Feb. 7, 2013

Georgia Tech-Kennesaw State Invitational Notes

The Missouri State softball team gets the 45th season in program history underway at the Georgia Tech-Kennesaw State Invitational in Atlanta, Ga. This also marks the beginning of head coach Holly Hesse's 25th year at the helm of the program. She is the winningest coach in MSU softball history and her 624 victories rank fourth all-time in MVC history.

Three of the first five games the Bears are scheduled to play will be against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament in 2012. MSU has faced Coastal Carolina just once prior, defeating the Chanticleers 3-1 in 2000. The Bears have never played Kennesaw State and fell to Georga Tech in the only previous matchup. The Bears took down Butler in 2009 in the only previous meeting between the schools.

Offensively, the Bears are led by returning All-MVC first teamer Ashley Brentz. She paced the Bears with a .304 batting average, 24 runs scored, 45 hits, 11 multi-hit games and 29 bases on balls. She became just the third second baseman in program history to be selected to the all-conference first team. Brentz was also named to the 2013 Preseason All-MVC team.

Senior shortstop Kirstin Cutter also picked up preseason all-conference honors this year, giving the Bears the most highly-touted middle infield in the league. Cutter has been the primary leadoff hitter for Missouri State and has led the team in steals in of the last two seasons.

Sophomore Chelsea Jones steps into the role of staff ace following the graduation of Natalie Rose. Jones gained valuable experience a year ago. She led the league in fewest walks allowed and helps her own cause with a solid bat at the plate.

QUICK HITS
- Bears middle infielders Kirstin Cutter (SS) and Ashley Brentz (2B) were selected to the MVC Preseason All-Conference team.
- Sophomore hurler Chelsea Jones led the MVC with the fewest walks allowed (24) last season.
- Senior Caitlin Chapin has led the Bears in home runs in two of her three seasons at MSU. Her 14 career long balls is just shy of the top-5 in Missouri State history.
- Senior Lauren Eisenreich set career bests with two home runs, three runs scored and five RBI in game two at Creighton on May 5, 2012.
- Junior Heather Duckworth had a team-leading 11 doubles last season. That total tied for sixth in the league.
- Ashley Brentz and senior first baseman Stevie Pierce drew 29 walks apiece last season, tied for the fourth highest single season total in school history.

FOLLOWING THE BEARS
Video: Visit the softball schedule page at MissouriStateBears.com for direct links to live video.
Audio: Georgia Tech is planning to have free internet audio available for the Missouri State game. Check the softball schedule page for link.
Live Stats: Live stats will be provided by the host schools Kennesaw State and Georgia Tech. Fans can follow along by clicking the Live Stats or GameTracker link on the softball schedule page at MissouriStateBears.com.

ACROSS THE DIAMOND
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers: The Bears will face the Chanticleers twice in the first four games of 2013. CCU won the Big South Conference Tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament in 2012. In the process, the Chants racked up a school-record tying 44 victories and are favored to win the Big South this season. Sophomore third baseman Kory Hayden led the conference in six offensive categories en route to co-Freshman of the Year honors. Haydne provides some big pop amassing 15 home runs, second-most in school history last year. In the circle, another sophomore, Kiana Quoles, returns after leading the conference in wins (24) and ERA (1.84) in 2012.
Kennesaw State Owls: Missouri State will face Kennesaw State for the first time in program history on Opening Day. The Owls were picked second in the Atlantic Sun this year and landed two players on the preseason all-conference team. Senior Sharon Swanson is the leading returner after blasting 15 home runs in 2012. KSU has a pair of talented upperclass hurlers in Amanda Henderson and Abbey Mixon. The two combined for 25 of the Owls' 33 wins last season.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: The Yellow Jackets won the ACC Tournament in 2012 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. GT has won the ACC Tournament in three of the last four seasons. They have senior ace Hope Rush pacing the team. She is the team's leading returner on offense and in the circle. She hit .309 with 11 home runs and won 26 games while leading the GT staff with a 2.58 ERA.
Butler Bulldogs: Butler makes the move from the Horizon League to the Atlantic 10 Conference this year where the softball team in picked seventh. In the circle, the Bulldogs are hoping for a return to form from pitcher Jenny Esparza, who won a team record 18 games in 2010 and 2011. Butler also returns their top three hitters in Meaghan Sullivan (.345), Kristen Boros (.324) and Megan Gray (.319).

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 624-609-2, Hesse is fourth-winningest coach in MVC history, trailing just Melinda Fischer (882 wins), Kay Brechtelsbauer (633) and Meredith Bakley (630).

THROWING STRIKES
Sophomore pitcher Chelsea Jones led the Missouri Valley Conference in fewest walks allowed with just 24 free passes. Combined with Natalie Rose's 35 walks, the pair combined to lead Missouri State in fewest walks given up by any team in the league last year.

This year, the Bears add junior college transfer Rachel Brisker, who led the nation in strikeouts per game for Muscatine Community College in Iowa. Also, freshman Jessie Van Es joins the Bears' pitching staff after pitching Pottsville High to the Arkansas State Championship game in her senior season.

20-20 VISION
Missouri State returns all but eight of the walks drawn last season, including leaders Ashely Brentz and Stevie Pierce. Brentz and Pierce each drew 29 free passes in 2012, a total that tied for the fourth-highest single season total in program history. Pierce had three consecutive multi-walk games from March 31 through April 3, the only player in the past four seasons to accomplish the feat. She also had a team season-high four walks in the second game at Creighton on May 5.

STEALTHY ON THE BASES
Missouri State senior Kirstin Cutter has led the Bears in stolen bases each of the last two seasons. Last season, she swiped 13 and in 2011 she stole 15 bags.

The Bears have been stealthy on the base paths as well with three players having a perfect success rate a season ago. Lauren Eisenreich went 6-for-6, Rebecca McPherson was 5-for-5 and Stevie Pierce was successful on both steal attempts.

BIG BANG THEORY
The Missouri State offense had a few offensive outbursts in 2012. On Thursday, March 22 at Eastern Illinois, the Bears tied a season-high with 11 hits and scored five runs in the sixth inning, the highest single inning total of the season. Then on Saturday, March 24 at Evansville, Missouri State continued to sizzle with a six-run fourth inning that led to an 11-run outing, the highest run total since a 14-10 win at Evansville in 2010.

The final weekend of the season also saw an offensive explosion. The Bears put up five runs in the first inning and five more in the seventh in a 13-11 come-from-behind win at Creighton. Aside from racking up 11 hits in the game, Missouri State hitters amassed 11 walks, the most since drawing 13 free passes against Bradley on May 9, 2004.

POWER-BALL
After launching the second-highest MSU single season total of eight home runs in 2010, senior Caitlin Chapin found her power stroke again in 2012. On Saturday, March 24, Chapin blasted a home run in each game of the doubleheader at Evansville to give her a team-leading four dingers this season. Her 14 career homers is just two shy of fifth in school history.

Omaha was also a great source of power for the Bears. After a 1-0 win in the first game, MSU slammed a pair of home runs in each of the last two games of the series. Lauren Eisenreich blasted a pair of home runs on May 5, the first two-homer game by a Bear since Jessie Smith hit a pair of dingers on February 27, 2009, vs. Valparaiso.

CAREER DAY 2012
Several Missouri State players had career days last season.

Ashley Brentz had her first career four-hit game on opening day (February 17) against Sam Houston State and stole her first base. It was the first four-hit performance by a Bear since another second baseman, Christa Gammon, had four hits in game one of a doubleheader against UNI on May 8, 2010. On March 24, Brentz scored three times in MSU's 11-2 six inning win at Evansville. The three runs scored was a career-best for the second baseman.

At the Blues City Classic in Memphis, Tenn., Brentz and Kirstin Cutter each recorded their first multi-RBI games of their careers. Both feats occurred on Saturday (February 25) as Cutter drove in both runs in the Bears' 2-1 win over Miami (OH). In the nightcap, Brentz drove in two of the four runs in MSU's 4-1 win over SEMO.

On Sunday, February 19, Caitlin Chapin had two stolen bases and Heather Duckworth scored two runs, both career highs. Duckworth had another career day at UMKC on April 3. She drove in three runs in a 4-2 Bears' win. Two of the RBI came in the top of the seventh inning, plating the winning run. She followed that up with another three RBI game against Bradley on April 6.

Lauren Eisenreich had a stellar day at Creighton on May 5. In the second game of the doubleheader, she registered her first career multi-homer game with two blasts. She also scored three runs and drove in five, both career highs. Her two-homer game was the first since Jessie Smith in 2009 and her five-RBI game, the first since Smith had five in 2008.

FEISTY FOES
The Bears will play 10 games in 2013 against teams that participated in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Three of the first four games will see the Bears face Coastal Carolina and Georgia Tech. MSU will also 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).

Additionally, the Bears will play teams from BCS conferences including the ACC (Boston College), the Big East (Rutgers) and the Big 12 (Iowa State and Kansas).

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.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Missouri State softball team will once again begin the season with three consecutive road tournaments. Last season, that sprung the team to an 8-4 start away from Killian Stadium.

MILESTONES AHEAD
The Bears are approaching several milestones this season. With the first win of the year, coach Hesse will pick up with 625. With the seventh and 10th victories of this campaign, she will vault into third and second, respectively in all-time wins by an MVC coach.

The second Bears' win of the year will be Associate Head Coach Sue Frederick's 600th win at MSU.

Caitlin Chapin is two home runs from joining the top-5 in program history. Heather Duckworth will play in her 100th career game in game four of the season.