Â
PRIME 9
- Missouri State had the 25th-best RPI and ranked 21st among all Division I programs in NPI through March 22, according to WarrenNolan.com
- MSU swept a three-game series from CMU last year in Springfield in the only previous meetings in the series; the Bears held the Chippewas to just two runs in the series, piling up 34 strikeouts while allowing only 13 hits
- As a team, the Bears rank fifth in all of Division I baseball with five shutouts on the season; MSU also ranks eighth in team WHIP (1.08), eighth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.50), 11th in team ERA (2.73) and 12th in hits allowed per 9.0 IP (6.91)Â
- Jake Burger brings an 11-game hit streak into the series and shares the national lead with his nine home runs and also rates among the D-I leaders in total bases (13th) and slugging (13th); with 34 career home runs, he needs just one more to crack MSU's all-time top 10 list
- MSU's bullpen has combined to post a 1.44 ERA, allowing just 11 earned runs on 40 hits while striking out 85 hitters over 68.2 innings through the first 20 games of the season; Jake Fromson ranks seventh nationally in WHIP (0.64) and 11th in hits allowed per 9.0 IP (4.24)
- With 1,190 wins as MSU's bench boss, Keith Guttin ranks 25th among all NCAA Division I coaches for career victories; he trails Al Ogletree in the No. 24 position by 18 wins
- After reaching the 10-hit mark in just four of their first 14 games this season, the Bears have produced double-digit hit totals in five of their last six outings, hitting .333 as a team during their recent hot stretch at the plate; MSU is also 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts in its last 10 games
- MSU has produced 46 come-from-behind wins since the beginning of the 2015 season, including five this season
- The Bears have amassed a 64-19 regular-season record against non-conference foes since the beginning of the 2015 season, including a 35-13 road mark vs. non-MVC competition over the same stretch
LEADING OFF
The Missouri State Bears will look to build on their early-season road success this weekend when they travel to Mount Pleasant, Mich., for a three-game series with the Central Michigan Chippewas. Due to anticipated rainfall throughout the weekend, the series has been adjusted to open with an 11 a.m. (CDT) doubleheader Friday (March 24) at Theunissen Stadium.
Missouri State (14-6) is coming off a 7-2 victory over New Orleans Tuesday to conclude its four-game home stand with a 2-2 mark. The Bears' seven road wins in 11 outings this spring rank fourth nationally, trailing only Kent State (10 wins), Michigan State (8) and West Virginia (8).
Central Michigan (8-12) dropped an 11-2 decision at Michigan State on Tuesday, after claiming three of their four games with Northwestern last weekend in Evanston. The Chippewas lead the Mid-American Conference in hits (209), runs scored (131), stolen bases (37) and triples (9), while their .295 team batting mark ranks 30th among all Division I clubs.
SERIES HISTORY
This weekend's series will mark the Bears' first trip to the state of Michigan and just their second meeting with the Chippewas. The two clubs squared off in a three-game series last spring at Hammons Field, with the Bears claiming all three contests behind a strong weekend from its pitching staff.Â
All three MSU starting pitchers completed at least 7.0 innings, with the trio of
Jordan Knutson,
Dylan Coleman and
Austin Knight combing to limit the Chippewas to just two runs on 13 hits in the series.
Alex Jefferson and
Hunter Steinmetz enjoyed standout weekends against CMU at the plate, hitting .556 and .417, respectively.
DIGGING THE LONG BALL
After ranking second only to fellow Bear
Spencer Johnson in the 2016 NCAA Division I home run chase,
Jake Burger has picked up right where he left off as a sophomore. The preseason All-American belted his eighth and ninth home runs of the season in back-to-back games (March 17-18) this past weekend vs. Memphis, marking the fourth time in just 19 games this season a Bear has gone deep in consecutive games.Â
Burger, who shares the Division I home run lead with three other standouts, previously accomplished the feat with home runs against Central Arkansas (March 4-5), while
Alex Jefferson clubbed his first two homers of the season in back-to-back wins at Minnesota last week (March 11-12) and
Jeremy Eierman hit round-trippers in three-straight games against Central Arkansas (March 3-5).Â
Last year, Burger became the second-quickest Missouri State hitter to reach the 10-homer mark in a season, hitting double digits in just his 19th game. He needs just one more homer to crack the Bears' all-time top 10 list. As a team, the Bears rank 19th nationally with 23 home runs, after ranking fifth in the same category last season.
NON-CON DOMINATION
Another key factor in Missouri State's success over the past few seasons has been its dominance against non-conference competition. Since the beginning of the 2015 season, the Bears have compiled a 64-19 record in regular-season games versus non-league foes. They have won 29 of their last 35 regular-season non-conference home games, but have been nearly as potent on the road, going 35-13 in true road and neutral-field contests over the same stretch.
WHAT A RELIEF
The Bears' bullpen has been nearly untouchable through the first 20 games of the season, combining to allow just 11 earned runs (1.44 ERA) while striking out 85 batters and holding the opposition to a .169 batting mark in 68.2 innings. In all, nine different relievers have teamed up to lock down the late innings, as MSU has outscored the opposition by a whopping 62-18 margin from the sixth inning on this season.Â
Jake Fromson led the charge with 16.0 scoreless innings to start the season. The junior has fanned 25 while allowing just 11 hits in his 10 outings to date, holding the opposition to a .143 batting mark. Additionally, senior All-America closer
Bryan Young shares the top spot on the career saves leaderboard for active NCAA Division I pitchers with a Missouri State record 30 saves, and junior
Trey Turner has yielded just four hits and struck out 22 over his 13.1 innings of relief.
GUTTIN CRACKS TOP 25
Bears head coach
Keith Guttin cracked the NCAA's top 25 coaching wins list on opening weekend, moving past Andy Lopez with MSU's victories over Stony Brook and Rhode Island. With a career record of 1,190-745 (.615), Guttin is the second-winningest coach in MVC history, while his win total ranks seventh among all active Division I head coaches.Â
ROAD TO SUCCESS
MSU has proven to be hard to stop on the road over the past three seasons, logging a 41-20 (.672) record in such contests. The Bears went 13-10 in true road games a year ago, after finishing with a program-record 21 wins in 27 road contests in 2015. MSU's 0.857 win percentage on the road represented their best since 1978, when they posted an identical percentage with a 12-2 road mark.
The Bears' Big Kahuna checked in at No. 27 on BA's College Top 100 Prospects list prior to the start of the season and claimed 2017 preseason All-America recognition from
Collegiate Baseball, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association,
Perfect Game USA and
D1Baseball as well.
SIXTH SENSE
The Bears continued a recent trend of sixth-inning dominance this week, scoring four times in the inning in last Friday's series opener with Memphis to help break open an eventual 9-5 victory.Â
For the season, the Bears have outscored their opponents by a combined 27-2 margin in the sixth, finally allowing their first sixth-inning runs of the season in Sunday's setback to Memphis. MSU has tallied at least one sixth-inning run in 10 of its 20 games to date, going 8-2 in those contests.
Jake Burger has been particularly lethal in the sixth this season, going 5-for-8 with four of his nine homers and nine total RBIs.
Â
