Dates: Fri., May 13 vs. Bradley, 1 p.m.
Sat., May 14 vs. Bradley, 12 p.m.
Sun., May 15 vs. Bradley, 1 p.m.
Site: Hammons Field
Location: Springfield, Mo.
TV: None
Radio: KBFL 1060 AM
Live Audio: www.RadioSpringfield.com
Live Stats: www.MissouriStateBears.com
Live Video: Sunday - Bears Live - www.MissouriStateBears.com
The Missouri State baseball team (27-18, 8-6 Missouri Valley Conference) opens a four-game homestand Friday when it hosts Bradley (22-23, 4-11) at 1 p.m. The Bears moved to third in the MVC standings with a series win at Illinois State last week, and sit one half game behind Wichita State and a game and a half back of Creighton for first. MSU travels to CU to close the regular season next week. Missouri State and Bradley continue the series at 12 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. The Bears' four seniors will be honored Sunday, and the team hosts Oklahoma State Tuesday at 5 p.m. to end the home schedule.
Starting Nine
Nine things to know about the Bears against Bradley...
1. Missouri State leads Bradley 45-30 in the all-time series. The Bears did not lose a season series to the Braves between 2000 and 2009, but were swept in Peoria last season. The home team has swept the last two years.
2. Missouri State's offense is hitting .301 this season, moving from last to first in the MVC and jumping 230 spots to 50th in the national rankings as of May 8, the largest improvement of any team in the country.
3. MSU's offense has hit at least .300 against 13 of the 24 teams the Bears have played this season. MSU has logged at least seven hits in 42 of 45 games and is 22-5 when scoring at least five runs.
4. Missouri State went 24-16 through 40 games, the ninth time since 1995 the Bears have won at least 24 times in their first 40 tries. MSU has had great success the previous eight times, averaging 37.9 wins per season, posting an average MVC finish of 2.0 while making five NCAA Tournament appearances. The Bears won two of their first three league games for the 14th time in 21 MVC seasons, which has historically resulted in an average MVC finish of 2.46, while winning their first three league series for the third time in school history.
5. The MSU pitching staff is rounding into form as the year goes on, using a 3.30 ERA over the last 19 games to improve from last in the league on April 4 to fourth today at 4.18.
6. Missouri State is 9-3 in series openers this season, batting .320 and averaging 8.3 runs per game against opposing No. 1 starters.
7. Missouri State has hit eight of its last 12 home runs off left-handed pitching while hitting long balls at a rate of one very 48.8 at bats off southpaws versus once per 73.2 at bats against righties.
8. MSU has collected 14 pinch hits in 40 tries this season for a .350 average, while the opposition has a mere three pinch hits in 45 games and is batting .125 in those situations.
9. Keith Guttin is now 14 wins shy of the 1,000 mark in his 29th season at Missouri State.
The Opponent
Bradley is 22-23 overall and 4-11 in MVC games. The Braves jumped out to an 18-8 start this season but are 4-15 since April 6.
Bradley hits .272 as a team with Mike Tauchman (.338) and Jason Leblebijian (.337) leading the way. Jarrod Eigsti paces the club in RBIs with 28, while Rob Elliott has 27 steals. BU has 86 steals as a team compared to 31 for the opposition.
Bradley pitchers have a 4.86 ERA and .284 opponent average. LHP Joe Bircher (6-4, 2.41), LHP Tory Doerr (2-2, 4.01) and RHP John Nasshan (3-5. 4.90) make up the weekend rotation.
The Braves field .957 with 74 errors in 45 games.
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 986-625 (.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 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 took two of three last week at Illinois State in a series marked by mistakes and missed opportunities on both sides.
Friday, the Bears broke open a 2-2 game in the sixth with an 8-0 run on the way to a 10-3 victory.
Saturday, Missouri State got a two-run double in the sixth from Brent Seifert and another in the seventh from Kevin Medrano to pull away for a 6-3 win.
Sunday, ISU grabbed a 4-0 lead without needing a hit and then scored the game's final four runs after the Bears pulled to 4-3 in the fifth for an 8-3 win.
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.
• Missouri State has struck out 273 times in its first 45 games, or 6.18 per nine innings, a 30.6 percent decrease from its 2010 rate.
• Juniors Travis McComack and Kevin Medrano have started 120 games together on the middle infield in their careers and rank 10th (88) and 11th (83), respectively, in career double plays turned. The duo has worked together for 55 of those double plays.
• Missouri State is holding opponents to a .242 batting average with runners in scoring position.
Streaky Pitchers
Missouri State pitchers have put together several notable streaks this season. The Bears went 29.2 innings from March 15-19 without allowing an earned run; 14 innings from Feb. 26 to Mar. 1 without issuing a walk; 50.2 innings from April 16-27 without allowing a home run; and 74 innings from April 16-30 without hitting a batter.
The Bears also bring a 49.1-inning streak of not allowing a home run at Hammons Field into the Bradley series. The last opponent to go yard against the Bears at home did so April 10.
Home Sweet Home
Missouri State is 14-5 at home this season and 125-73 all-time at Hammons Field.
The Bears are hitting .323 as a team in their home park and fielding .966, while the pitching staff has a 3.16 ERA and limits opponents to a .250 batting average.
Strength of Schedule
Missouri State opponents are now 658-561 (.540) for games played through May 11.
Bears Live
Bears Live, Missouri State's premium broadband video channel that is your online destination for exclusive live and on-demand Missouri State streaming video and audio brought straight to your computer, will broadcast nine home games this season on a subscription basis at www.MissouriStateBears.com. The remaining 2011 schedule includes May 15 at 1 p.m. vs. Bradley and May 17 at 5 p.m. vs. Oklahoma State.
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.
Kevin Medrano won May 9 after hitting .438 with six RBIs and six steals in four games. He had one game-winning RBI and was perfect in 12 chances in the field.
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.
