The Missouri State baseball team (27-13, 10-5 Missouri Valley Conference) hosts Illinois State (18-19, 3-9) in its final home league series of the year this weekend at Hammons Field. After Sunday, the Bears will have 11 games remaining on the regular season schedule and just three at home. Friday's game will be televised live on Mediacom Channel 14 with a 7:06 p.m. start, while all three contests can be heard locally on KBFL.
THE OPPONENT
Illinois State is 18-19 overall and 3-9 in the league, with all three victories coming against Evansville. The offense hits .275 with two regulars hitting above .300. Kevin Dubler leads the team with a .361 average, six homers, 41 RBIs and 17 doubles, while Kevin Tokarski is hitting .314 and ranks fourth nationally with 29 stolen bases.
The Redbirds have a team ERA of 5.65, and ace Ryan Copeland is 4-4 with a 2.57 ERA while ranking fourth in the nation in fewest walks allowed with five in 63 innings. Tyler Cox (4-1, 4.98) and Ben Hays (1-1, 5.51) are expected to round out the weekend rotation.
THE SERIES
The Bears are 46-34 against Illinois State and had won 10 games in a row in the series before the Redbirds swept last season's series in Normal.
LIVE STATS INFORMATION
Live stats for most Missouri State baseball games will be available at www.missouristatebears.com. Click "Live Stats" on the left side of the page and select the appropriate game.
COACH KEITH GUTTIN
Missouri State head coach Keith Guttin (Missouri-St. Louis, 1978) is in his 26th season as head coach of the baseball Bears and has a career record of 891-549 (.619). Guttin became the first coach at Missouri State (in any sport) to reach the 800-win mark with the May 11, 2005, win over Kansas at Hammons Field. In 2003, Guttin led the Bears to the NCAA Division I College World Series for the first time in school history. Guttin has been a conference Coach of the Year nine times with three of those coming in the Valley and six coming during the Bears’ years in the Mid-Continent Conference. During Guttin’s tenure, the Bears have made seven Division I NCAA Tournament appearances -- six in the last 13 years.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bears extended their win streak to three games with a pair of midweek victories. MSU beat Oral Roberts by a 9-6 score at home on Tuesday, scoring seven runs in its final three turns at bat, including a four-run sixth, for the win.
On Wednesday, the Bears tied a season-high with 17 hits in a 9-4 victory at Saint Louis. Aaron Conway, Ben Carlson, Ryan Mantle and Josh Mazzola all notched three hits apiece, and reliever Jon Barnes tossed 4.1 scoreless frames for the win.
