March 28, 2016
Arkansas Game Notes 
Missouri State at Arkansas
Bogle Park - Fayetteville, Ark.
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The Missouri State softball team (12-16) heads to Fayetteville, Ark., on Tuesday for a makeup game against the Razorbacks (13-19) at 5:00 p.m. at Bogle Park. The game was originally scheduled for March 9, but moved due to rain. MSU has won two of the last three meetings in Fayetteville and the all-time series is separated by one game in favor of Arkansas. UA enters on a five-game skid and have lost the last four games played at Bogle Park.
Despite a 1-2 record last week, the Bears have a number of positive signs just two weeks into conference play. Missouri State's defense continues to be among the best in the nation. The Bears top the MVC with a .982 fielding percentage, a figure that ranks MSU third in the country entering this week. It is the fifth-consecutive week that the Bears have been in the top-5 nationally.
Junior pitcher Erin Struemph fired her second- and third-consecutive complete game three-hitter over the weekend. In the series opener, she shut out the Braves with six strikeouts. In Saturdays' series finale, Struemph struck out four more Bradley hitters. She has the lowest batting average against (.130) in Valley play and her nine hits allowed are the fewest among MVC hurlers with more than 6 innings pitched. Struemph also sits at 399 career strikeouts. Only five pitchers in MSU history have reached the 400 strikeout plateau.
Senior Erin Duewel belted her fifth home run of the year in the first inning against Bradley on Saturday. Her three-run blast was the 18th of Duewel's career tying her for fourth in MSU history. She also ranks second in the school history with a career .480 slugging percentage.
As a team, the Bears pitch selection at the plate continues to get better. MSU has struck out a league-low 103 times and are one of four MVC teams with more strikeouts by its pitching staff than by its hitters.
QUICK HITS
- Senior Erin Duewel belted her fifth home run of the season on Saturday against Bradley. It was her 18th career long ball, tying her for fourth in MSU history.
- Junior pitcher Erin Struemph has been dominating since conference play began. She fired a pair of three-hitters against Bradley last weekend and has tossed three-successive three-hitters to begin MVC play.
- Missouri State's defense enters the week ranked third in the country with a .982 fielding percentage. It is the fifth-straight week MSU is ranked in the top-5 nationally.
- The Bears have struck out the fewest times (103) among all MVC teams this season.
- All four of sophomore Kaitlin Beason's home runs have come in the same game in which she has been the pitcher of record.
- Redshirt sophomore Allie Alvstad singled to right against Omaha on March 11, her first hit since returning to the team after beating leukemia.
SCOUTING REPORT
Arkansas Razorbacks: Arkansas enters Tuesday's matchup on a five-game losing streak and the Razorbacks have dropped the last four home games. Freshman Ashley Diaz leads the UA offense with a .418 batting average and 10 home runs (18th in the nation). Diaz ranks in the top-50 in the country in slugging percentage (.769) and leads the nation with 4 sac flies. Junior pitcher Grace Moll is the lone Razorback with a sub-5.00 ERA (4.78). She has started 25 of UA's 32 games with 9 wins and a whopping 119 walks issued, one more than her first two seasons combined. With last season's win at Killian Stadium, the Razorbacks eked ahead in the all-time series, 19-18. MSU has won two of the last three meetings in Fayetteville.
700 AND COUNTING
Head coach Holly Hesse is second in all-time wins by an MVC coach with 716. She entered 2016 with the 37th-most wins among active Division I head coaches. 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 (968 wins in MVC).
BEARS SOFTBALL IS ON THE AIR
The Missouri State softball team will see all of its home games live streamed through Bears All-Access on MissouriStateBears.com.
Some MSU home games will air on KBFL (1060 AM) and can be heard online via RadioSpringfield.com.
2016 Remaining Broadcast Schedule
Wednesday, April 13 vs. Tulsa [KBFL]
Wednesday, April 20 vs. Wichita St. (DH) [KBFL]
Wednesday, April 27 vs. SIU Edwardsville [KBFL]
LEGACY WEEKEND UPCOMING
Missouri State will celebrate the championship teams from 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2006 during Legacy Weekend at Killian Stadium. The Bears will invite back players from those title teams on April 9-10 with on-field celebration slated for Saturday, April 9. Tickets for Legacy Weekend can be purchased at the Killian Stadium gates on game day.
DUEWEL LANDS IN RECORD BOOK
Senior Erin Duewel belted her 18th career home run in the first inning against Bradley on March 26. That total lands the Lee's Summit native in a tie for fourth on the all-time career homers list. Duewel's blast against the Braves was her team-leading fifth long ball of the year.
MILESTONE K AHEAD
Junior Erin Struemph is already making waves in the MSU annuls. She picked up four strikeouts in Saturday's start against Bradley giving her 399 through her first two and a half season. With her next strikeout, she will become just the sixth pitcher in Bears history with 400 or more strikeouts.
Struemph has been at her best since conference play started. She tossed a complete game three-hitter in a win over Illinois State on March 19, her first MVC start of the year. Then in the Bradley series, she fired a complete game shutout in the opener and allowed a single run in a complete game in the series finale. She allowed just three hits in each of her starts against the Braves.
TRIUMPHANT RETURN
The Bears eagerly anticipated the inspirational return of redshirt sophomore Allie Alvstad. She missed the entire 2014-15 academic year to battle through acute myeloid leukemia. She received a bone marrow transplant in December 2014 and returned to the team in 2015-16.
In her first plate appearance of the season, Alvstad drew a four-pitch walk against Northern Colorado on Feb. 13. On Feb. 19, she drove in her first run of the season with a pinch-hit ground out at Western Kentucky. Alvstad registered her first hit since returning with a single to right field on March 11 versus Omaha in Lawrence, Kan.
TAKE YOUR BASE
This season, the Bears have drawn 65 bases on balls and have been hit by a pitch 11 times. MSU received a free pass to first base by one or both of these means in the first 23 games this season. The only game in those 23 that the Bears did not draw a walk in was against UNI on March 12, but Madison Jones was hit by a pitch. In the Feb. 13 game versus Northern Colorado, MSU drew 12 walks, one shy of the single-game program record set in 2004.
THE BETTER BEARS
Missouri State has played four games thus far this season in which the opponent's mascot was also "Bears". In those games, MSU is 4-0. Missouri State won a pair of shutouts against Northern Colorado in Texas over the opening weekend of the season. Two weeks later, MSU downed Mercer on back-to-back days. MSU has one remaining matchup against an opponent with the moniker Bears, April 6 vs. Central Arkansas.
PRESEASON PICK
Missouri State received more first-place votes than any other Valley squad, but finished second in a top-heavy Missouri Valley Conference preseason coaches poll released by the league office on January 27. The Bears also were well represented on the preseason All-MVC team with senior Erin Duewel, junior Erin Struemph and sophomore Erika Velasquez Zimmer earning nods. All three players were All-MVC first team members in 2015.
FROM START TO FINISH
Missouri State saw its starting pitcher toss a complete game in five of the Bears' first eight games on 2016. Struemph opened the season with a complete game against Texas Southern (Feb. 12). Beason tossed a career-long nine inning game later in the day against Detroit. Struemph and Beason returned later in the weekend with identical three-hit complete game shutouts of Northern Colorado.
The Bears have maintained the start-to-finish pace in the circle. Led by Struemph's eight complete games, MSU starters have completed 13 of the 28 games this season.
MAD HITTING STREAK
Sophomore Madison Jones went on a career-best seven-game hitting streak beginning on Feb. 26 and has hit safely in 11 of the last 13 games. Her torrid pace began with a two-hit performance against Austin Peay. The next day, she had a career-high four hits in the Bears' win over Mercer.
Jones had three-consecutive two-hit games to open the Cancer Awareness Tournament in St. Louis. During her seven-game hitting streak, Jones had five multi-hit games and a batting average of .609.
CLUBBING FOR A CAUSE
Sophomore Kaitlin Beason boasts a powerful bat in addition to a reliable arm in the circle. She put both aspects of her game together at the Cancer Awareness Tournament in St. Louis. On March 4, she earned the win in relief against UMKC. She also hit a three-run home run in the game against the Kangaroos.
She returned the next day and pitched 5.0 innings to earn the victory over SEMO. In the win over the Redhawks, Beason belted two home runs, her second career multi-homer game. One of her blasts was her first career grand slam, helping her own cause in the circle.
Beason continued the trend with a home run against UNI on March 12. She pitched 6.0 innings in the start against the Panthers, striking out a career-high four batters.
ROARING INTO BLUEGRASS STATE
Missouri State made its first-ever trip to the state of Kentucky for the second weekend of play. The Bears left little doubt that they were ready to play when the team racked up 17 hits and scored in all but the first inning in a 11-3 win over host Western Kentucky (Feb. 19). Junior Olivia Roark had a career-best three hits and had one of MSU's six doubles in the game, tying a single-game program record.
In day two action, senior Jessie Van Es pitched a career-long 8.0 innings of shutout ball, but a walk-off sac fly by Murray State spoiled the party in a 1-0 nine-inning defeat. In the weekend's finale, MSU got a pair of doubles from Stephens and Roark extended her hitting streak to three games, but the Bears suffered a second-straight walk-off loss to end a weather-shortened trip to the Bluegrass State.
LONE STAR STUD
Sachse, Texas-native Mary Stephens had yet another fantastic weekend in her home state on opening weekend. She blasted a seventh-inning game-tying home run against Detroit on Feb. 12. The next day, she hit another home run, a two-run shot in the first inning of a win over Northern Colorado. After recording a single against host UT Arlington, she ran her hitting streak to four games with a 3-for-4 outing on Feb. 14 versus UNC.
On the weekend, Stephens hit .400 with a team-leading two home runs and four RBI. She also drew three walks, scored four runs and had a .800 slugging percentage.
BEASON'S BEAST WEEKEND
Beason had a breakout weekend in Texas to open the season. The Webb City, Mo.-native notched three career-bests on the weekend. In the season opener versus Texas Southern, she drove in four runs for the first time in an MSU uniform. That same day, she took to the circle and pitched all nine innings against Detroit, three innings longer than her previous long outing. Then on Sunday (Feb. 14), Beason drew three walks against Northern Colorado, her first career multi-walk game.
WAITING IN THE WINGS
Head coach Holly Hesse has commitments from three players to join the 2017 squad. Joining the Bears for the 2016-17 academic year are Erin Griesbauer (Blue Springs, Mo.), Darby Joerling (Defiance, Mo.) and Carsten Warner (Nevada, Mo.).
