Missouri State Bears (10-1) at Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-5)
Date:	Tuesday, March 7
Location:	Stillwater, Okla.
Site:	Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000)
Radio:	KBFL 1060 AM/96.9 FM (Art Hains)
Follow:	Live Video  |  Live Stats  |  @MSUBearBaseball
Game Notes:	Missouri State  |  Oklahoma State  |  MVC Notebook
Series History:	Oklahoma State leads 12-6
Last Meeting:	OSU won 6-5 in Springfield (March 8, 2016)
Tickets:	OKState.com

PRIME 9

• Missouri State is off to its fourth 10-1 start as a program and its second under head coach Keith Guttin; the Bears' start equals the best in program history, matching the 10-1 starts turned in by the 1991, 1981 and 1976 MSU squads
• OSU has won 12 of 18 previous meetings with the Bears, including six straight over the last four seasons; MSU, which is 2-8 vs. OSU in Stillwater, had won the previous five games in the series prior to the current Cowboy streak
• With 1,186 wins as MSU's bench boss, Guttin ranks 25th among all NCAA Division I coaches for career victories; he trails Al Ogletree in the No. 24 position by 22 wins
• MSU's bullpen has allowed just one earned run on 15 hits and nine walks, while striking out 51 batters in 41.0 combined innings this season; senior 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, while Jake Fromson has turned in 16.0-straight scoreless innings to start the year
• Jeremy Eierman homered in all three of MSU's weekend victories over Central Arkansas, becoming the second Bear in as many years to accomplish the feat after Spencer Johnson did so at the MVC Championship last spring; Eierman was named a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week, as well as MVC Player of the Week
• As a team, the Bears lead all of Division I baseball with a WHIP of 0.94 and five shutouts on the season; MSU also ranks third in team ERA (1.53) and sixth in hits allowed per 9.0 IP (5.76)
• The Bears made their 2017 debut in Collegiate Baseball's Division I Poll Monday, checking in at No. 27; MSU is also receiving votes in the NCBWA Top 30 and USA Today Coaches polls for the first time this season
• MSU has produced a total of 45 come-from-behind wins since the beginning of the 2015 season, including four on its current eight-game win streak (ORU, Belmont, Lipscomb and Central Arkansas)
• The Bears have amassed a 60-14 regular-season record against non-conference foes since the beginning of the 2015 season, including a 33-10 mark against non-MVC competition in road/neutral field games over the same stretch

LEADING OFF
Off to the best start in the history of the program, the Missouri State Bears open a six-game road swing Tuesday (March 7) when they travel to Stillwater, Okla., to meet the Oklahoma State Cowboys for a 4 p.m. contest at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. MSU will be looking to buck a recent string of close calls versus the Cowboys, who have won six games in a row in the series, four of which have been decided by two runs or less.

The Bears (10-1) enter the week riding an eight-game hot streak, including a 3-0 start to their home season with a series sweep of Central Arkansas over the weekend. MSU clubbed six home runs in the series, including three from Jeremy Eierman, while the Bears' pitching staff limited UCA to three runs and a .188 batting mark for the weekend.

Oklahoma State (6-5) is coming off a strong showing at the Frisco College Baseball Classic this past weekend, where the Cowboys claimed wins over Arkansas and Nebraska. 

SERIES HISTORY
Missouri State enters Tuesday's game on the short end of its series with Oklahoma State, which brings an 12-6 mark against MSU into the contest. OSU will ride a recent hot streak vs. the Bears into this week's action. The Cowboys, who claimed a 6-5 win in Springfield last year, have taken six in a row from the Bears on the heels of a five-game win streak for MSU in the series. 

The Bears last won at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in 2012 and are 53-60 overall against the current membership of the Big 12 Conference.

OFF AND RUNNING
Missouri State's four-game sweep of last week's action ran its season record to 10-1, matching the Bears' best start in 54 varsity seasons. The Bears last began a season with 10 wins in their first 11 games in 1991, their first year in the Valley. 

Overall, MSU has gotten off to 10-1 starts on three previous occasions (1991, 1981 and 1976), posting a season win percentage of at least .638 in each of those campaigns. 

Fast starts have been the norm in recent years for the Bears, who have opened each of their last seven seasons with at least seven wins in their first 11 contests. 

WHAT A RELIEF
The Bears' bullpen has been nearly untouchable through the first 11 games of the season, combining to allow just one earned run while striking out 51 batters and holding the opposition to a .113 batting mark in 41.0 innings. In all, eight different relievers have teamed up to lock down the late innings, as MSU has outscored the opposition by a whopping 34-1 margin from the sixth inning on this season. 

Jake Fromson  has led the charge with 16.0 scoreless innings in which the junior has struck out 15 and allowed just three hits. 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.

SHUTDOWN STAFF
Missouri State's rotation has posted a strong opening stretch as well, turning in five quality starts in the first 11 contests of the 2017 season, as well as two additional scoreless starts that led to shutouts. As a staff, Bears starters have recorded 58 strikeouts in 59.0 innings, while holding the opposition to a .227 batting mark. 

Even more impressive, MSU has completed an NCAA Division I-best five shutouts to date, including the first string of three consecutive shutouts in school history, Feb. 26-March 3, when the Bears blanked Middle Tennessee (5-0), Arkansas State (13-0) and Central Arkansas (5-0) as part of their current eight-game win streak. A total of four different MSU starters and five relievers have combined on shutouts so far this season.

NON-CON DOMINATION
A 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 60-14 record in regular-season games versus non-league foes. They have won 27 of their last 31 regular-season non-conference home games, but have been nearly as potent on the road, going 33-10 in true road and neutral-field contests over the same stretch.

EIERMAN HONORED AGAIN
Sophomore shortstop Jeremy Eierman was chosen by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper as one of its national players of the week Monday, after the Bears' shortstop homered in three straight games over the weekend to help the Bears sweep Central Arkansas and run their current win streak to eight games.

Eierman, who was also named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week for the second time in 2017 Monday, powered the Missouri State offense as part of a perfect 4-0 week, upping his Missouri Valley Conference-leading home run total to six, while hitting .400 in MSU's three-game series with UCA and slugging 1.000 for the week. The Warsaw, Mo., product scored eight runs and drove home six more in the Bears' four games. Eierman scored three times and drove in a pair of runs in a 13-0 win at Arkansas State on Wednesday before opening the scoring with homers in each of the Bears' first two games of their sweep of Central Arkansas.

Through the first 11 games of the season, Eierman leads the Valley in runs scored (14) and total bases (36) in addition to his league-best home run total, which currently ranks fourth nationally. He also ranks second among all MVC players in both slugging (.818) and RBIs (15).

WATCHING YOUNG
Missouri State closer Bryan Young was one of 60 players named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's initial watch list for its 2017 Stopper of the Year Award, given annually to the top relief pitchers in NCAA Division I baseball.

Young, who was one of five finalists for the 2015 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, has picked up right where he left off the last two seasons, logging four scoreless outings to begin the new season. The Kansas City, Mo., native owns the MSU career saves record with 30, which is tied for the top spot on the NCAA's saves list for active Division I pitchers, and ranks third on the active ERA list (1.62).

CARDIAC CUBS
The Bears rallied for their fourth comeback win of the season Saturday vs. Central Arkansas, erasing a 3-1 deficit courtesy of a home runs a season-high three home runs for an eventual 5-3 victory. MSU also logged three come-from-behind victories the week of Feb. 20-26, rallying from deficits of at least two runs at ORU, Belmont and Lipscomb. 

Missouri State's win Saturday marked the Bears' 45th comeback victory since the start of the 2015 season. Last year, the Bears posted 17 comeback wins, on the heels of a 2015 season that saw them claim victory in 24 such contests. MSU rallied from its biggest deficit in nearly six years last March vs. Arkansas State, coming all the way back from a 5-0 hole to defeat the Red Wolves by a 15-11 final tally. The Bears' last come-from-behind win after trailing by five runs occurred on May 26, 2010, when MSU overcame a 7-2 deficit against Southern Illinois at the MVC Championship in Wichita. MSU was particularly resilient in MVC play in 2015, capturing eight of their 18 conference victories in comeback fashion.