March 23, 2015 Missouri State Game Notes 
- Missouri State leads the series with Kansas by a 27-24 margin thanks to six consecutive wins over the Jayhawks since 2011; the Bears are 16-10 at home vs. KU, including a 5-3 mark at Hammons Field?
- The Bears have claimed 15 wins in 27 games against Big 12 foes over the last five seasons, including seven home victories over the same span
- Over the course of its six-game win streak vs. Kansas, MSU has battered Jayhawk pitching to the tune of a .321 hitting, while averaging 6.2 runs per outing; the Bears pitching staff has held its own as well, logging a 3.21 staff ERA
- MSU claimed its eighth MVC-opening series win in the last 10 years over the weekend by taking two of three games from Indiana State
- Jon Harris returned from a two-week layoff with a complete-game three-hitter of Indiana State Sunday, striking out nine Sycamores to help lock up the series win for MSU; Harris leads the MVC with a 1.65 ERA and ranks fourth in the circuit with 40 strikeouts
- Cory Kay went 6-for-10 with three straight two-hit games vs. Indiana State after entering the series with a total of three hits in 46 career games with the Bears
- Matt Dezort also logged a pair of career-best performances over the weekend, clipping the Sycamores for a three-hit night Friday and a 2-for-3 day Saturday
- Joey Hawkins leads Division I baseball with 12 sacrifice hits this season and his 45 career SACs lead all active NCAA players; Hawkins also paces MSU with nine multi-hit performances in 2015
- The Bears have homered in three consecutive games for the first time since March 29-April 2, 2014, when they clubbed a total of seven long balls over a four-game stretch; nine different Bears have homered in 2015, including four players who have hit at least two round-trippers
With wins in four of their last five contests, the Missouri State Bears will look to keep their hot steak alive Tuesday (March 24) evening when they host the Kansas Jayhawks in a 6:35 p.m. non-conference match-up at Hammons Field.
The Bears have taken three of their first four contests on their current five-game homestand, including a Missouri Valley Conference-opening series win over Indiana State this past weekend. KU, meanwhile, dropped two of its three non-conference games with Iowa in Lawrence over the weekend.
Up next, the Bears travel to Florida for a three-game weekend series against Jacksonville University. MSU will play at 5:30 p.m. (Central) Friday (March 27) to open the series, and again Saturday (1 p.m.) and Sunday (2 p.m.).
Missouri State brings a 27-24 edge in the series, as well as a six-game win streak vs. the Jayhawks, into Tuesday's game. The Bears are 16-10 vs. KU in Springfield, including wins in each of their last three meetings at Hammons Field.
MSU claimed both ends of the two clubs' home-and-home series last spring, taking a 6-5 victory in Lawrence (April 23), before notching a 5-3 decision in Springfield (May 7). The Bears have brought the bats throughout their current win streak in the series, posting a .321 batting average as a team. Each of the last four games in the series have been decided by three runs or less, including a pair of one-run victories for the Bears.
Bears Set to 'Rally for Allie' Tuesday Night
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The Bears will host `Rally for Allie Night' Tuesday to support MSU softball player Allie Alvstad's journey in her recovery from leukemia. The MSU softball team will be in attendance to sell orange wristbands and t-shirts, while the baseball Bears will wear orange sweatbands and shoelaces to support the cause.
Super Subs Come Through for MSU
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After being pressed into duty thanks to an injury to Justin Paulsen and three consecutive matchups against left-handed pitchers, the right-handed hitting duo of Matt Dezort and Cory Kay made their presence known in the Bears' MVC series win over Indiana State. After combining for just five hits over MSU's first 17 games of the season, Dezort and Kay tallied 12 of the Bears' 24 hits in the series. Kay logged three-straight two-hit games after recording just three total hits in his previous 46 games as a Bear, and Dezort registered a career-best three hits in MSU's 4-1 win in the series opener, as well as a two-hit effort in game two.
Tate Matheny snapped out of a recent offensive dry spell by hitting .333 with a home run and six runs batted-in to help the Bears win three of their four contests last week, including an MVC-opening series win against Indiana State. The junior outfielder drove in at least one run in all four outings--including a pair of two-RBI efforts--and recorded two multi-hit performances as well. Matheny drove in the tying or go-ahead run in all three MSU victories and brought the Bears back from a 2-0 deficit with a two-run homer in their lone setback of the week Saturday.
