HOUSTON -- As the Hot Stove season inches toward the finish line, the Houston Astros are ready to ring in the 2007 season a little early, in the form of the seventh annual Houston College Classic and Astros FanFest.

The Classic, a six-team tournament that will be held Feb. 9-11, will feature nine games at Minute Maid Park. The Astros FanFest will be held in conjunction with the Classic on Feb. 10 and 11.

Tickets for the events will be available on astros.com beginning Monday (Jan. 8). Fans can also purchase tickets by telephone, toll-free, at 877-9ASTROS (877-927-8767), at the Minute Maid Park box office or at any of the Astros' regular Houston area and Ticketmaster outlets. The box office is open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT.

Single-ticket prices are $13 for daily admission and $30 for the entire tournament, Friday through Sunday. The purchase of a ticket for either day's baseball games on Feb. 10-11 will be good for admittance to FanFest on the same day.

Hometown schools Houston and Rice, the latter of which finished third in the 2006 College World Series, make their annual entry into the tournament. This year's field also includes Texas A&M, Baylor, Arizona State and Vanderbilt.

Five of the teams in the tournament are ranked among the top 40 nationally in Collegiate Baseball's 2007 preseason poll, including Rice (No. 1), Vanderbilt (No. 8), Arizona State (No. 14), Baylor (No. 21) and Houston (No. 33).

Astros FanFest also returns with family activities surrounding the Classic. The winter baseball carnival offers fans the opportunity to meet Astros players, play interactive baseball games and participate in baseball clinics. A complete lineup of FanFest activities will be released at a later date.

2007 Minute Maid College Classic schedule (all times CT and subject to change):

Friday, Feb. 9
• Vanderbilt vs. Rice, Noon
• Texas A&M vs. Arizona State, 3:30 p.m.
• Baylor vs. Houston, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 10
• Astros FanFest, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Vanderbilt vs. Arizona State, Noon
• Texas A&M vs. Houston, 3:30 p.m.
• Baylor vs. Rice, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 11
• Astros FanFest, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Arizona State vs. Houston, 11 a.m.
• Baylor vs. Vanderbilt, 2:30 p.m.
• Texas A&M vs. Rice, 6 p.m.