Oct. 20, 2015
Full Schedule | Printable Version
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Missouri State head coach Holly Hesse announced the schedule for her program's 2016 season today (Oct. 20). On the slate are eight games against teams that participated in the 2015 NCAA Tournament and 17 games at beautiful Killian Stadium here in Springfield.
"I like the balance that we have in terms of seeing some NCAA participants early on to give us a gauge of where we are at," said head coach Holly Hesse. "I also like to see some new teams and some teams that we can compete with."
MSU's 48th season of competition begins against one of those NCAA Tournament participants as the Bears battle Texas Southern to open the Maverick Invitational in Arlington, Texas on February 12.
After five games in the Lone Star State, the Bears travel to Bowling Green, Kentucky, for another five-game tournament. MSU will play host and NCAA Tournament squad Western Kentucky twice while at the Holiday Inn Hilltopper Classic.
Missouri State will trek to Troy, Alabama, for five games and then head to St. Louis for the annual Breast Cancer Awareness tournament before the home opener. The Bears host NCAA Tournament participant Central Arkansas at 3:00 p.m. on March 8 in the first game of the year at Killian Stadium.
The Bears will head out on a seven-game swing to the west beginning with a stop in Fayetteville, Ark., for a single game against the Razorbacks the next day. MSU will play five games in Lawrence, Kan., including opening the weekend against host and NCAA Tourney team Kansas on the road trip. A midweek stop at Oklahoma State will be the last leg before opening MVC play.
"I like that we have that tough competition right prior to conference play," continued Hesse. "All of those teams will certainly help us raise our level of play which we will need to do by the start of conference play."
Missouri State hosts Illinois State (March 19-20) and Bradley (March 25-26) as the conference season gets underway with the longest home stand of the year.
As the calendar turns to April, the Bears will alternate road and home series with an away weekend at Loyola followed by a home stand featuring Southern Illinois (April 9-10) and Tulsa (April 13). MSU travels to Drake before hosting the midweek doubleheader against Wichita State on April 20.
The Bears hit the road again with trips to Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Evansville to end April, only interrupted by a single home game versus SIU Edwardsville on April 27.
MSU faces Indiana State in the final home stand of the season on May 7 and 8 to close out the regular season. The MVC Softball Championship will be held in Carbondale, Ill., May 12-14 after the conclusion of the regular season.
Missouri State returns seven starters and 13 letterwinners from the 2015 team that reached the finals of the MVC Tournament, coming one win away from playing in the NCAA Tournament.
#MSUBears
