March 4, 2015
- Missouri State is 2-3 all-time against Wright State after taking two of three games from the Raiders in May 2013 in Springfield
- The Bears are winless in the state of Georgia, having dropped all three games of their season-opening series against Georgia Tech in Atlanta to kick off the 2010 season
- March has historically been the Bears' most successful month, with an all-time mark of 493-292 (.628); MSU has won at least 10 March contests in seven of the last nine seasons
- With a career record of 1,095-709, head coach Keith Guttin is just five wins shy of becoming the 33rd NCAA Division I head coach to reach the 1,100-win plateau; he ranks 13th among all active Division I coaches
- Spencer Johnson and Dylan Becker share the MVC lead -- and rank 20th nationally -- with 11 walks, while Justin Paulsen and Tate Matheny are tied for third among all Valley players with 10 bases-on-balls
- MSU ranks first or second among Valley clubs in practically ever major offensive statistical category, including hitting, slugging, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBIs, doubles, triples, homers, total bases, walks and sac bunts
- Joey Hawkins has made 105 straight starts and ranks No. 2 among active Division I players in career sac bunts (37)
- Freshman Jake Burger leads the Bears and ranks seventh in the MVC with 11 hits, while his 17 total bases is the sixth-best total in the conference
- Junior left-hander Matt Hall ranks second in all of Divison I baseball with his three victories; Hall's MVC-leading total of 24 K's is good for 23rd in the country, while his 23.0 innings also lead the Valley
The Missouri State Bears were forced to shift their travel itinerary for a third consecutive weekend due to inclement weather, as MSU will now play three games this Friday (March 6) and Saturday (March 7) against the Wright State Raiders at the Perfect Game Park South at PG's LakePoint facility in Emerson, Ga.
The Bears (6-3), who were to play three games at the Dayton Classic in Ohio this weekend, will instead face the Raiders (5-4) in an 10 a.m. (Central) doubleheader Friday, before the two clubs play a single contest Saturday morning at 8 a.m.
Up next, the Bears will travel to Jonesboro, Ark., for a two-game midweek series with Arkansas State, beginning with a 6:30 p.m., game Tuesday (March 10).
Missouri State is 2-3 in its brief series with Wright State. The Bears took two of three games from WSU in Springfield two years ago after the Raiders claimed the first two meetings in a series that dates back to 1976. MSU has had much better success against the Horizon League in general, going 16-5 overall against the current membership of the conference.
The Bears' one-two weekend punch of Jon Harris and Matt Hall have been tough to handle so far this season, combining to go 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA over 39.1 innings to date. Hall, who leads the Valley in wins (3), strikeouts (24) and innings pitched (23.0) worked a complete-game victory vs. UCA last Saturday in which he allowed just a single unearned run on four hits one day after Harris held UCA scoreless on four hits over his 6.1 innings of work. The duo is working on a combined string of 19.2 consecutive innings without giving up an earned run dating back to Feb. 21.
Furthermore, No. 3 starter Andy Cheray has been solid in his three outings to date, logging a 1-1 mark to go along with a 3.14 ERA and a miniscule .182 batting average against. The junior lefty was named MVC Pitcher of the Week following his 7.0 shutout innings of two-hit ball vs. Washington State (Feb. 15). He also limited No. 16 Oklahoma State to one run through the first five innings and just three hits overall in a no-decision in Stillwater (Feb. 25).
Missouri State was forced to relocate its first home series of the season for the third year in a row, as the Bears moved south to Natchitoches, La., to meet UCA in a three-game series originally slated to take place at Hammons Field last weekend. Entering this weekend's action, MSU has already seen nine games affected by weather, including the postponement of both of the Bears' games against Oral Roberts (Feb. 24 and March 3).
If the current schedule holds form, the Bears will open the season with 17 road/neutral-site contests before taking the field at home, which would represent their longest stretch away from home to start any season in the 52-year history of the program. MSU's next scheduled home date is March 17 vs. UALR, meaning the Bears would have played 22 straight games on the road, including the last five games of the 2014 campaign. That streak would match a 22-game stretch extending from MSU's postseason run to the College World Series in 2003 through the first six games of the 2004 season as the longest in Bears history.
After powering the Missouri State offense to a pair of wins last week, Bears outfielder Blake Graham was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week on Monday. The sophomore went 7-for-15 (.467) in four games, including a career-best four-hit game over the weekend vs. UCA.
Most notably, Graham went 4-for-5 and came within a double of hitting for the cycle in MSU's 10-1 victory over UCA Saturday. The Edwardsville, Ill., product scored a career-high four runs on the day and delivered a two-run triple as part of a four-run, third-inning rally that put MSU on top for good, before belting his first homer of the season later in the contest. For the week, Graham logged team highs for batting average, hits, runs scored (7), slugging percentage (.867) and RBIs (5). He also recorded a multi-hit effort at No. 16 Oklahoma State last Wednesday, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored in the 7-2 setback.
Graham currently leads the MVC in slugging percentage (.750), while his .400 season batting mark ranks fifth overall in the league. He also rates among the circuit's top 10 individuals in on-base percentage (.500), runs scored (8), RBIs (7), triples (1) and homers (1).
