The Missouri State baseball team (13-11) looks to avenge its only loss in the last 10 games Tuesday when fourth-ranked Arkansas (19-5) comes to Hammons Field for a 6:30 contest. The Bears and Razorbacks met on March 25 in Fayetteville, with Arkansas winning 10-0. Arkansas will be the highest ranked team to ever play at Hammons Field.
THE OPPONENT
Arkansas is 19-5 overall and 8-1 in the Southeastern Conference this season, rising in the national rankings as high as fourth by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The Razorbacks hit .302 as a team, led by Ben Tschepikow (.389-7-27) and Andy Wilkins (.368-9-27) in the middle of the lineup.
The UA pitching staff has a 3.93 ERA, with reliever Stephen Richards leading the way with a 4-0 record, 1.53 ERA and three saves in 12 appearances.
Arkansas fields .965 as a team.
THE SERIES
Arkansas leads the all-time series 46-22. The Razorbacks have won the last five meetings, including a 10-0 win in Fayetteville last week.
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
Coverage of the Arkansas game will be as follows:
Radio: KBFL 1060 AM, online at www.radiospringfield.com
Video stream: Bears Live
TV: Mediacom Channel 14
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 917-564 (.619). 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 TIME OUT
The Bears picked up a doubleheader sweep of Oral Roberts on Sunday in MSU's only games of the weekend. In game one, Tim Clubb went eight innings, allowing two singles, an unearned run and fanning eight for the win. Aaron Conway paced the offense with three hits, including two triples, two runs and two RBIs in the 10-1 win.
In the second game, Buddy Baumann struck out 14 in a complete game three-hitter. Chris Playter put the Bears ahead for good in the second with an RBI single on the way to the 3-2 win.
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 or 888-476-7849.
QUICK HITS
After opening the year with a 9.36 team ERA through six games, the MSU pitching staff has a 2.72 ERA and is allowing the opposition to hit just .232 in the 18 games since.
Bears starters are 12-2 with a 2.24 ERA and .210 opponent average in the last 18 games.
Missouri State's team ERA has dropped following 17 of the team's last 18 games.
The Bears have turned 25 double plays this season while hitting into 10, with only two of those coming since March 7.
Opposing starters have posted a 9.17 ERA against the Bears this season, while MSU starters have a 3.19 ERA and are allowing opponents to hit just .236.
MSU starters have accounted for all 13 of the team's wins.
Brayden Drake set a school record with his 30-game hitting streak that began April 27, 2008 and ended March 29 of this season. The streak ranks seventh in MVC history, and top 10 streaks in Valley history are listed below.
1. Phil Stephenson, WSU (1981) 47
2. Kevin Koski, SIU (2005-06) 36
3. Derek Schermerhorn, WSU (2005) 34
4. Chris Wimmer, WSU (1990-91) 32
Demetrius Dowler, INS (1993) 32
Clint Barmes, INS (2000) 32
7. Brayden Drake, MSU (2008-09) 30
Andy Dirks, WSU (2008) 30
9. Tony Roth, CU (2004-05) 28
10. Vince Pietro, CU (2000) 27
According to Boyd's World, Drake ranks third in the nation in batting average and seventh in on-base percentage.
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 19 of his last 20 starts in line for the victory.
Buddy Baumann started the 2009 season with 22 scoreless innings.
All five runs against Baumann this season have scored via the home run.
Baumann has been named the MVC Pitcher of the Week twice this season and currently ranks fourth nationally in runs allowed (5), fifth in opponent average (.143), seventh in wins (5) and 10th in hits allowed (16) according to Boyd's World.
Five MSU pitchers; Tim Clubb, Buddy Baumann, Aaron Meade, J.C. Casey and Tyler Ryun, have starts of at least six scoreless innings in their careers.
The Bears have nine different players with at least 10 RBIs this season.
Missouri State has outscored the opposition 123-65 in the first five innings this season, and slugged 17 of the team's 26 homers in the first four.
Missouri State has allowed 43 unearned runs through 24 games, an average of 1.79 per contest, but is outscoring the opposition overall by 42 runs, or 1.75 per game.
In terms of earned runs, the Bears have outscored the opposition 172-101 this year, a margin of 2.96 per contest.
Missouri State is 10-1 on the year when making one or zero errors.
Aaron Conway ended a 10-game hitting streak March 11 and already has 20 RBIs in 100 at bats, compared to seven RBIs in 74 at bats a year ago.
Missouri State leads the MVC with just six stolen bases allowed 24 games. Catcher Dallas Hord has thrown out nine of 15 potential base stealers.
The next closest MVC team has allowed 17 steals this year.
