Baseball Sets Time for Joplin Relief Game

♦ Baseball Sets Time for Joplin Relief Game (mutigers.com)

The Mizzou baseball program has announced a 12:30 p.m. start time for the Oct. 8 exhibition game against Iowa. The game will serve as the first of two exhibition games with the Hawkeyes that will directly benefit Joplin Little League as the community continues to recover from a devastating tornado back in May. The 12:30 p.m. start time is scheduled around Mizzou's football game with Kansas State, which was selected for a 2:30 p.m. start earlier today. Fans are encouraged to come out to Taylor Stadium before watching the Tigers take on the Wildcats in Manhattan.

Mizzou baseball has teamed with the Daniel Boone Little League, Diamond Council, BC Baseball and The Callaway Bank to host the University of Iowa in pair of fall exhibition games that will benefit the Joplin Little League program in its efforts to rebuild the program following the devastating tornado that hit the area back in May. The games will be played on Oct. 8-9 at Taylor Stadium and tickets are just $5 with all proceeds going directly to the City of Joplin Little League program. 

Tickets to the games will be sold for $5 and can be purchased at MUTigers.com or by calling the Mizzou ticket office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS. As mentioned, all proceeds will go directly to rebuilding Joplin's Little League programs, which were ravaged by a tornado back in May. Tickets can also be purchased at Taylor Stadium the day of the each game. Time for the Saturday (Oct. 8) tilt with Iowa is still TBA as it will be scheduled around the Tigers' football game at Kansas State. The Sunday game (Oct. 9) will begin at 1 p.m.

For questions or information on how to make donations to Joplin Little League, please contact Evan Pratte, director of baseball operations, at 573-882-1917 or via e-mail (prattee@missouri.edu). The relief efforts of the Mizzou baseball toward the Joplin area are just another in a long line goodwill by Mizzou Athletics for the Joplin Area. In addition to several outreach trips to the area, Mizzou will also host an exhibition basketball game as Mizzou will battle Missouri Southern in Joplin in the One State, One Spirit Classic Presented by Legget & Platt on Oct. 30.

Also, the City of Joplin has a special tie to the Mizzou baseball program. A former Mizzou baseball jersey from the early 2000s was found in the rubble following the Joplin tornado and made its way to Oklahoma City with the team and hung in the dugout as Mizzou became the first-ever No. 8 seed to ever advance to the Big 12 Championship game. For all the latest on Mizzou baseball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MUTigerBaseball.