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SPRINGFIELD – Entering her 30^th season as head coach, Holly Hesse announced the Missouri State softball team's competitive, 2018 schedule on Monday, Nov. 27. The Bears' regular-season campaign features a showdown with Oklahoma– the two-time, defending NCAA Champion – along with six other 2017 NCAA tournament teams.
 
"This team has demonstrated this fall that they are willing to work for a successful season," Hesse said. "We have great depth in most positions and especially pitching. We have seven seniors who are very motivated and are leading in a positive way. Our main goal is to double our offensive production from a year ago. If we can do that, we can compete for a championship."
 
The Bears begin the season on Friday, Feb. 9 at the Bulldog Kickoff Classic in Starkville, Miss. The Bears will square off against Nebraska-Omaha, Mississippi Valley State and host Mississippi State before advancing to the semifinal and championship rounds.
 
Following the Bears' stint in Starkville, Missouri State will head South to San Antonio, Texas, where they will face four teams – Prairie View A&M, Lamar, Kansas and UTSA – at the UTSA Softball Classic on Feb. 16-18.
 
A week later, Missouri State travels back down South for the Louisiana Tech University Invitational (Feb. 23-25).  The Bears will play stout competition as they will go up against UMass Lowell, South Dakota, host Louisiana Tech, Alcorn State and Saint Louis.
 
Changing pace from tournament play, Missouri State will travel down to the University of Arkansas on Wednesday, Feb. 28 for its first mid-week game of the season. The Bears will travel over to Norman, Okla., four days later for the Courtyard Marriott Tournament. There, MSU will play contests against Abilene Christian, Indiana and the Sooners of Oklahoma.
 
The Bears' final non-conference tournament is the Shocker Softball Tournament, hosted in Wichita, Kan., by ex-Missouri Valley Conference member Wichita State. MSU will play a pair of contests against both Western Illinois and the Shockers.
 
Missouri State will pay a visit to Tulsa on Tuesday, March 13^th before opening up a seven-game homestand that will also usher in MVC play.
 
MSU will face four other non-conference opponents during the regular season. The Bears will take on in-state foe UMKC on Wednesday, Mar. 20 and will travel to play the Billikens of Saint Louis in another mid-week game on Mar. 28. The Bears will stay home at Killian Softball Stadium for the remainder of the non-conference schedule, facing off against Central Arkansas (Apr. 3) and 2017 NCAA Tournament participant Oklahoma State (Apr. 11).
 
"The pre-conference schedule is designed to both challenge us and build confidence," Hesse added. "Nine games against seven teams that participated in last year's NCAA Tournament, including the two-time, defending NCAA Champions University of Oklahoma, will stretch and strengthen us for Missouri Valley Conference play.  The Valley will once again be a very balanced conference and each game in league play will be a battle from the top to the bottom."
 
Valley action begins at home against Illinois State on March 24-25. The Bears will also host Valley newcomer Valparaiso (Mar. 24-25), Bradley (Apr. 14-15), a doubleheader against 2017 MVC Tournament champion Southern Illinois (Apr. 18) and Indiana State (Apr. 28-29). Hesse and her Bears will hit the road for series at UNI (Mar. 30-31), Evansville (Apr. 7-8), Loyola (Apr. 21-22), a single game at Southern Illinois (Apr. 23) and Drake (May 5-6). The 2018 MVC Tournament, hosted by Drake, will take place on May 10-12 in Des Moines, Iowa.
 
"Our success will depend on how much we grow and improve throughout the season," Hesse explained. "We will strive for championship standards and our ability to reach them will require a great deal of effort and hard work. That combination of effort, depth, motivation and leadership could lead to a very exciting and rewarding season."
 
Featured on the Bears' schedule, Arkansas, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Southern Illinois and Tulsa each participated in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
 
Hesse and her staff will return 12 letterwinners, 14 squad members as well as a handful of talented freshman for her 30th season at the helm.