Missouri State's 21-34 record at the end of the 2010 baseball season was hard to explain. The Bears had talent on the roster - all three weekend starters were off the board after 24 rounds of the  MLB Draft - and a solid nucleus of skilled field players, but the cards fell against the Bears far too often late in games and the injury bug struck a key bat just when the offense was clicking, sending Missouri State to just its fourth losing season in the last 45 years.

STRANGE STATS FOR THE BEARS
    The numbers didn't always add up to a team finishing 13 games under .500 for the Bears in 2010.
    Missouri State had more extra-base hits than the opposition on the year and loaded the bases 21 more times, 79 in all.
    Over the final 52 games, the pitching staff had a better ERA than the opposition, yet the Bears were 21-31 over that span.
    MSU pitchers ranked 13th nationally with 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
    The Bears went 7-13 in games when the trailing team brought the winning run to the plate in its final at bat, including five walk-off losses.
    
SLOW START
    The Bears faced a tall task to open the season, traveling to sixth-ranked Georgia Tech and practicing outside for the first time the morning of the opener in Atlanta. Aaron Meade and Grant Gordon kept the Bears close in the opening 4-0 loss, but MSU left Georgia with an 0-3 record after being outscored 37-3 in the series.
    Missouri State headed to Texas-Arlington the next weekend, combining with the Mavericks for an NCAA record 43 strikeouts in the series opener. UTA no-hit the Bears for 26 outs, but Meade provided six scoreless innings in the start and Gordon added seven more to take the scoreless game into the 14th. The Mavericks landed a walk-off single for the win, and then popped a three-run walk-off homer the next day for a 9-6 victory to send the Bears to 0-5.
    The Bears earned their first victory the next day, scoring five two-out runs in the fourth and holding on for a 5-4 victory before heading to Hammons Field for a four-game set with North Dakota State.
    The Bison took a 6-3 win in the first game of the series as the Bears stranded 16 runners in all and a man on second base in every inning, but Missouri State rebounded to win the next three games and move to 4-6. Pat Doyle tossed a complete-game three-hitter in game two as the Bears won 6-1, and Mike Kickham fanned 10 over seven innings the next game in a 15-2 rout. Christian Overstreet drove in four and swatted a three-run bomb in the eighth inning of the finale to secure a 6-2 MSU victory.
    The winning streak would be short-lived as Missouri State lost seven of its next eight games to fall to 5-13 entering a homestand in late March.
    Missouri State opened a four-game road trip March 10 at Southeast Missouri State, climbing back for an 11-11 tie behind Aaron Conway's ninth-inning grand slam, only to see the Redhawks hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the frame for a 12-11 win.
    From there, the Bears headed to Southern Mississippi for a three-game set with a Golden Eagles squad that played in the College World Series the previous season. Meade gave the Bears 7.2 innings in the Friday game, staking the team to a 3-1 lead in the ninth inning when USM scored three runs to hand the Bears another walk-off loss by a 4-3 final. MSU gave up four in the first on Saturday in a 6-0 loss, and led 4-0 in the fifth in the Sunday contest before the flood gates opened and Southern Miss scored 13 runs in its final four trips to the plate in a 13-4 game.
    Missouri State returned home and split midweek contests with Arkansas State March 16 and 17. Brett Marshall hit the game-winning single the eighth inning and Pierce Johnson provided six innings of two-hit ball in a 2-1 win. The next day, MSU was hitless through six innings, and Clay Murphy allowed a run over six innings to keep the Bears in it. Missouri State came within one from a 5-0 deficit, but left the bases loaded in the ninth in a 5-4 setback.
    A pair of 8-2 losses to Wright State and Oklahoma State followed on March 19 in Stillwater, and snow cancelled the rest of the weekend with the Bears sitting at 5-13 and looking forward to a five-game homestand.

OFFENSE HEATS UP
    The Bears played their best ball of the season over the next 10 contests, going 7-3 with a .343 team batting average while putting up 7.7 runs per game. Kevin Medrano hit .590 and Luke Voit had 18 RBIs, but it was Voit's injury at the end of the 10-game stretch that kept the freshman out of the lineup for six weeks and was a key to the Bears' offensive struggles the rest of the season.
    The Bears started the 10-game stretch with two midweek wins over Central Arkansas at Hammons Field. On March 23, Travis McComack reached base six times and Voit went 4-for-5 with five RBIs in a 14-5 MSU win. Murphy struck out eight in six innings the next day in a 4-2 victory.
    MSU opened Missouri Valley Conference play two days later with a 7-4 win against Evansville, using 6.2 innings from Meade and a three-run homer in the fourth from Overstreet to start the league season on a positive note.
    The Purple Aces overcame Voit's three-run homer in the first inning of Saturday's game with three in the seventh to win 6-4, and the Bears left seven men in scoring position Sunday in a 3-2 loss despite Kickham tossing a complete game.
    Missouri State closed the month of March at Kansas, rallying from a 6-0 deficit behind Medrano's 4-for-5 day before falling 7-6.
    The Bears started April with a four-game winning streak against Oklahoma schools, scoring 39 runs to improve to 12-16 overall.
    MSU hammered Oral Roberts 13-3 in an April 2 game in Tulsa, leading 9-0 after two innings with the help of four Conway RBIs. Doyle fanned nine in 6.1 innings the next day in a 5-1 win, and the teams played the finale in Springfield on Sunday with Missouri State slamming six home runs in a 15-1 shellacking.
    Missouri State won its fourth in a row three days later, using 11 strikeouts from Murphy and a three-run eighth inning to beat Oklahoma State, 7-5. The win was costly, however, as Voit injured his thumb sliding into a base in the eighth inning prior to scoring the tying run, sidelining him until the MVC Tournament. He ranked sixth in the MVC in RBIs at the time of the injury.

BEARS STRUGGLE IN SEASON'S SECOND HALF
    Without Voit, the Bears sputtered to a 7-0 loss in the April 9 series opener at Bradley, and were let down by the defense the next day in allowing four unearned runs in a 6-4 loss. In a wild finale Sunday, each team scored three runs in the ninth, with Bradley handing Missouri State its fifth walk-off defeat of the season for a 9-8 score and series sweep.
    Kansas completed the season sweep of the Bears with a 6-4 win April 13, but Missouri State responded to that loss by winning five of six before closing the regular season with a 3-11 record over the last 14 games.
    Keenen Maddox stole the show with a walk-off homer to beat Missouri April 14, his second round-tripper of the game as the Bears won 5-4 with Kickham striking out 11 Tigers.
    The Bears had the following weekend off and returned to action April 20 at Saint Louis, jumping ahead of the Billikens 8-0 after two innings and holding on to win 9-6. MSU scored five in the eighth inning the next night to beat SIU Edwardsville 5-4 at home, and, after losing 8-2 to Creighton in the Valley series opener, swept the Bluejays in an exciting Sunday doubleheader.
    Doyle fanned 10 and allowed an earned run over seven innings in game one, and Tyler Paxson put the Bears up with a three-run shot in the first for a 5-4 win. Overstreet ended game two with a walk-off home run, and Murphy tossed 4.2 innings of relief for his second win of the week, earning MVC Pitcher of the Week honors after going 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in nine innings.
    After that, Missouri State lost nine of its next 10 contests, often in frustrating fashion. The Bears traveled to No. 7 Arkansas on April 28, dropping a 5-4 decision to the Hogs, then succumbed to an 11-strikeout complete game at the hands of Indiana State's Jacob Petricka in an 8-1 loss to the Sycamores in Terre Haute.
    Missouri State stranded 15 runners the next day and went 1-for-21 with men in scoring position for a 10-3 loss to the Sycamores, and salvaged the final game of the series Sunday with eight innings of three-hit ball from Meade in a 5-3 win.
    Mizzou earned a season split with the Bears on May 4 in Columbia, breaking a 6-all tie with three runs in the sixth, before MVC champion Illinois State came to Springfield and swept the Bears the next weekend.
    On May 7, the Redbirds used a pair of eighth-inning runs to win 7-5 despite Kickham logging 14 strikeouts. Then on Saturday, the Bears had a 7-1 lead in the fourth before yielding six unearned runs in that inning for a 7-7 tie, and ISU eventually walked away with an 11-9 victory.
    On Sunday, the Redbirds hit a three-run homer in the third and kept the MSU offense in check for a 7-1 win.
    The losing streak continued May 14 at Wichita State as WSU's Jordan Cooper fanned 14 in a complete-game shutout, outdueling Kickham's 10-strikeout complete game. The Bears were held scoreless again the next day and Medrano's hitting streak ended at 29 games in an 8-0 loss, but Missouri State left Wichita with a 10-3 Sunday victory, using three RBIs each from Curt Courtwright and Paxson and 7.1 innings of one-run ball from Doyle.
    The regular season concluded in Springfield the following week with Southern Illinois capturing a series win at Hammons Field. The Salukis scored in all but two innings of their 13-2 series-opening win, and hit a solo homer in the seventh inning to win the second game 6-5 after the Bears fought back from a 5-0 deficit.
    In the regular season finale, Conway hit a game-winning single in the 10th inning to send the Bears into the MVC Tournament with a 6-5 win.

MVC TOURNAMENT
    Yet another new format greeted the MVC's eight teams at the league meet in Wichita in late May, with all league members qualifying after UNI's departure dropped the MVC to eight teams for 2010. The Bears benefitted, going as the No. 8 seed, and tested top-seeded Wichita State, holding a 1-0 lead in the fifth behind a Medrano solo homer before WSU scored six in the next two frames to grab a 6-2 win.
    Missouri State rebounded the next day, tying an MVC Tournament record with 11 runs in the sixth inning for a 14-10 victory over Southern Illinois. Evansville ended MSU's season on May 27, and only a three-hour rain delay could postpone the inevitable in a 7-2 loss.

AWARDS AND HONORS
    Kevin Medrano repeated on the MVC First Team, this year as a utility player, and was MSU's lone first-team representative. Conway and Meade were honorable mention selections following preseason all-conference nods.
    The Bears did earn six weekly honors from the league, including Gordon (Pitcher, March 1), Kickham (Pitcher, March 8), Overstreet (Player, March 8), Voit (Player, March 29), Medrano (Player, April 5) and Murphy (Pitcher, April 26).
    Medrano, Overstreet and Voit each earned CollegeBaseballInsider.com Central Region Player of the Week laurels following their respective MVC weekly award wins.
    Academically, Kickham was an MVC Scholar-Athlete honorable mention selection.
    Medrano was voted by his teammates as the team's A.E. "Ted" Willis Most Valuable Player after the season, while Kickham was the Dave Dickensheet Pitcher of the Year and Gordon the team's Danny Cook Rookie of the Year.

CHANGES TO THE RECORD BOOKS
    Meade made his way on to three Missouri State career lists and was just one of several players to make their mark on the record book. Meade finished his MSU career third in starts (41), fifth in strikeouts (226) and 10th in innings pitched (224.1).
    Doyle closed his career ranked second in school history with 73 appearances, while his 94.2 innings in 2010 placed him eighth for a single season.
    Kickham's 103 strikeouts and 96.0 innings put him fifth and sixth, respectively, for a single season, while Gordon and Blake Barber tied for fifth in season appearances with 23 apiece.
    Gordon's seven saves also placed him fourth for a season and 11 for his career after just one season.
    Conway and Medrano led the way offensively, as Conway's 24 steals ranked fifth for a season and moved him into sixth on the career list with 50 thefts. He also tripled twice in 2010 to give him 11 for his career, moving up to 11th on that list.
    Medrano's 86 hits ranked 10th for a single season, while 62 singles tied for the No. 5 total at MSU.

WITH THE NEXT SELECTION...
    Missouri State saw three players from the 2010 roster drafted, and a total of seven were taken when four Bears baseball recruits were factored in.
    Kickham went off the draft board first, going to San Francisco in the sixth round as the 198th overall pick. The draft-eligible sophomore weighed his options to within days of the signing deadline before deciding to take the professional route.
    Meade came next, going to the Los Angeles Angels with the 324th overall pick in the 10th round. A year after turning down a contract from the New York Yankees as an eligible sophomore, Meade took advantage of moving up 18 rounds and quickly signed and began his pro career in Utah.
    Doyle followed in the 24th round as the 727th overall pick, heading off to begin in pro career in the Cincinnati Reds farm system.
    
STAT LEADERS
    Medrano led the Bears in nearly every offensive category, batting .410 with 86 hits and 44 runs scored, and was the only player to hit above .300.
    Conway paced the club with seven homers and 24 steals, good for fifth in school history.
    Overstreet grabbed the RBI lead with 30 along with a team-high 31 walks, and Voit had 29 RBIs in just 31 games.
    On the mound, Doyle led with five wins and tied Meade with a 4.18 ERA for tops on the staff. Doyle's 94.2 innings went for eighth in school history, while Kickham's 96.0 frames ranked sixth and his team-best 103 strikeouts ranked fifth.
    Barber and Gordon tied with 23 appearances to lead the way, tying for fifth in MSU history in the process, and Gordon logged seven saves to go with his 74 strikeouts.
    Conway was perfect in the field in 114 chances, while McComack led with 162 assists from shortstop.

COACH KEITH GUTTIN
    Missouri State head coach Keith Guttin (Missouri-St. Louis, 1978) completed his 28th season with a career record of 959-607 (.612). 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 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 15 years.