April 10, 2012
Missouri State Game Notes 
Kansas State Game Notes
Missouri State Bears (24-10) vs. Kansas State Wildcats (17-14)
Dates/Times: Wednesday, April 11 (6:05 p.m.)
Location: Springfield, Mo.
Site: Hammons Field (8,000)
TV: Mediacom MC-22 (Don West, Mike McClure)
Radio: KBFL 1060 AM (Art Hains, Terry Clayton)
Live Audio and Video: Bears All-Access
Live Stats: MissouriStateBears.com
Leading Off
After dropping two of three Missouri Valley Conference games to Bradley over the weekend the Missouri State Bears (24-10) return to Hammons Field to kick off a five-game homestand against the Kansas State Wildcats (17-14) Wednesday (April 11) evening at 6:05 p.m.
The Bears, who will also host Illinois State in a three-game MVC set this weekend and Saint Louis in a midweek game next Tuesday, will attempt to continue a recent stretch of success against the membership of the Big 12 Conference. Missouri State has won its last four meetings with Big 12 foes and has gone 10-3 against the league over the last two seasons. K-State will be looking to exend a three-game win streak after sweeping a non-conference series from Sacred Heart over the weekend.
Prime 9
? The Bears are currently ranked 41st in the NCAA's RPI ratings released Tuesday
? Missouri State is riding a four-game win streak vs. Big 12 Conference schools and has a 10-3 record against the league over the last two seasons
? K-State leads the series with the Bears, 11-9, including a 10-4 victory last April in Manhattan
? The Bears have won eight straight home games and are 11-2 overall at Hammons Field in 2012
? MSU paces the MVC in total strikeouts, with four Bears ranking among the league's individual leaders, and ranks fifth nationally in strikeouts per nine innings
? Junior OF Keenen Maddox is hitting .467 (14-for-30) over the course of a career-best eight-game hit streak
? Senior 2B Kevin Medrano moved into a tie with Brayden Drake for fifth place on the Bears' career hits list Sunday at Bradley and needs 11 more to catch Dant'e Brinkley in the fourth position
? Senior OF Spiker Helms's 16 doubles lead the Valley and rank sixth in all of NCAA Division I baseball; Helms is hitting .531 (17-for-32) with runners in scoring position this season
? Junior RHP Cody Schumacher became the fourth different MSU pitcher this season to post a streak of at least 10 consecutive scoreless innings (11.2) over two starts last week
Kansas State Series
The Wildcats hold an 11-9 edge in the series, which dates back to 1984. Wednesday's game will be the first in the series at Hammons Field, with KSU's last visit to Springfield coming in 1992.
K-State has gotten the better of the Bears in recent years with wins in seven of the last nine games in the series. Last year, the Wildcats erased a 2-1 deficit by scoring eight unanswered runs to claim a 10-4 victory at Tointon Stadium in Manhattan. Ross Kivett led the way by going 4-for-5 with three RBIs.
About the Bears
Following a disappointing end to an otherwise memorable bounceback 2011 season, Missouri State entered the new year as the preseason choice to capture the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title for the fourth time in the last 12 seasons under 30th-year head coach Keith Guttin.
After a rough start to opening weekend in Lubbock, Texas, the Bears rebounded to win 20 of their next 24 games to post their best start to a season in a decade. Junior outfielder Keenen Maddox brings a career-best eight-game hit streak and a team-high .352 batting mark into Wednesday's game. Last week, Maddox hit .526 with a pair of homers and six runs batted in. Senior outfielder Spiker Helms (.311, 4-HR, 27-RBI) ranks among the MVC's top 10 performers in a number of different offensive categories, including a league-leading 16 doubles. Fellow senior Brock Chaffin (.301, 28-RBI) has 11 multi-hit games and at least one RBI in 19 contests, while junior catcher Luke Voit (.307, 4-HR, 28-RBI) has a team-high five game-winning RBIs and is hitting a club-best .370 at home this season. Senior second baseman Kevin Medrano (.307, 12-2B, 6-SB) has been hot at the plate lately after a sluggish start to move into the school's top five for career hits. Senior third baseman Brent Seifert (.290, 5-HR, 29-RBI) leads the club in homers and RBIs and has reached base safely in 32 of the Bears' 34 games. Finally, sophomore outfielder Trey Massenberg (.286, 2-HR, 13-RBI, 5-3B) has blossomed in his second season as a Bear. He has an MVC-leading five triples and has scored 11 times over MSU's last 11 contests.
The Bears' top three starting pitchers have been strong through the first eight weeks of the season, combining to strike out 179 batters through 167.1 innings of work. Nick Petree (6-2, 0.92), who went 9-2 with a 2.81 ERA to garner Freshman All-America honors last spring, won six-straight decisions before dropping a 2-1 game last Friday at Bradley and leads the MVC in both wins and ERA. Junior right-hander Pierce Johnson (2-3, 2.01) has been dominant over his first seven starts of the season, bringing the nation's third-highest strikeout total into the week. However, forearm tightness plagued Johnson in his last start at Dallas Baptist and forced him to skip his normal Friday start last week. Junior righty Clay Murphy (5-1, 1.37, 1 save) permitted just two earned runs over his first 25.1 innings this year and defeated Oklahoma State for the second time in seven days March 6. Murphy ranks second in the MVC in both innings pitched (59.0) and ERA and fourth in strikeouts (55). Finally, the Bears' bullpen has been nearly as dominant, fashioning a string of 18 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings over nine outings (March 13-25), and a 0.53 ERA over a 17-game span (Feb. 29-March 25). Freshman lefty Tyler Burgess (3-0, 1.59, 6 saves) has been sensational in his MSU debut to lead the group, notching a victory or a save in each of his first seven appearances as a Bear without allowing an earned run.
About the Wildcats
Kansas State rides a three-game win streak into town following its three-game sweep of Sacred Heart over the weekend. The Wildcats, who return 19 letterwinners and seven regular starters from last year's NCAA regional qualifying club, bring a 17-14 mark into the week with three wins over ranked opponents to their credit. Under ninth-year head coach Brad Hill, KSU has gotten the job done on offense for the most part, hitting .295 as a club with 74 steals on the year to rank sixth in all of Division I. Sophomore outfielder Jared King (.388, 3-HR, 19-RBI, 12-SB) leads the club in hitting, while senior infielder Wade Hinkel (.349, 6-HR, 31-RBI) represents KSU's top power threat. The duo of junior Tanner Witt (.360, 15-SB) and sophomore Ross Kivett (.273, 16-SB) have combined to score 55 runs and give the Wildcats a potent one-two punch on the basepaths. K-State has been solid on defense as well, posting a .982 team fielding percentage through their first 31 games to rate fourth in the nation.
The Wildcats have gotten solid mound efforts from top two starters Kayvon Bahramzadeh (4-1, 4.19) and Joe Flattery (4-2, 4.23), but bring a 5.10 team ERA into the week. Wednesday's starter, sophomore left-hander Jared Moore (2-2, 6.33), has picked up a pair of victories and has a 5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the year. The bullpen has received a boost from freshman righty Nate Williams (0-2, 2.89), who has four of the team's seven saves on the year. Sophomore right-hander Johnny Fasola (0-0, 3.48) and freshman right-hander Matt Wivinis (1-1, 4.70) have also given KSU some quality relief work, combining to fan 34 hitters over 33.1 innings.
Bears Honor Guttin
Missouri State will honor head coach Keith Guttin prior to Wednesday's game after the Bears' 30th-year mentor became the 46th Division I baseball coach and the third Valley bench boss to reach the 1,000 career-win mark with MSU's 3-2 victory over Northwestern State on March 3.
Guttin, who entered the season 15th among active Division I head coaches in career victories, became the first coach at Missouri State in any sport to reach the milestone and the 20th Division I baseball coach to accomplish the feat while guiding just one school. During his tenure, 114 Bears have signed professional contracts, including 12 Major Leaguers. Additionally, MSU has made seven Division I NCAA Tournament appearances--six in the last 17 years. 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.
Jekyll and Hyde
The Bears' offense posted a pair of breakout offensive performances last week, striking for matching season-best totals of 12 runs and 16 hits in wins over Arkansas State and Bradley. MSU also outscored the Braves by a 16-7 margin in the two clubs' three-game series over the weekend, yet dropped a pair of one-run decisions thanks in part to its hot-and-cold offense. The Bears struck out 12 times and scored just once in Friday's opener, before notching a pair of six-run frames in a 12-2 win on Saturday. Sunday's finale saw the Bears struggle for offensive consistency again in a 4-3 setback in which they tallied all three of their runs in the seventh inning. For the weekend, MSU put runs on the board in just four of the 26 innings played in the series.
Medrano Continues Climb
Senior second baseman Kevin Medrano's two-run single in the seventh inning Sunday at Bradley not only handed the Bears a 3-2 lead, but put the Lee's Summit, Mo., native among the all-time hit leaders at Missouri State. Medrano's 268th hit as a Bear moved him into a tie with Brayden Drake for fifth on the MSU career hits list. On Saturday, Medrano also broke into the school's top 10 for career doubles by matching the MSU single-game record of three two-base hits for the second time this season. His 47 doubles puts him ninth on that list, just seven short of reaching the top five.
Medrano already sits atop the Bears' all-time sacrifice hits list with 25 after moving past Brooks Colvin for the career lead with a pair of sac bunts at the UTA Invitational. He also rates among MSU's top 10 in singles (3rd), fielding assists (4th) double plays turned (7th) and at-bats (8th).
Medrano has steadily improved his batting average over the last two weeks after hitting just .247 over his first 18 games of the season. Over an 11-game stretch, March 23-April 7, he has hit .422 (19-of-45) to raise his average 64 points to a season-high .311.
Mad Dog Bites
Junior outfielder/DH Keenen Maddox turned in perhaps his best week as a Bear, hitting .526 with a pair of home runs, eight runs scored and six more driven in. Maddox is currently riding a career-long eight-game hit streak, over which he has hit .467 (14-for-30) with 10 runs scored and eight runs batted-in. Over his last 16 games dating back to March 3, Maddox leads the Bears with a .389 average and a .574 slugging percentage.
