual alumni game, Saturday, Oct. 11. Tentatively set for 10 a.m., the 2004 MU team will have the chance to stack themselves up to some of the Missouri's strongest alumni players. For more information, or to play in the game, contact assistant coach Barb Riti at 573-882-6840 or send email to bawright23@hotmail.com.

Johnson County Community College, which finished 47-13 in 2003, will play a double-header at University Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 18. Beginning at 2 p.m. the Tigers and Cavaliers will meet for what is expected to be an exciting matchup.

Coming off of a 31-20 season, the Missouri coaches and team are excited to return to the field. The end of the 2003 campaign saw the Tigers finish third in the Big 12 Conference and advance to the NCAA Regional Championships for the first time in four years. Falling to Notre Dame and Wright State, Mizzou was unable to advance to the College World Series, but hopes to return in 2004 with an even stronger team.

"I'm very proud of our first recruiting class," head coach Ty Singleton said. "The women should bring more speed, power and aggressiveness than we've seen in the past on both the offense and defense."

With the possibility of playing 42 College World Series or NCAA Regional-qualifying teams throughout the 2004 season, the Tigers may have one of the toughest schedules in the nation.

"We should be an exciting team to watch this season," Singleton said.