Feb. 21, 2013
Frost Classic Notes
The Missouri State softball team heads to the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn., this weekend, for the third-straight road tournament to open the season. The Bears return to the Frost Classic for the second time, where they went 2-0 in 2009 with wins over Valparaiso and Tennessee Tech. MSU opens the tournament against the second ACC opponent of the year in Boston College.
The Missouri State offense has put on a show to open the season. MSU leads the Valley with 56 runs scored over the first 10 games. Senior
Kirstin Cutter is tied atop the league with 11 runs scored. The Bears have seven players hitting better than .300 and the team has blasted a league-leading eight home runs.
Fellow senior Stevie Pierce is best in the league with four home runs, 11 runs batted in and a .889 slugging percentage.
The Bears' pitching is coming around as well. Sophomore hurler Chelsea Jones has gone 4-0 in her last four starts and has appeared in nine of the Bears' 10 games this season.
QUICK HITS
- Senior first baseman Stevie Pierce hit her league-leading fourth home run of the season against Iowa State (Feb. 16), setting a career best for a season.
- Sophomore Rebecca McPherson broke a season-opening slump in a big way, by crushing a three-run home run against UTSA on Sunday.
- Led by junior Heather Duckworth's 3-for-3 performance, MSU racked up 13 hits in a win over Iowa State, the most since a 14-hit outing against Indiana State on May 2, 2010.
- Missouri State plated six runs in the top of the first against Iowa State, the highest single-inning run output since a six-run fourth inning at Evansville last March 24.
- Freshman Mary Stephens has burst onto the scene in the first two weekends of her career. She leads the team in multi-hit games with four, two of which came on her birthday last Friday (Feb. 15).
- Sophomore hurler Chelsea Jones is 4-0 in her last four starts dating back to February 10.
FOLLOWING THE BEARS
Video: Chattanooga will video stream all games played at Frost Stadium, including three of Missouri State's games. For links, visit the softball schedule page.
Audio: None
Live Stats: Live stats will be provided by the host school, Chattanooga, for games at Frost Stadium. The other games should be available via GameTracker. Fans can follow along by clicking the Live Stats or GameTracker link on the softball schedule page at MissouriStateBears.com.
Social Media: In-game updates on Missouri State softball can be found via Twitter (@MSUSoftball).
ACROSS THE DIAMOND
Boston College Eagles: Boston College will kick off its 2013 campaign this weekend in Chattanooga. The Eagles are picked to finish last in the ACC this season after a 23-30 (3-18 in the ACC) record in 2012. BC returns just two seniors, Nicole D'Argento and Maria Pandolfo. D'Argento is the all-around leader for the Eagles and was an All-ACC first team selection in 2012 after leading the team at the plate by hitting .338 and driving in 31 runs, and in the circle with 10 wins and 114 strikeouts. BC returns only one other hitter, sophomore Andrea Filler, that hit better than .300 last season. The Bears and Eagles have only played on one other occasion, a 1-0 MSU win to open the season in 2009.
Lipscomb Lady Bisons: Lipscomb began the 2013 season, 3-0, but have dropped five straight entering this weekend. The Lady Bisons are led by freshman Mickey Bell (.318) and junior Haley Elliott (.313), the only LU hitters with a better than .300 average. Junior pitcher Heather Parker is off to a 1-2 start, but has a 1.75 ERA and a 23-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The only previous meeting with Lipscomb came in 2003, a 4-1 MSU win.
Toledo Rockets: The Rockets will also look to begin their 2013 season this weekend after backing out of the FAU Kick-Off Classic last weekend due to travel complications. Toledo is picked to finish last in the MAC West this year after an improved 18-38 campaign in 2012. The 18 wins in 2012 were more than the previous three seasons combined. Senior Lindsey Tobias is the leading returner at the plate with a .344 average last season. The Rockets return just one hurler from last year's team, sophomore Alli Beery. Beery was 5-12 with a hefty 6.71 ERA as a freshman. The Bears and Rockets haven't played each other in more than a quarter century and Toledo took two of three games played in the mid-1980's.
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles: Tennessee Tech is off to a mediocre 4-4 start, having played all eight of its games in the state of Georgia to open the season. The Golden Eagles have four players hitting .400 or better, led by freshman Madison Taylor's .529 average. In the circle, TTU is paced by sophomore Taylor Ketchum. She earned OVC Pitcher of the Week after a 2-0 start and a one-hit performance against Akron. Ketchum is 3-1 on the season with a 1.22 ERA in 23 innings pitched. In the only previous meeting, Missouri State prevailed with a 4-0 nine-inning win in 2009.
Chattanooga Lady Mocs: Chattanooga enters the weekend on a three-game winning streak, including a 9-2 schellacking of Indiana State, after a 1-5 start to the season. The Lady Mocs don't have much power as just 12 of their 77 hits have gone for extra-bases, however, UTC has five regulars hitting better than .300. Senior Kasey Tydingco leads Chattanooga with a .481 average through nine games and is tied for the team-lead with six RBI. The Lady Mocs have sent four hurlers to the circle this season with sophomore Taylor Deason picking up three of the four UTC wins. Sunday's game will mark the first meeting between the programs on a softball field.
600 AND COUNTING
Head Coach Holly Hesse won her 600th game at the helm of the softball Bears to open the 2012 season, a 7-2 win against Sam Houston State (February 17). With an overall record of 628-615-2, Hesse is fourth-winningest coach in MVC history, trailing just Melinda Fischer (887 wins), Kay Brechtelsbauer (633) and Meredith Bakley (630).
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Missouri State senior Stevie Pierce was honored by the league as Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week on February 11. She leads all conference players with four home runs, 11 runs batted in and a .889 slugging percentage this season. Incredibly, six of her RBI have come with two outs. She also has four multi-RBI games on the season, tops on the squad.
The accolade has been scarce for MSU players as the last MVC Player of the Week honor came in 2009 when Jessie Smith won the award on March 30.
POWER-BALL
The Bears have had plenty of pop in their bats to begin the season, smashing a league-leading eight home runs. Senior Caitlin Chapin hit two long balls, one against Georgia Tech (Feb. 9) and the other against Butler (Feb. 10), giving her 16 big flies for her career, tied for fifth in program history.
Fellow senior Stevie Pierce one-upped Chapin by crushing four no-doubters this season, a new career high for a season. Freshman Mary Stephens got in on the party, with a birthday bash, two-run shot against Boise State (Feb. 15). Rebecca McPherson also made a big impact with her first dinger of the season, a three-run homer against UTSA (Feb. 17), snapping a season-opening slump.
BIG BANG THEORY
The Missouri State offense got off to one of the best starts in school history. The Bears lead all Valley schools with 56 runs scored in 2013. The 21 runs MSU scored in the first three games, tied for the sixth-highest run output to begin a season since 1975.
The Bears had to earn their runs, as well, as the team led the Valley with 50 runs batted in over the first two weekends. Pierce tops the league with 11 RBI. She drove in at least one run in seven of the first eight games of the year.
Not to be outdone, Chapin had an RBI in each of the first six games of the season. It marks her career high for consecutive games with an RBI, besting a feat she attained from March 26 through April 2, 2010 of five consecutive games with an RBI.
GETTING THAT FIRST HIT OUT OF THE WAY
Some MSU hitters got their first base knocks over the opening weekend. Junior Ciara Flau had a big first game of the season, picking up two hits against Kennesaw State (Feb. 8), the first base hits of her career. One of her hits was a bases loaded single that drove in her first run.
Sophomore Ali Trickey also singled against Kennesaw State on opening day. She scored twice in that game as well, a career high.
It didn't take long for freshman Mary Stephens to get comfortable with collegiate softball. She laced a two-run single down the third base line in her first game against Coastal Carolina on Friday, February 8. She followed that up with her first two-hit performance against the Chanticleers on Saturday, February 9, including a double, her first extra-base hit. Then for Stephens' encore, she blasted her first career home run, a two-run shot, against Boise State on February 15.
FREE BASES
Missouri State's three leading walkers last season are back at it again in 2013. Junior Ashley Brentz and seniors Lauren Eisenreich and Stevie Pierce are atop the team charts with six, five and five walks, respectively. The Bears have 32 walks already this season, just two shy of the league leaders.
Last season, Brentz and Pierce tied with 29 walks while Eisenreich drew 21 free passes in 2012.
STEALTHY ON THE BASES
Missouri State have 19 stolen bases this season, third-best in the league. The Bears had two swipes of home to score runs on opening weekend. Kirstin Cutter is a perfect 4-for-4 in steal attempts.
The base running has been stellar for MSU as well. Twice on opening weekend, Bears' runners eluded the tag at the plate to score on bang-bang plays.
CAREER DAY 2013
Some of the Missouri State players have chalked up career best performances already this season.
Junior Stacia Boeckstiegel brought her A-game against ACC opponent Georgia Tech (Feb. 9). She pelted the left side of the field with her first multi-hit game, going 3-for-3 with two singles and a double, all to the left side.
Fellow junior Heather Duckworth drove in three runs against the Yellow Jackets. It was her third career three-RBI game as she accomplished that feat twice last season (April 3 at UMKC; April 6 vs. Bradley). Duckworth continued her impressive plate performance with a three-hit outing against Iowa State (Feb. 16) and scored three runs versus UTSA (Feb.17), both career-bests.
In the circle, sophomore pitcher Chelsea Jones fanned six Chanticleers in the season opener (Feb. 8), besting her five-strikeout performance from last season at Eastern Illinois (March 22).
Ali Trickey crossed the plate twice against Kennesaw State on Friday, February 8. She had 11 runs scored in her freshman campaign, but the game against KSU was her first multi-run game.
Junior Kerri Cunningham had a break-out weekend at the UTSA Classic. She had a career-best two stolen bases against Boise State (Feb. 15). She also had her first career multi-RBI games, accomplishing the feat against Iowa State (Feb. 16) and UTSA (Feb. 17).
Rebecca McPherson's home run against UTSA (Feb. 17) not only ended a season-opening slump, but the three-run shot was a career best RBI performance.
FEISTY FOES
The Bears played three games against 2012 NCAA Tournament teams on opening weekend. Despite going 0-3, Missouri State scored 15 runs in those three games.
MSU will play seven more games against teams that participated in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. MSU will play Missouri twice this season, once at the Missouri Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament and again at Killian Stadium on April 3. Missouri State will be on the road to face the other NCAA Tournament teams at Arkansas, Tulsa and Illinois State (3 games).
This weekend, the Bears will face their second ACC opponent of the year (Boston College).
MVC PRESEASON POLL
The Bears were picked to finish sixth in the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference coaches' preseason poll. Defending tournament champion Illinois State and Southern Illinois are favored with defending regular season champs, UNI, slotted third. Creighton and Drake were also selected ahead of the Bears.
ON DECK
Head coach Holly Hesse has commitments from six players to join the 2014 squad. Joining the Bears for the 2013-14 academic year are Allie Alvstad (Tulsa, Okla.), Elena Gambill (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Madison Jones (Overland Park, Kan.), Olivia Roark (Ottumwa, Iowa), Sheridon Sprague (Ballwin, Mo.) and Erin Struemph (Meta, Mo.).
