Missouri State Bears (10-2) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-4)
Site:	U.S. Bank Stadium (7,000)  |  Minneapolis, Minn.
Game 1:	Friday, March 10  |  6:30 p.m.
Game 2:	Saturday, March 11  |  2:00 p.m.
Game 3:	Sunday, March 12  |  1:00 p.m.
Follow:	Live Video  |  Live Stats  |  @MSUBearBaseball
Radio:	KBFL 1060 AM/96.9 FM (Art Hains)  |  RadioSpringfield.com
Game Notes:	Missouri State  |  Minnesota
Series History:	UM leads 8-3  (2-1 vs. MSU in Minneapolis)
Tickets:	GopherSports.com

PRIME 9

• Missouri State made its 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
• Minnesota holds an 8-3 all-time edge over the Bears entering the series; this weekend's action will mark just the second indoor series ever for Missouri State, which dropped two of three games to Minnesota at the Metrodome, nearly 10 years ago to the date (March 9-11, 2007)
• With 1,186 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 22 wins
• MSU's bullpen has allowed just three earned runs on 19 hits and 13 walks, while striking out 54 batters in 45.2 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
• Fromson shares the national lead in ERA (0.00) and ranks fourth in hits allowed per 9.0 IP (1.69) and fifth in WHIP (0.38), while Young's three saves is tied for 21st nationally; Jeremy Eierman also rates among the D-I leaders in home runs (5th) and total bases (36th)
• As a team, the Bears lead all of Division I baseball with five shutouts on the season; MSU also ranks fifth in team WHIP (1.01), sixth in team ERA (2.00) and eighth in hits allowed per 9.0 IP (6.08)
• The Bears have driven home runners on third with less than one out in 19-of-30 (.633) opportunities this season, while MSU hurlers have permitted the opposition to score just 5-of-17 (.294) such chances
• MSU has produced a total of 45 come-from-behind wins since the beginning of the 2015 season, including four on its eight-game win streak (Feb. 21-March 5)
• The Bears have amassed a 60-15 regular-season record against non-conference foes since the beginning of the 2015 season, including a 33-11 mark against non-MVC competition in road/neutral field games over the same stretch

LEADING OFF
After suffering just their second setback in 2017, the Missouri State Bears will look to bounce back when they meet the Minnesota Golden Gophers for a three-game series this weekend at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The Bears and Gophers will open their non-conference set Friday (March 10) with a 6:30 p.m. contest, before playing single games Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) to conclude the weekend.

The Bears (10-2) are coming off a 7-3 loss to No. 18 Oklahoma State Tuesday in Stillwater that snapped their eight-game win streak. MSU has been sharp on the road thus far, logging seven victories in nine games away from Hammons Field this season, including a 5-2 mark in true road games.

Minnesota (8-4) will enter the weekend riding a recent hot streak as well after claiming wins in four of its last five outings. The defending Big Ten champs have won three in a row after sweeping a pair of midweek games from South Dakota State and Milwaukee after topping Iowa on Sunday.

SERIES HISTORY
Minnesota brings an 8-3 advantage in the series into this weekend's action after taking two of three games from the Bears in Springfield a year ago. The Bears erased a 3-0 deficit to pull out a one-run victory in the opener, before the Gophers racked up 26 total hits to sweep a twinbill and stop MSU's 10-game win streak the following day. Terrin Vavra recorded four hits in the 12-5 game one first game, before Minnesota hung on for a 7-5 win in the nightcap to clinch the series.

The Gophers also won two of their three previous meetings with the Bears in Minneapolis, besting MSU in the first and third games of their series at the Metrodome in March 2007. 

ROAD TO SUCCESS
MSU has proven to be hard to stop on the road over the past three seasons, logging a 39-18 (.684) 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.

Coupled with their 9-3 record in neutral field contests in 2015, the Bears' total of 30 wins away from home was second only to national champion Virginia in the Division I ranks and qualified as the best in school history. 

The Bears also posted the longest road win streak in Division I baseball in 2015, claiming 11 straight victories from March 15 to April 25 — their longest since the 1994 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 60-15 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 33-11 in true road and neutral-field contests over the same stretch.

WHAT A RELIEF
The Bears' bullpen has been nearly untouchable through the first 12 games of the season, combining to allow just three earned runs while striking out 54 batters and holding the opposition to a .128 batting mark in 45.2 innings. In all, eight different relievers have teamed up to lock down the late innings, as MSU has outscored the opposition by a whopping 34-2 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 12 contests of the 2017 season, as well as two additional scoreless starts that led to shutouts. As a staff, Bears starters have recorded 64 strikeouts in 62.1 innings, while holding the opposition to a .236 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 eight-game win streak, Feb. 21-March 5. A total of four different MSU starters and five relievers have combined on shutouts so far this season. Senior left-hander Jordan Knutson has combined on shutouts in two of his first three starts of the season, working 7.0 innings of the Bears' 7-0 win over Stony Brook (Feb. 18), as well as 5 1/3 innings of last Friday's blanking of UCA.

MMM...THIS IS A TASTY BURGER!
The preseason conversation surrounding the Bears has centered on the man at the hot corner with the chance to become the latest in Missouri State's long line of premium professional prospects as the 2017 MLB Draft moves into focus. Adding to an already impressive list of accolades, junior third baseman Jake Burger was one of 15 players selected by Baseball America for 2017 first-team preseason All-America honors, which are selected by big league scouting directors based on performance, talent and professional potential.
    
Burger, a consensus All-America choice in 2016, was named to USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award watch list prior to the start of the season. He led the Bears in batting (.349) and RBIs (72) last spring and ranked second nationally in home runs (21) to earn a spot on USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team over the summer. The Chesterfield, Mo., native was also named the top defensive third baseman in the country last year as one of nine NCAA Division I standouts selected for the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I Gold Glove Team. 

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.

YOUNG TOPS SAVES LIST
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.

A 2017 preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference selection, Young is coming off one of the more dominant two-year stretches ever produced by a Bears reliever. He became Missouri State's 10th first-team All-American after setting a school record with 16 saves in 2015. The right-hander led the MVC and ranked third nationally in saves, while logging a perfect 7-0 record and a 1.30 earned run average. The MSU closer earned first-team All-America recognition from the NCBWA, as well as third-team honors from both Perfect Game and Collegiate Baseball at the conclusion of the season. 

Young, who was one of five finalists for the 2015 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, picked up right where he left off as a sophomore, logging a 1.31 earned run average, while saving 11 games in his 24 mound appearances last 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).