SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State baseball will host its 16th annual First Pitch Night, presented by Billiards of Springfield, on Saturday, Jan. 31, with 2003 American League batting champion Bill Mueller returning to his alma mater as the featured guest.
Doors open at 5 p.m. at the Bill Rowe Training Facility at Hammons Field with dinner at 5:30 to help the Bears kick off the 2026 season, which opens Feb. 13 with a three-game series at Louisiana.
Individual tickets are on sale now for $25 and available for purchase at this link.
Special group and team rates are available by contacting Director of Special Projects Keith Guttin at KeithGuttin@MissouriState.edu or 417-425-0218. Any additional questions can also be directed to Guttin.
Mueller was a star for the Bears from 1990-93 and graduated as MoState’s all-time leader in nine different offensive categories, including hits (289), singles (222), runs scored (234), total bases (398), walks (154), stolen bases (65) and sacrifice hits (18). He earned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and ABCA Second-Team All-America honors as a senior, and his career .376 average remains a Missouri State record for a four-year player.
Mueller was selected by San Francisco in the 15th round of the 1993 MLB Draft and became the third Bear to reach the Major Leagues and the first to claim a batting title when he led the American League with a .326 mark in 2003. A year later, he became the first former Bear to win a World Series title as a member of the Boston Red Sox. He played in more than 1,200 big league games over an 11-year MLB career, collecting 1,229 hits and hitting .291.
The 2026 Bears will be on hand to sign autographs, and silent and live auctions featuring sporting and non-sporting memorabilia and other giveaways will be conducted. A dinner buffet is included in the night’s events.
Additionally, season tickets for the Bears’ 27-game home schedule are on sale. Fans can purchase season tickets online at this link. For additional information, call Duane Miller at (417) 836-8899, the main MSU Athletics ticket office at (417) 836-7678, or visit the box office at Great Southern Bank Arena during normal hours.