June 4, 2015 Dear Bears Fans and the Springfield Community:

Last weekend was a momentous event for the city of Springfield, Missouri State University, and our baseball program. In the history of our storied program, we had never hosted an NCAA Division I Regional, and our baseball team provided great drama with their stellar performance on the diamond. The team's excellent play garnered the program's second Division I regional title, and provided so much pride and lifelong memories for our community and our institution. This season has been remarkable in terms of the number of overall wins, consecutive wins, All-Americans and all-conference players. And we're not finished yet!!

We have an incredible group of young men on this team, led by Coach Keith Guttin and his staff. The team not only has one of its highest GPAs in the program's history, but each and every player truly exemplifies the true meaning of student-athlete.

We can't thank the many volunteers who helped make the Springfield Regional a success. To the Springfield Cardinals organization, grounds crew, administration, stadium personnel, ushers, game ops, MSU volunteers, concession personnel, media and the many other folks who made it happen, we're so thankful for your service! So many visitors and opposing coaches raved about what a first-class event our university conducted. We could not have done the job we did without the support of the many people who love Missouri State Athletics. A special thanks goes to Casey Hunt and Matt Gifford for their leadership to ensure the success of the Springfield Regional.

I can only imagine how proud Mr. Hammons would have been to see his beloved Bears playing in his ballpark and winning a NCAA Regional while the community he loved got attention from across the country.

Finally, thank you Springfield for coming out in record numbers to support our team. Your passion, enthusiasm and game-day energy made a huge difference to our team. One of the great responsibilities we have is to make the student-athlete experience memorable. I think it was not only memorable for them but all of us. Thank you for a job well done!

Go Bears!!!

Kyle Moats Keith Guttin
Director of Athletics Head Baseball Coach