PRIME 9
- Missouri State is making its 10th NCAA Division I Championship appearance and its third in the last six seasons
- The Bears enter the Fayetteville Regional with an overall postseason mark of 18-19 as a Division I program, including a 15-15 mark in regional play
- MSU has won at least one game in each of its last seven NCAA Regional appearances dating back to 1996, claiming two or more victories in six of those trips to the postseason
- The Bears have drawn a program record 326 walks this season, which ranks fifth among all Division I clubs
- First-team All-MVC picks Jake Burger and Jeremy Eierman have combined to post the top home run total by Division I teammates this season with 41 homers, ranking fourth and 10th individually in the nation, respectively
- MSU has scored at least three runs in an inning 50 times and is 19-0 when hitting two or more home runs in a game
- 2017 MVC Pitcher of the Year Jake Fromson leads all Division I pitchers in WHIP (0.72), in addition to posting MVC-best season marks for ERA (1.86) and opposing batting average (.148)
- MSU has 17 come-from-behind victories this year and 58 total comeback wins since the start of the 2015 season
- Bryan Young owns the Bears' career saves (35) and ERA (1.50) records and needs to pitch in one more game to match Scott Geitz's (1995-98) all-time MSU mark of 87 appearances leading off
LEADING OFF
After claiming the MVC regular-season title en route to their 10th
NCAA Division I Baseball Championship berth, the
Missouri State Bears (40-17) enter the
Fayetteville Regional as the No. 2 seed and will match up against the third-seeded
Oklahoma State Cowboys (30-25) to open tournament play Friday (June 2) at 2 p.m. (Central) at Baum Stadium.
The top-seeded
Arkansas Razorbacks (42-17) will meet the fourth-seeded
Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (42-14) in the second game Friday at 7 p.m. Regional play continues through Monday (June 5) with a double-elimination format. Game times for Saturday will mirror Friday's schedule, with 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. first pitches. Sunday will shift to a 3 p.m./8 p.m. format, while the deciding game on Monday (if necessary) will commence at 6 p.m. All regional contests will be streamed live online through ESPN3 (WatchESPN.com).
BEARS IN THE NCAA POSTSEASON
The Bears enter the Fayetteville Regional as the two seed for the second time in the NCAA Tournament. MSU went 2-2 at the Lincoln Regional in 2002 in its previous appearance as a No. 2 seed, dropping an 11-inning, opening-round matchup with Marist, before rallying for a pair of wins and finishing as the regional runner-up. The Bears posted a 6-1 win over Milwaukee, then exacted revenge on Marist with a 5-2 decision before host Nebraska claimed the regional with a 14-3 victory.
MSU has recorded a postseason victory in each of its last seven NCAA Championship appearances, claiming at least two wins in six of those trips.
BEARS AGAINST THE REGIONAL FIELD
Missouri State brings an 18-19 all-time NCAA Championship mark into this year's tournament, including a 15-15 record in regional play. The Bears have a 4-3 cumulative record this spring against NCAA qualifiers, including a Feb. 21 road win over ORU. All three of MSU's losses to tournament teams came against Fayetteville Regional participants, as UA, OSU and ORU each posted a regular-season victory over the Bears this spring.
Two years ago as host of the Springfield Regional, the Bears swept the field with wins over Canisius and Iowa (twice) to earn the second Super Regional berth in program history. Against Arkansas, MSU dropped the first meeting by an 18-4 score, but bounced back behind a complete-game one-hitter from Matt Hall to even the series the following day. The Razorbacks struck early to deliver the deciding blow in game three, scoring three first-inning runs, then holding on behind a strong relief effort to capture a 3-2 win and a berth in the College World Series.
MSU has also matched up with Oklahoma State and Oral Roberts on an annual basis in recent years. The Bears, 6-13 all-time against the Cowboys, have never met either OSU or ORU in the postseason, however. OSU claimed a 7-3 win over MSU on March 7 in Stillwater, handing the Cowboys their seventh-straight victory in the series. The Golden Eagles, who own a 31-22 edge over Missouri State, claimed a 3-1 road win over the Bears on March 28, following MSU's 9-5 victory in Tulsa earlier in the season.
BEARS AND HOGS HAVE HISTORY
Arkansas holds a commanding 54-26 all-time edge over Missouri State in a series that dates back to 1966. The Bears have enjoyed a recent run of success in the series, however, claiming two of the last three regular-season series from UA. Two years ago, MSU posted a 2-0 win at Baum Stadium to stop a 10-game skid in the series, then swept the Hogs in a home-and-home series in 2016. Arkansas did emerge victorious in the two clubs' only meeting of the 2017 season, pulling away for a 12-4 win at Hammons Field on April 11.
The Bears and Razorbacks have split their four NCAA Championship meetings, all of which have occurred at Baum. MSU handed the Razorbacks a dramatic 9-8 setback in the winner's bracket final of the 1999 Fayetteville Regional. As the third seed in the regional, the Bears registered a come-from-behind, extra-inning win after Division I home run leader Matt Cepicky slammed a two-out, ninth-inning solo shot over the center field fence to erase a one-run deficit and set up the game-winning MSU rally in the 10th. At the 2015 Fayetteville Super Regional, Arkansas outlasted Missouri State in a three-game series by taking the first and third contests, after the Bears — the No. 8 national seed — were forced to travel for the Super Regional round due to schedule conflicts at Hammons Field.
BURGER, EIERMAN HONORED
MSU's one-two power punch of
Jake Burger and
Jeremy Eierman garnered additional accolades on Wednesday, with Burger's selection as a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist for the second consecutive year and Eierman's citation as a Brooks Wallace Award finalist as one of the top shortstops in the nation.
Both Burger and Eierman previously were named semifinalists for the NCBWA's Dick Howser Trophy, as well as first-team All-MVC picks following banner 2017 campaigns.
IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Several Bears are turning heads on the national level, led by
Jake Burger, who ranks fourth among all Division I players in home runs (22) entering postseason play. Burger also ranks fifth in runs scored (67), 10th in total bases (154) and 16th in slugging (.691).
Jeremy Eierman is currently 10th nationally with 19 homers and the sophomore also ranks 25th in slugging (.653), 23rd in total bases (145) and 32nd in RBIs (61). On the mound,
Jake Fromson rates among the top hurlers in the country with the top WHIP (0.72) in the Division I ranks. The junior also ranks third in hits allowed per nine innings (4.79), 13th in total appearances (33) and 17th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.23).
As a team, the Bears rank fifth in walks (326), after eclipsing the program record for free passes in a season at last week's MVC Championship. MSU's team on-base percentage (.396) ranks 19th nationally and its WHIP of 1.23 is the 15th-best figure in the Division I ranks.
WALK IT OFF
MSU drew a total of 26 free passes at the MVC Championship last week to surpass the program's single-season record for walks in a season (317 in 2015). The Bears season total of 326 walks leads the Valley and ranks fifth nationally entering NCAA Championship play. On an individual level, four different Bears rank among the top eight MVC totals for bases on balls this season, led by
Hunter Steinmetz and
Jake Burger with 41 apiece, which is tied for second in the conference and 48th nationally.
BURGER CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Junior All-American
Jake Burger has continued his ascension toward the top of several MSU career charts this spring, most notably the Bears' home runs and hits lists. Burger homered for the 47th time as a Bear May 26 against Wichita State and currently sits in sixth on that list, just three shy of Ryan Howard in the No. 5 spot.
Burger also climbed to No. 14 on MSU's all-time hits chart with 236, passing Nick Kays during the Bears' MVC Championship run last week. The third baseman also enters the NCAA Championship sixth on MSU's career extra-base hits list, just one shy of reaching the 100-mark, and just two behind Brayden Drake in the No. 5 position. He also cracked the top 10 for RBIs as a Bear and is currently seventh on that chart with 177 for his career, just five away from Matt Gardner's MSU total in the No. 6 spot on the list.
CARDIAC CUBS
The Bears rallied for their 17th come-from-behind victory of the season vs. Southern Illinois (May 25) at the MVC Championship, overcoming a 3-0 deficit with 13 unanswered runs in the two clubs' elimination game last Thursday. Missouri State's victory over SIU marked its 58th comeback win since the start of the 2015 season. Last year, the Bears posted 17 comeback wins as well, on the heels of a 2015 season that saw them claim victory in 24 such contests.
MSU's comeback from a five-run deficit at Evansville on April 29 matched its biggest rally in the last seven years. Last March, the Bears overcame a 5-0 Arkansas State lead, coming all the way back 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.
IN RARE COMPANY
Bears head coach
Keith Guttin picked up his 1,200th career victory April 18 against Missouri. The Bears' 35th-year bench boss also moved up to 23rd in NCAA Division I history for coaching victories with the Bears' MVC-clinching win over Indiana State (May 13), surpassing Jay Bergman with his 1,211th win. He needs 14 more victories to match Jim Dietz's career total in the No. 22 spot on the NCAA's all-time wins list.
With a career record of 1,216-756 (.617), Guttin is the second-winningest coach in MVC history, while his win total ranks seventh among all active Division I head coaches. Guttin has guided the Bears to all 18 of their Division I postseason victories, as well as the program's 2003 College World Series berth.
VALLEY PROMINENT IN POSTSEASON PLAY
Missouri State was one of two Missouri Valley Conference teams selected for the NCAA Tournament, marking the fourth time in the last six seasons the league has earned multiple postseason bids and the 23rd time overall. The Valley was one of 11 conferences nationwied to have multiple teams earn berths in this year's NCAA Championship.
MVC Tournament champ DBU (40-19) drew the No. 3 seed in the Fort Worth Regional and will face No. 2 seed Virginia as its opening-round opponent. The last time two Valley clubs earned NCAA Championship berths was in 2015, when MSU, DBU and Bradley went a combined 7-4 in regional play, with the Bears claiming the Springfield Regional before going on to a 1-2 finish at the Fayetteville Super Regional.
