Feb. 15, 2005
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FIRST PITCH
After an opening weekend in which Mizzou was only able to play one of its four scheduled games at the Phoenix Tournament,the Tigers will head to Rock Hill, S.C. for the Griffin/Pontiac Challenge this weekend.
Last Thursday, the Tigers defeated Portland 8-3 in the season opener in Phoenix. The remainder of the tournament, however, was cancelled due to rain showers. Missouri was scheduled to face Northwestern and Oregon State twice, but those games were cancelled because of the weather conditions in Phoenix.
Missouri will face Winthrop, the host school for the Griffin/Pontiac Challenge, on Thursday and again on Saturday. MU will take on Gardner-Webb on Friday and Akron on Sunday.
This weekend will be the first ever meetings for the Tigers against each of the other three teams in the tournament.
Nearly half of the Missouri roster this season is newcomers as 19 of the 39 Tigers are new to the squad. Seven of those newcomers made their first appearance for MU last Thursday against Portland. The best debut was probably that of junior transfer Greg O'Neill, who was 2-for-2 with two RBI, as he made the start at shortstop.
Mizzou will conclude its early season tournament play next week as it travels to Millington, Tenn. to take part in the Easton/USA Challenge, a tournament that the Tigers won last season.
THE VALLEY OF THE SUN...YEAH RIGHT!
For the second time in three seasons, Mizzou had weather issues cause havoc with its trip to Phoenix.
The Tigers were only able to get in one of their scheduled four games of last week's tournament due to persistent rain showers in the Phoenix area.
MU defeated Portland 8-3 on Thursday in the season opener. Senior Erik Dessau pitched six shutout innings, allowing just three hits and striking out four to get the victory.
Junior transfers Greg O'Neill was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored in his first appearance for Mizzou. Sophomore Hunter Mense added two hits, including a triple for the Tigers.
Missouri's games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday were all cancelled due to rain showers.
In 2003, MU was only able to play two games in Phoenix instead of the scheduled four games of the tournament.
HAVE WE MET?
Missouri has never faced any of its three opponents (Winthrop, Gardner-Webb and Akron) in this weekend's tournament. There are five teams on the Tigers' 2005 scheduled that MU has never faced. Navy and North Dakota are the others that join this weekend's foes as first-time meetings for Mizzou.
FOR OPENERS
With the 8-3 win over Portland last Thursday, MU extended its win streak in season openers to three. MU Head Coach Tim Jamieson is 6-3-1 at Missouri in season openers.
ON SCHEDULE
As is the case each year, the weather of Missouri will send the Tigers on the road for the first three weeks of the season.
After opening the season last week in Phoenix, Ariz. the Tigers will be in Rock Hill, S.C. for the Griffin/Pontiac Challenge hosted by Winthrop. Joining Mizzou and Winthrop at the tournament will be Gardner-Webb and Akron.
The final early-season tournament for MU will be the Easton/USA Challenge in Millington, Tenn., a tournament the Tigers won in 2004. Mizzou will face Navy, Indiana State and Memphis.
Missouri will then open up play at Taylor Stadium with a 10-game homestand, starting with a three-game series with Eastern Michigan March 4-6.
Youngstown State and North Dakota State will be in Columbia for three-game sets and the Tigers will face Illinois State twice, once at home and once on the road, before opening up Big 12 play.
Mizzou will open up conference play with a trip to Manhattan, Kan. to face Kansas State March 25-27. The first home Big 12 series will be the following week, April 1-3, as Texas Tech will visit Taylor Stadium.
Also visiting Columbia in 2005 will be Texas A&M (April 8-10), Oklahoma (April 22-24) and Kansas (May 13-15). The Tigers will be on the road against Oklahoma State (April 15-17), Texas (April 29-May 1), Nebraska (May 6-8) and Baylor (May 20-22).
The Tigers also have home-and-home matchups with Southeast Missouri State and Southwest Missouri State.
Missouri will play at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon, Mo. three times in 2005, highlighted by the annual "Wood Bat Classic" against Saint Louis on April 20. On May 17, MU will face Southern Illinois in O'Fallon before taking on Illinois the following night at T.R. Hughes.
The Big 12 Conference Tournament returns to Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla. this season from May 25-29.
Six teams (Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Youngstown State) on MU's schedule qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2004.