Feb. 12, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Put your warm clothes away because the baseball season is here-that is, if you play for Northwestern, which leaves the cold behind and opens 2003 this weekend at the Rawlings/Oakland Athletics Spring Training Tournament in sunny Phoenix, Ariz. Northwestern gets underway against Brigham Young on Thursday at 2 p.m. NU then meets Missouri on Friday at 6 p.m., Cal Poly for a doubleheader beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Missouri again at 10 a.m. Sunday.
After a long offseason that followed last year's 26-29 record, including a third-place showing at the 2002 Big Ten Tournament, NU head coach Paul Stevens and the 'Cats are eager to get back at it.
"We're just happy to get going," said Stevens, who enters his 16th season at the NU helm. "This is a great opportunity to see if all the hard work has paid off. We want to see if we can put everything we're doing together on the field."
Northwestern, which meets three teams this weekend that have already laced up the cleats in 2003, gets its first crack against Brigham Young. BYU (1-5) opened the season Jan. 30 at Arizona, where it went 1-2. BYU then visited Arizona State, the fifth-ranked team in the country. The Cougars dropped all three games in Tempe, but remained within striking distance in two of the contests, dropping a one-run and a two-run decision. BYU Slugger Kainoa Obrey is off to a strong start with a .478 batting average (11-for-23).
Missouri is 2-1 after its season-opening series against North Carolina-Wilmington. The Tigers have only 11 lettermen back from 2002, when they went 24-29. But Missouri does return second-team All-Big 12 players Jayce Tingler and Cody Ehlers.
Cal Poly enters the tournament with a 5-4 record. The Mustangs, which went into extra innings two times in 2002, have already been in three extra-inning affairs this year. Catcher Kyle Wilson returns after belting 10 homers and batting .361 in 2002. He is the only returning starter to bat better than .300 last season. Freshman lefty Garrett Olson, one of 17 newcomers, is projected as the starter against NU.
"I not looking for a certain number of wins this weekend," Stevens said. "My expectations are for us to go out and play hard and to find out where we are as a team."