Dates: Thu., May 19 at Creighton, 12 p.m.
Fri., May 20 at Creighton, 7 p.m.
Sat., May 21 at Creighton, 1 p.m.
Site: TD Ameritrade Park
Location: Omaha, Neb.
TV: None
Radio: KBFL 1060 AM
Live Audio: www.RadioSpringfield.com
Live Stats: www.MissouriStateBears.com
Live Video: None
The Missouri State baseball team (31-18, 11-6 Missouri Valley Conference) closes the regular season this weekend at first-place Creighton (36-13, 12-6) with a three-game set that will likely see the winner emerge as league champion. The Bears and Bluejays open play at 12 p.m. Thursday, with games at 7 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday as well at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, the home of the College World Series beginning this season. The State Farm MVC Tournament begins May 24 at TD Ameritrade Park as well.
MVC Scenarios
Missouri State's series at Creighton will likely determine the MVC regular season champion.
If either Missouri State or Creighton sweeps, that team will be the league champ.
If MSU or CU wins the series 2-1 and Wichita State sweeps at Bradley, the Shockers would win the regular season crown at 14-7, owning the tie-break over CU if the Bluejays beat MSU 2-1, and finishing one half game ahead of MSU's 13-7 record if the Bears win the series.
If WSU does not sweep Bradley, then whoever wins the CU/MSU series will be the champ.
Starting Nine
Nine things to know about the Bears against Creighton...
1. Missouri State holds a 37-35 lead in the all-time series and has won nine of the last 12 meetings. The Bears swept a Sunday doubleheader last year in Springfield after losing the series opener, and have won the last four meetings between the schools in Omaha.
2. Missouri State's offense is hitting .295 this season, moving from last to first in the MVC and jumping 208 spots to 72nd in the national rankings as of May 15, the largest improvement of any team in the country.
3. MSU's offense has hit at least .300 against 13 of the 25 teams the Bears have played this season. MSU has logged at least seven hits in 43 of 49 games and is 24-5 when scoring at least five runs.
4. The MSU pitching staff is rounding into form as the year goes on, using a 3.11 ERA over the last 23 games to improve from last in the league on April 4 to fourth today at 4.02.
5. Missouri State has come from behind in 15 of its 31 victories, while posting nearly .500 records when the opponent scores first (11-12) or when it trails at any point of a game (15-18).
6. Missouri State is 10-3 in series openers this season, batting .313 and averaging 8.1 runs per game against opposing No. 1 starters.
7. 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.
8. MSU has collected 14 pinch hits in 40 tries this season for a .350 average, while the opposition has a mere four pinch hits in 48 games and is batting .148 in those situations.
9. Keith Guttin is now 10 wins shy of the 1,000 mark in his 29th season at Missouri State.
The Opponent
Creighton is 36-13 overall and leads the MVC by a half game at 12-6 in league play.
The Bluejays bat .276 as a team, led by outfielder Trever Adams at .399 with an MVC-leading 13 home runs. Five regulars hit .285 or better, and Creighton once again sits among the national leaders with 74 sacrifice bunts.
Creighton has a 3.55 team ERA with righty Jonas Dufek (8-1, 2.32, 99 Ks) and southpaw Ty Blach (9-1, 2.53, 76 Ks) anchoring the rotation. The Jays also have four relievers with at least 27 appearances and ERAs of 3.19 or better.
Creighton ranks sixth nationally in fielding this week with a .978 percentage and 42 errors in 49 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 990-625 (.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 capped a season sweep of 22nd-ranked Oklahoma State and improved to 6-2 against Big 12 schools with a 4-3 win over the Cowboys Tuesday at Hammons Field.
Clay Murphy allowed three hits and struck out 10 in eight shutout innings, and the Bears strung together four two-out hits in the third to lead 3-0. Dan Kickham allowed three runs in the ninth, and Travis McComack lifted the game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom half.
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 292 times in its first 49 games, or 6.18 per nine innings, a 31.5 percent decrease from its 2010 rate.
• Juniors Travis McComack and Kevin Medrano have started 124 games together on the middle infield in their careers and rank 10th (89) and 11th (84), respectively, in career double plays turned. The duo has worked together for 56 of those double plays.
• Missouri State is holding opponents to a .244 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 overall and 55.2 at home from April 10-May 13; and 74 innings from April 16-30 without hitting a batter.
Home Sweet Home
Missouri State is 18-5 at home this season and 129-73 all-time at Hammons Field.
The Bears are hitting .306 as a team in their home park and fielding .966, while the pitching staff has a 3.00 ERA and limits opponents to a .246 batting average.
Strength of Schedule
Missouri State opponents are now 704-607 (.537) for games played through May 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.
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.
Dan Kickham was the MVC Pitcher of the Week May 16 after saving all three MSU wins against Bradley. Kickham allowed a run on two hits in three innings and tied Shaun Marcum's school record with his 13th save of the year in the finale.
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.
