SAUGET – The Gateway Grizzlies announce that the “Braggin’ Rights” rivalry baseball game between the University of Missouri Tigers and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini will return to Grizzlies Ballpark on March 26th. Gates will open at 5:00 p.m., with first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m. This year, Mizzou will be the home team and occupy the first base dugout, while Illinois will be on the third base side.
The two teams will play each other for the third straight year in Sauget, with the game featuring exciting action on the field in each of the last two seasons. In 2023, the Tigers beat the Fighting Illini in a thriller by a final score of 6-5, scoring three runs in the first to take an early lead before Illinois eventually came back. In 2022, Missouri won 11-7 in a contest that featured four home runs and a whopping eight multi-run half-innings in total. With the pair of victories, the Tigers took a 16-14-1 lead in the all-time series.
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The Fighting Illini are seeking to return to prominence under longtime head coach Dan Hartleb, who enters his 19th season as head coach and 34th on the Illinois staff overall, and has guided the program to four NCAA tournament appearances, most-recently in 2019. Edwardsville native Drake Westcott highlights their 2024 roster, coming off a season where he hit .299 while leading the team in home runs (18) and RBIs (47).
Mizzou enters their first season under new head coach and St. Louis native Kerrick Jackson in 2024, with the former Kirkwood High School standout returning to Columbia after serving as an assistant there from 2011-15. The Tigers will also feature St. Louis-area natives Brock Daniels (St. John Vianney), Jack Holubowski (Marquette), Kaden Jacobi (Liberty), Ian Lohse (Marquette), Tyler Macon (Kirkwood), Kaden Peer (Christian Brothers), Victor Quinn (Liberty), and Daniel Wissler (Fort Zumwalt West) on their roster this year.
To purchase tickets, go to gatewaygrizzlies.com/bragginrights or call the Grizzlies box office at (618) 337-3000.
The Gateway Grizzlies are a professional baseball team, located a mere 10 minutes from downtown St. Louis in Sauget, Illinois. The Grizzlies offer baseball fans affordable, family fun at Grizzlies Ballpark with a great view of the St. Louis skyline. They have also won two Frontier League Organization of the Year Awards, four West Division titles, and the 2003 Frontier League Championship. For tickets or general information, please visit gatewaygrizzlies.com or call (618) 337-3000.
The Frontier League debuted in 1993, and is the largest of the Major League Baseball Partner Leagues, featuring teams stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, and from the Ohio River to the St. Lawrence Seaway. More information and the complete 2023 schedule can be found at frontierleague.com.
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