April 24, 2015
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The Missouri State softball team (26-20, 14-6) will play its final home games of the 2015 season when the Bears entertain the UNI Panthers (18-22, 12-7) in a three-game series at Killian Stadium on Saturday and Sunday. MSU will celebrate the careers of this year's senior class immediately following game one of Saturday's doubleheader. Game one of the series will be aired on KBFL radio and recorded for tape-delay telecast on MediaCom.
Senior Rebecca McPherson continued to crush the ball in her final season with the Bears. On Wednesday, she hit her ninth home run of the season, tying for the team lead and closing to within one long ball of the single season school record of 10. She enters the weekend on a 12-game hitting streak. McPherson has shown phenomenal discipline at the plate during her senior year leading the league in toughest-to-strikeout and ranks 58th in the country in the category.
Fellow senior Chelsea Jones is among the league leaders with a 1.71 ERA in MVC play and 2.43 overall ERA, second and third, respectively. Jones is also swinging one of the hottest bats in the Bears lineup. Since being inserted into the cleanup spot in the lineup, she is hitting .426 with 14 RBI, seven multi-hits games and had a career-best 12-game hitting streak. This week, she was named CollegeSportsMadness.com Conference Player of the Week after having a 0.00 ERA with two wins and hitting a team-best .462 last week versus Wichita State and Illinois State.
Freshman Velasquez Zimmer had her team-high 13-game hitting streak snapped on Thursday. She leads the Bears with a .359 batting average this season and has stolen 17 bases. On April 15, Velasquez Zimmer swiped her 10th base in conference play and is tied for the league lead in MVC play.
The Bears have hit a school record 36 home runs already this season. McPherson and freshman Chelsea Thomas have each hit nine home runs, one shy of the single season home run record. Junior Erin Duewel has contributed to the team record as she hit five home runs over a seven-game span from April 11 to April 22.
Last Saturday was a special day in the history of the Missouri State softball program. Head coach Holly Hesse earned her 700th career win with game two's victory over the Redbirds. The 11 runs scored in game one were the most by an MSU squad in the 104 all-time meetings. The Bears shut out Illinois State in both ends of a doubleheader for the first time since 1993.
QUICK HITS
- Head coach Holly Hesse earned career win #700 on Saturday at Illinois State. All 700 wins have been at MSU.
- Senior Rebecca McPherson and freshman Chelsea Thomas have each hit nine home runs and are one shy of tying the single season mark of 10.
- The Bears as a team have clubbed 36 home runs, the best single season total in program history.
- Junior Erin Duewel has hit home runs in back-to-back games twice this month. Between April 11 and April 22, Duewel hit five home runs in seven games.
- Missouri State pitchers Chelsea Jones and Erin Struemph both rank in the top-5 in the MVC in ERA. Jones' 2.43 ERA is third while Struemph's 3.44 ranks fifth.
- Struemph leads the Valley with six saves and ranks fourth in the nation in the category.
- Mary Stephens is third in the league with 27 walks drawn on the season.
- At least one MSU player has had multiple hits in 39 of the 46 games this season. Freshman Erika Velasquez Zimmer leads the team with 16 multi-hit games.
- The Bears have turned a league-best 22 double plays this season, surpassing the previous program high of 20 set back in 2006.
BEARS SOFTBALL IS ON THE AIR
The Missouri State softball team will see all of its home games live streamed through Bears All-Access, a subscription based video service available on MissouriStateBears.com.
Some MSU home games will air on KBFL (1060 AM) and can be heard online via RadioSpringfield.com. Additionally, two home games will be televised on MC22, a local and regional cable channel.
2015 Remaining Broadcast Schedule
Saturday, April 25 vs. UNI (G1) [KBFL] [MC22]
700 AND COUNTING
Head Coach Holly Hesse is second in all-time wins by an MVC coach with 700. With a 4-0 victory over Illinois State on April 18, 2015, Hesse earned milestone win 700. She trails only current Illinois State coach Melinda Fischer (954 wins).
RECORD SETTING SQUAD
The 2015 squad has broken three team records already this season. On April 22, the Bears hit three home runs giving them 36 as a team, the highest single season total in program history.
The Bears have turned 22 double plays this season. The previous team-best was 20 set in 2006. MSU also has earned 10 saves with all four hurlers recording at least one save. The Bears had seven saves in 2005 and 2006, the highest total prior to this season.
ALUM CHAPIN TO BE RECOGNIZED
Missouri State softball alumnus Caitlin Chapin will be honored as part of the Diamond 9 at the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame luncheon on May 27 at University Plaza. The Diamond Nine Award recognizes individuals who exhibited outstanding talent or made significant contributions at the high school, collegiate, amateur or professional levels of baseball or softball. Chapin hit 18 home runs during her four seasons with the Bears, tied for fourth on the career list. She was also a standout at Ozark High before playing at MSU.
GOT EACH OTHERS BACKS
All four Missouri State pitchers have recorded a save this season. The staff of Chelsea Jones, Jessie Van Es, Erin Struemph and Kaitlin Beason have combined for a league-high 10 saves. Struemph's six saves lead the league and rank second in the nation this season. It is the most saves by a Missouri State team in program history surpassing the previous high of seven team saves set in 2005 and 2006.
HISTORICAL BLAST?
Two Missouri State hitters sit just one home run shy of tying the single season school record. Freshman third baseman Chelsea Thomas was the first to hit her ninth home run of the season doing so on March 31 versus SEMO. Senior Rebecca McPherson belted her ninth of the season on April 22 versus Wichita State to tie Thomas for the team lead.
Thomas and McPherson are just the fourth and fifth Bear ever with nine home runs in a season. The other three (Stevie Pierce, 2013; Samantha Fleeman, 2006; Ashley Meredith, 2004) are all tied for the single season record with 10 long balls.
DOUBLE-DIGIT HITTING STREAKS
Four different Missouri State hitters have had double-digit hitting streaks at one point during the 2015 season. Senior Rebecca McPherson brings an active 12-game streak into this weekend's games versus UNI.
Fellow senior Chelsea Jones had a 12-game streak from March 28 through game one at Wichita State on April 15. She increased her average by 101 points during the hitting streak.
Freshman Erika Velasquez Zimmer had the longest among the three with a 13-game hitting streak which ran from March 31 through April 22. She hit a robust .511 during the streak.
Redshirt sophomore Mary Stephens hit safely in the first three games of 2015 to extend her hitting streak to 11 games. Stephens' hitting streak spanned three seasons after she was limited to two games - she hit safely in both - in 2014.
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
Patience at the plate by MSU hitters is paying dividends this year. Led by Stephens' 27 walks, Missouri State has drawn 155 bases on ball already this season, well above the 109 given up by the Bears' pitching staff. Stephens and McPherson have each drawn three walks in a game this year, a feat that was not accomplished by any MSU hitter in 2014.
An example of how valuable the free pass has been this season is the Bears' game at #22/23 Texas A&M on Feb. 15. MSU dropped a close 2-1 decision, but all three runs scored in the game reached base via walk.
HIGH FIVE
Mary Stephens has turned in two separate 5-for-5 displays at the plate this season. No other player in the previous 27 seasons had a five-hit game. Stephens first accomplished the feat in game two against UMKC on March 11. Ten days later, she turned in another dazzling 5-for-5 outing at Bradley on March 21. In the 3-2 win over the Braves, Stephens hit a solo home runs, drove in another run with a single and doubled for what would become the winning run.
WILD WALK-OFF WEDNESDAY
Game two of Missouri State's home-opening doubleheader against UMKC on March 11 saw the Bears put up some eye-popping figures. MSU pounded out 19 hits in the 15-14 victory. The only other time since 1988 that the Bears had 19 hits in a game also came against UMKC on April 22, 1993.
Senior Rebecca McPherson performed the late game heroics with a three-run walk-off home run with a full count and two outs in the bottom of the seventh to cap a six-run inning. It was McPherson's second home run of the game, the third different Missouri State hitter with two long balls in the same game. Her four RBI in the game were a season-high for a Bear hitter.
Mary Stephens put her name in the history books as well. She became the only player since 1988 to record five hits in a game with her 5-for-5 performance.
NEWCOMER DE JA VU
Missouri State freshman third baseman Chelsea Thomas began her career with consecutive stellar weekends at the Louisiana Tech Invitation, the Texas A&M Aggie Classic and the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational. She hit two home runs over each weekend and led the Bears in runs batted in at two of the tournaments. For her solid performances, Thomas was named MVC Newcomer of the Week two-consecutive weeks to begin the year.
On Saturday, Feb. 14, Thomas became the second MSU freshman this season to hit two home runs in a game (Kaitlin Beason, Feb. 6 vs. ULM). In the win over Eastern Michigan, Thomas drove in three runs, the second time in 2015 that she had three RBI in a game.
MSU earned its third Newcomer nod when Erika Velasquez Zimmer took home the honor on April 13. She hit a grand slam and went 7-for-10 during the prior weekend's games versus Loyola.
TWO HOME RUN GAMES
Freshmen Kaitlin Beason and Chelsea Thomas made immediate power impacts to the Bears' lineup. Both hit home runs for their first career hits. Beason hit two home runs against ULM (Feb. 6), her first career hits. Thomas hit her first long ball the next day against UAPB.
Then on Feb. 14, Thomas had her own two home run game. She hit home runs in her first and third at-bats in a 3-for-3 game against Eastern Michigan. It was her second three-RBI game of the season.
Senior Rebecca McPherson tagged two long balls on March 11 against UMKC. Her second dinger of the game was a three-run walk-off in a six-run seventh inning.
INITIAL IMPACT
Five MSU freshmen made immediate impacts in the Bears' lineup with their first career hits. Beason and Thomas each slammed home runs on opening weekend for their first career hits.
Erika Velasquez Zimmer had a bunt single against Abilene Christian (Feb. 6) and promptly stole second base. On the next play, she scored on a base hit. Velasquez Zimmer's first career home run was a grand slam against Loyola on April 11.
Hailee Vigneaux notched two hits in her first career start against UAPB (Feb. 7) and scored a run. Catcher Molly Fields broke through against Iowa on Feb. 21. Her first career hit was a bases-loaded walk-off single in the eighth inning against the Hawkeyes.
PRESEASON PICK
Missouri State was selected seventh in the MVC preseason poll released on January 21. After finishing eighth in the league last season, the Bears aspirations are to move up more than one place in the final league standings this season.
