April 5, 2016
Central Arkansas at Missouri State
Killian Stadium - Springfield, Mo.
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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Missouri State softball team (13-18) faces Central Arkansas (23-14) on Wednesday at Killian Stadium to open an eventful five-game home stand. The 6:00 p.m. contest against UCA is a makeup game of the March 8 rainout between the teams. Missouri State looks to improve to 5-0 against teams whose mascot is also "Bears".
Junior pitcher Erin Struemph racked up a career-high 13 strikeouts in game one at Loyola on Sunday. It was the highest single game strikeout total by an MSU pitcher since 2011. Her 13 strikeouts also tied for the season-high among all MVC pitchers. With that outing, Struemph surpassed the 100-strikeout total for the third-straight season. She is fourth in the league with 102 strikeouts this season.
Senior Erin Duewel belted her team-leading sixth home run of the season last Tuesday at Arkansas. She is currently tied for sixth in the MVC in that category. Her first-inning blast against the Razorbacks was her 19th career round tripper, tied for third in school history. Duewel also has a career .486 slugging percentage, the second-best mark in program history.
As a team, the Bears continue to put on a defensive show. Missouri State leads the MVC with a .980 fielding percentage, third-best in the country. It is the sixth-consecutive week that MSU has ranked in the top-5 nationally. Offensively, the Bears have struck out the fewest times (119) among all Valley teams.
Central Arkansas was swept in a three-game Southland Conference series at Nicholls State last weekend. UCA will host Memphis today before heading to Springfield on Wednesday.
This weekend, the Bears will hold a reunion of the 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2006 championship teams as part of Legacy Weekend when Southern Illinois comes to town on April 9-10. MSU will hold a free youth clinic after the April 10 game. The home stand will conclude on April 13 with a 5:00 tilt against Tulsa.
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