After a challenging 2016 campaign, the Missouri State softball team enters the 2017 season with renewed energy and excitement as the team brings back 14 student-athletes and welcomes four newcomers to the squad.
 
"This is a really good group of young women," head coach Holly Hesse said. "They work hard every day, have great team chemistry and they're just a joy to work with. It's going to be exciting to see what this group can accomplish because based on their work ethic, their attitude and the talent that we have, I think it's going to be an exciting year."
 
The Missouri State pitching staff looks to have a successful year in the circle, where one veteran and two new faces will lead the Bears.
 
Junior Kaitlin Beason is the lone pitcher returning from the 2016 season. The hard-throwing right-hander saw 17 starts last season and led the staff with a 3.39 ERA over 117.2 innings of work. An eight-game winner, Beason tossed her first complete game against Detroit Mercy and hurled two shutouts while producing offensively for the Bears as well. The power hitter lifted eight out of the park to complement her .246 batting average over the course of the season.
 
Accompanying Beason is junior college transfer Holly Kelley and freshman Erin Griesbauer, who will help share the defensive workload.
 
Kelley joins the staff after playing two seasons at Hutchinson Community College, where she was named a NJCAA and NFCA JC Division II Second-Team All-American. Earning All-Jayhawk Conference first team honors last season, she threw two no-hitters, a perfect game and tallied 262 strikeouts – the third most in the nation. In the batter's box, Kelley blasted 13 home runs and tallied a team-high 70 hits while maintaining a .438 batting average.
 
"We're very excited about Holly," said Hesse. "She's looked great this fall and in practice. She will come in and immediately help us in the eight-foot circle. She has a tremendous rise-ball and throws the ball hard. She has great composure and has been a great addition to our team. She also swings the bat pretty well so she'll be able to help us on both sides."
 
One of three freshman on the squad, Griesbauer gained valuable experience over the fall season. The newcomer comes to the program from Blue Springs South High School where she was a three-time all-district and all-state academic standout. The Blue Springs, Mo., native accumulated 228 strikeouts during her junior and senior seasons. Griesbauer will also help the Bears at the plate and on the base paths. In her final two seasons, she carried a .401 batting average and earned 24 RBIs.
 
"Erin is our freshman pitcher, she throws the ball hard and is very competitive on the mound," Hesse added. "She is adjusting to this level of play but she continues to learn, grow and develop every day. She's also a left-handed hitter with a lot of options at the plate and great speed on the bases."
 
With three different options in the circle this season, Hesse said she looks forward to the pitchers bringing toughness and excitement to the defense.
 
"We expect our pitchers to do one of two things for us, either be so dominating that they can win the game or be dominating enough to keep us in the game," Hesse explained. "I think we have the kind of pitching staff that, in times, will dominate certain lineups. However, for consistency, the goal of the pitchers is to throw strikes and to keep us in the game so we can have a chance to win."
 
Also giving the Bears a chance to win is a core group of senior infielders Elena Gambill, Mary Stephens and Bethany Sullinger.
 
Gambill racked up 30 hits over the 2016 season, lifting a pair of home runs out of the park. The everyday third baseman saw improvement from the 2015 season, raising her batting average to .256 and slugging percentage to .342 while earning the highest on-base percentage on the team.
 
Returning to the field from an injury in 2015, Sullinger saw time at the hot-corner in her 18 starts of the 2016 season.
 
Earning 50 starts in 2016, Stephens earned 35 hits along with 24 RBI during the 2016 season. The veteran first baseman is a key part of the MSU offense and defense, launching seven home runs and accumulating 226 putouts on the field.
 
The Bears also return senior and 2016 All-MVC first team selection Olivia Roark. As a junior she successfully transitioned to the outfield while leading the Bears at the plate with a career-high .373 batting average. Roark saw great improvement over the last season, raising her batting average .151 points from her sophomore campaign.
 
Joining Roark in the outfield is Hannah Heinrichs, Sara Jones, Hailee Vigneaux and everyday center fielder Erika Velasquez Zimmer. Zimmer went a team-high 13-for-15 on the base paths and racked up 30 hits on the season. Last season, the outfielders combined for a .981 fielding percentage and 225 putouts.
 
Allie Alvstad, Darian Frost, Morgan Greenlee, Kyana Mason and Madison Jones also return to the lineup for Missouri State. Jones finished the 2016 season with an improved batting average from 2015, tallying a team and career-high 43 hits while earning seven extra-base hits. The then-sophomore was untouched on the base paths, stealing a perfect five bases on the season.
 
"We have a lot of lefties who are triple threats, so that is very exciting," Hesse noted. "At any time, we could have five or six lefties in the lineup. We also have a good combination of hitters who hit the ball with power. All of those athletes can put a good bat on the ball and either put it through one of the gaps or drive it out of the park. I love our combination of lefties, who can do multiple things at the plate, and the power hitters in the middle of the lineup.
 
"Associate Head Coaches Sue Frederick and Beth Perine have really been working on our hitting, which is an area that we needed make the biggest strides this year. They've done a great job of breaking it down and making sure our players have fundamentally sound swings and making sure we're getting the number of cuts we need."
 
Along with newcomers Kelley and Griesbauer, Missouri State welcomes a pair of freshman utility players that will help make an immediate impact on the team.
 
The second freshman joining the Bears is Defiance, Mo., native Darby Joerling. She will assist the Bears in both the infield and outfield, as well as the left side of the batter's box. A four-year starter at Francis Howell High School, Joerling helped lead her team to two district championships along with one conference and sectional title. As a senior, the speedy captain picked up first-team all-conference and all-district honors after carrying a .567 batting average and going a perfect 19-for-19 in stolen bases.
 
The final newcomer for the 2017 Bears is freshman Carsten Warner. At Nevada High School, she earned four first-team all-district honors, as well as a pair of first team-all conference honors. Warner brings a big bat to the MSU lineup after blasting 18 home runs and bringing in 126 runs, which was the eighth-most career RBI in the state of Missouri. 
 
"For the younger players, their first year is about learning, growing and developing and I feel like they've really taken that to heart," Hesse said. "The underclassmen push the starters to be better every day and that has definitely been translating onto the field."
 
Missouri State was picked to finish in a seventh-place tie with Bradley in the MVC Preseason Coaches Poll.  The Drake Bulldogs were selected as the 2017 preseason favorite, followed by Wichita state and Southern Illinois. UNI earned fourth-place rankings while Illinois State and Evansville were separated by one point in the fifth and sixth spots. The Bears and Bradley Braves tied for seventh while Indiana State and Loyola rounded out the pack.
 

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