The Missouri State baseball team (8-10) opens the Missouri Valley Conference schedule this weekend by hosting Bradley (5-8) for three games at Hammons Field. The Bears have won four games in a row entering Friday's 6:30 p.m. contest. Saturday's game is set for a 2 p.m. start, and the series wraps up at 1 p.m. Sunday.

THE OPPONENT
Bradley is 5-8 this year under first-year head coach Elvis Dominguez and has yet to play a home game. The Braves split four games in Florida earlier this week, beating Central Michigan and Eastern Illinois. BU hits .259 as a team, with Tommy Fitzgerald (.357-2-9) and Grant Escue (.309-3-13) as the only regulars hitting above .300.
    Bradley pitchers have a 6.49 ERA and allow opponents to hit .279. Reliever Joe Bircher has the team's best ERA at 3.29 in 13.2 innings, and Collin Brennan has 18 strikeouts in 16.1 innings over four starts.
    The Braves field .952 as a team.

THE SERIES
Missouri State leads the all-time series 42-27, and has won nine of the last 13 meetings. The Bears took the series from BU 2-1 last season in Peoria, winning 12-2 and 12-6 and losing the middle game by a 9-6 score. MSU has not lost a season series to Bradley since 2000.

LIVE STATS INFORMATION
Live stats for all Missouri State baseball games will be available at www.missouristatebears.com. Go to the “Fan Central” link on the left side of the page and select “Live Stats.”

AUDIO AND VIDEO COVERAGE
Friday's game with Bradley can be heard on KBFL 99.9 FM in Springfield, while Saturday's and Sunday's contests will be carried on KBFL 1060 AM. All three games can be heard online at www.radiospringfield.com.
    Bears Live will also stream Saturday's game live online as the first of nine home baseball offerings this season.

COACH KEITH GUTTIN
Missouri State head coach Keith Guttin (Missouri-St. Louis, 1978) is in his 27th season as head coach of the baseball Bears and has a career record of 912-563 (.618). Guttin became the first coach at Missouri State (in any sport) to reach the 900-win mark with the May 11, 2008, win over Middle Tennessee 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 10 times with four 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 14 years.

LAST WEEK
Missouri State outscored Southeast Missouri State 29-5 in two midweek games, slugging six home runs in the two contests. On Tuesday, an 11-run third inning was all the Bears needed in a 13-2 win. Tyler Ryun slugged a grand slam in the third, while Ben Carlson and Brayden Drake drove in three runs each. J.C. Casey tossed seven scoreless frames and struck out six for the win.
    On Wednesday, the Bears led 12-0 after two innings and cruised to a 16-3 win. Dallas Hord went 3-for-3 and hit a grand slam, Drake drove in another three runs and Zak Swyhart finished 4-for-4 after pinch hitting in the second inning.

MINI SEASON TICKETS
Mini-season ticket plans are now on sale. Packages include tickets for 13 games at Hammons Field, including midweek contests with Oklahoma State, Missouri, Arkansas-Little Rock and Saint Louis and weekend series with Wichita State, UNI and Indiana State, all for a cost of only $80.
    Ticket packages may be purchased in person at the JQH Arena box office, or by calling Missouri State Tix at (417) 836-7678.

QUICK HITS
    Over the last 12 games, the Missouri State pitching staff has a 2.35 ERA and is allowing the opposition to hit just .233.

    Opposing starters have posted a 9.04  ERA against the Bears this season, while MSU starters have a 3.39 ERA and are allowing opponents to hit just .249.

    MSU starting pitchers have allowed just one earned run over the last five games and 28 innings, and bring a 22 inning scoreless streak into the weekend series with Bradley.

    Brayden Drake is currently on a 26-game hitting streak, setting the school record on March 17 vs. SEMO.

    Drake had two separate 15-game hitting streaks and an 11-gamer in 2008, and has at least one hit in 61 of his last 68 games. He notched his 200th career hit March 11 versus South Dakota State.

    Missouri State has allowed 42 unearned runs through 18 games, an average of 2.33 per contest, but is outscoring the opposition overall by 17 runs, or 0.94 per game.
    In terms of earned runs, the Bears have outscored the opposition 131-81 this year, a margin of 2.78 per contest.

    Missouri State is 6-1 on the year when making one or fewer errors.

    The Bears did not walk a batter in two midweek games with SEMO.

    Tim Clubb suffered his first loss since April 22, 2007, in the opener at Middle Tennessee, a streak of 18 appearances, 16 starts and 13 winning decisions.

    Clubb has left 17 of his last 18 starts in line for the victory.

    Buddy Baumann has started the 2009 season with 17 scoreless innings and has allowed just six singles thus far for a .109 opponent average. Just one baserunner has advanced beyond second base on Baumann this season.

    According to Boyd's World, Baumann ranks first nationally in ERA, runs allowed and extra base hits allowed, and fourth in opponent batting average.

    Aaron Conway ended a 10-game hitting streak March 11 and already has 17 RBIs in 76 at bats, compared to seven RBIs in 74 at bats a year ago.

    Missouri State has not been shut out since a visit to Creighton on May 17, 2007, a stretch of 80 consecutive games.

    Missouri State leads the MVC with just three stolen bases allowed 18 games. Catcher Dallas Hord has thrown out eight of 11 steal attempts.
    The next closest MVC team has allowed 16 steals this year.