Dates: Tue., Apr. 19 at Kansas State, 6 p.m.
Site: Tointon Stadium
Location: Manhattan, Kan.
TV: None
Radio: KBFL 1060 AM
Live Audio: www.RadioSpringfield.com
Live Stats: www.MissouriStateBears.com
Live Video: www.KStateSports.com
The Missouri State baseball team (21-13, 4-2 Missouri Valley Conference) makes its first visit to Kansas State (20-15, 5-10 Big 12) in 19 years Tuesday with a 6 p.m. contest against the Wildcats in Manhattan. The Bears are 3-1 against the Big 12 this season, beating third-place Oklahoma State once, fourth-place Kansas twice and losing to sixth-place Nebraska.
Starting Nine
Nine things to know about the Bears against Kansas State...
1. Missouri State trails Kansas State 11-9 in the all-time series, and the teams have met just twice since 1993, a 7-6 MSU win in 2006 and a 3-2 KSU win in 2004, both at neutral sites. Missouri State's last trip to Manhattan resulted in a two-game split in 1992.
2. MSU's offense has hit at least .300 against 11 of the 18 teams the Bears have played this season while registering at least eight hits in all but four contests.
3. Missouri State is 11-6 this year in games decided by one or two runs, and has a 11-13 record in games in which it has trailed at any point.
4. Missouri State went 19-11 through 30 games, the eighth time since 1995 the Bears have won at least 19 times in their first 30 tries. MSU has had great success the previous seven times, averaging 38 wins per season, posting an average MVC finish of 2.0 while making four NCAA Tournament appearances. The Bears also won two of their first three league games for the 14th time in 21 MVC seasons. The previous 13 times have resulted in an average league finish of 2.46.
5. Missouri State has won its first two MVC series of the season for the eighth time since joining the league in 1991, and the fourth time in the last six seasons. The Bears have finished second twice and won the league once following the previous three times, and have averaged an MVC finish of 2.29 over the course of all seven occurrences.
6. Missouri State is hitting .319 against opposing starting pitchers and outscoring opponents 30-12 in the first inning. Starters have a 5.52 ERA against the Bears and average just 4.79 innings per start.
7. Missouri State's offense is hitting .309 this season, moving from last to first in the MVC and jumping 257 spots to 23rd in the national rankings as of April 10, the largest improvement of any team in the country. Aaron Conway ranked 16th nationally in hits last week.
8. MSU has collected 12 pinch hits in 34 tries this season for a .353 average, while the opposition has a mere two pinch hits in 31 games and is batting .105 in those situations.
9. Keith Guttin is now 20 wins shy of the 1,000 mark in his 29th season at Missouri State.
The Opponent
Kansas State is 20-15 overall and 5-10 in the Big 12 after losing a series at Nebraska that ended Monday due to weather.
The Wildcats hit .263 with two regulars above .300, led by Nick Martini (.320), whose NCAA record of reaching base in 93 consecutive games came to and end Sunday. KSU averages 5.26 runs per game and has stolen 68 bases in 82 tries.
K-State pitchers have a 3.69 ERA and hold opponents to .243 hitting, .345 slugging and a .324 on-base percentage.
The Wildcats have committed 41 errors in 35 games for a .970 fielding percentage.
Coach Keith Guttin
Missouri State head coach Keith Guttin (Missouri-St. Louis, 1978) is in his 29th season as head coach of the baseball Bears and has a career record of 980-620 (.613). 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 15 years.
Last Time Out
Missouri State won its second consecutive MVC series over the weekend at Southern Illinois. In Saturday's opener, MSU scored five in the second and six in the fourth to claim a comfortable 11-4 win.
In the first game of Sunday's doubleheader, the Salukis returned the favor in an 11-1 run-rule victory. All of SIU's runs scored with two outs, and eight were unearned.
The Bears rebounded from a 4-0 deficit to win 5-4 in game two. Brent Seifert hit a tying homer in the seventh, Travis McComack's sacrifice fly put the Bears ahead in the eighth, and Dan Kickham recorded the six-out save.
Quick Hits
• Missouri State closed the month of February with a winning record (4-3) for the fourth time in the 2000s. The Bears have gone on to win at least 40 games the other three times. MSU also had a winning February record in 1999, and though it failed to reach 40 wins, it did go 38-19 and make the NCAA Tournament.
• Juniors Travis McComack and Kevin Medrano have started 109 games together on the middle infield in their careers and rank 10th (85) and 11th (81), respectively, in career double plays turned. The duo has worked together for 53 of those double plays.
• Fourteen of the 27 players on Missouri State's roster did not see action for the Bears last season, and 12 of those are new to the program altogether.
• Missouri State has struck out 207 times in its first 34 games, or 6.27 per nine innings, a 30.5 percent decrease from its 2010 rate.
• The Bears went 29.2 innings from March 15-19 without allowing an earned run, and went 14 innings over three games from Feb. 26 to Mar. 1 without issuing a walk.
• Missouri State is holding opponents to a .244 batting average with runners in scoring position.
Home Sweet Home
Missouri State is 11-4 at home this season and 122-72 all-time at Hammons Field.
The Bears are hitting .324 as a team in their home park and fielding .964, while the pitching staff has a 3.50 ERA and limits opponents to a .261 batting average.
Strength of Schedule
Missouri State opponents are now 494-396 (.555) for games played through Apr. 17.
Players of the Week
Aaron Conway became Missouri State's first award winner of 2011 with an MVC Player of the Week nod March 7. Conway batted .650 (13-20) in four MSU wins, scoring seven runs with five doubles, three RBIs and three stolen bases.
Preseason Awards
Three Bears made the preseason all-MVC team while Kevin Medrano was honored as a preseason third-team All-American by College Baseball Lineup.
Joining Medrano on the all-conference squad were senior outfielder Aaron Conway and sophomore pitcher Grant Gordon.
Radio Broadcasts
All Missouri State games beginning March 15 and beyond will be broadcast on Meyer Communications stations with the exception of March 25 at Oral Roberts and April 1 and 2 at Saint Louis.
Art Hains and Rob Evans will describe the action on KBFL 1060 AM and live over the internet at www.RadioSpringfield.com. Up-to-date schedule and station assignments can be found on the baseball schedule page at www.MissouriStateBears.com.
Bears on TV
Missouri State will have three games this season televised live on Mediacom Connection Channel 22 in Springfield. Mediacom will broadcast games against Wichita State (April 8, 6:30 p.m.), Arkansas (April 12, 6:30 p.m.) and Missouri (May 3, 6:30 p.m.).
