SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State softball team begins the 2018 season at the Bulldog Kickoff Classic where they will face Nebraska-Omaha, Mississippi Valley State and Mississippi State on Feb. 9-11 at Nusz Park in Starkville, Miss.  
 
The Bears open up action on Friday at 10 a.m. against Nebraska-Omaha, followed by a first-time matchup with Mississippi Valley State at 12:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon, the squad returns for a 12:30 p.m. matchup against host Mississippi State. Semifinal rounds will follow later in the day and championship play will take place on Sunday.
 

Bulldog Kickoff Classic
Dates	Friday, Feb. 9 | Saturday, Feb. 10 | Sunday, Feb. 11
Site | Location	Nusz Park | Starkville, Miss.
Game 1	Fri. at 10 a.m. - MSU vs. Nebraska-Omaha | Live Stats
Game 2	Fri., at 12:30 p.m. - MSU vs. Mississippi Valley State | Live Stats
Game 3	Sat., at 12:30 p.m. - MSU at Mississippi State | Live Stats • Watch
Game 4	Sat., at 3/5:30 p.m. - Semifinal Round
Game 5	Sun., at 11/1:30 p.m. - Championship Round
Missouri State	Game Notes | Softball Home Page | Twitter

 
The Starting Lineup

• MSU head coach Holly Hesse is just one win shy of reaching 750 for her career. Starting the 2018 season, only 36 active Division I coaches have reached 750 career victories. Hesse is in her 30th season as MSU head coach and is the second-winningest coach in MVC history behind Illinois State's Melinda Fischer. Hesse was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on January 28th, 2018.
• After posting a 23-26 overall record and 10-16 league mark in 2017, the Bears were picked to finish fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll.
• Returning to center field for her senior season, Erika Velasquez Zimmer was the lone Bear to represent Missouri State on the MVC Preseason All-Conference Team. She earned NFCA All-Region and MVC Second-Team honors following an impressive junior season, where she led the Bears with 58 hits, a .349 batting average, 14 steals and four triples.
• Missouri State returns a strong group of veteran players, including its entire pitching staff from last season. The Bear pitching staff, led by seniors Kaitlin Beason and Holly Kelley, combined for a 2.89 ERA and held opponents to a .261 batting average in 2017.
• Offensively, senior Hailee Vigneaux enters the weekend on a seven-game hitting streak carried over from the 2017 season. Vigneaux ranked third on the squad with a .327 batting average and brought in a total of 50 hits and 11 RBIs as a junior.
• The Bears boasted an impressive 3.648 team grade-point average to rank No. 2 among the nation's major programs in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's annual academic release.
• In total, 17 members of Missouri State's 19-man roster were named to the Missouri State Athletics Director's Honor Roll.
• Missouri State returns 13 veterans players from last season's squad and welcomes five talented newcomers.
• The Missouri State offense out-hit its opponents 359-321 last season. The Bears combined for a .283 batting average and brought in a total of 168 runs.

 
Head Coach Holly Hesse
    Head coach Holly Hesse enters her 30th season leading the Bears' program as the second-winningest coach in Missouri Valley Conference history with 749 victories. Hesse joined the 700-victory club with a 4-0 win at Illinois State on April 18, 2015, completing a doubleheader sweep in Normal, Ill.
    She is the winningest coach in Missouri State history with a 749-747-2 record. Her tenure includes two regular-season MVC titles, five MVC tournament crowns and five NCAA Tournament appearances. Hesse recorded her 300th win in 2000, her 400th win in 2004, her 500th in 2007 and victory number 600 in 2012.  Missouri State leads all schools with 72 wins in the MVC Tournament and Hesse is tied with the most tournament wins at 50. Hesse was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on January 28th, 2018.
    The National Fastpitch Coaches Association has recognized her program four times as a NFCA Division I Top 10 All-Academic Team including 1999, 2000, 2016 and 2017. The 2017 Bears ranked second in the nation with a 3.648 team GPA.
    In 2017, the Bears finished with three all-conference selections, including first-team pick Bethany Sullinger, and three MVC Scholar-Athlete selections in Kaitlin Beason, Erika Velasquez-Zimmer and Sullinger. Velasquez Zimmer also represented the Bears on the NFCA All-Region Team. Junior Holly Kelley also stood out, earning a spot on the MVC All-Tournament Team after tossing an opening-round no-hitter against Drake, the first at the Valley Tournament in 27 years. Likewise, senior Mary Stephens earned NFCA National Player of the Week on Feb. 14 after a sensational opening weekend.
    In 2016, the Missouri State University Board of Governors honored coach Hesse with the Staff Excellence in Public Affairs Award in recognition of her distinctive work and accomplishments in support of Missouri States public affairs mission. 
 
Meeting the Mavericks
Picked to finish 5th in the Summit League, the Mavericks look to improve off a 15-30, 2017 campaign. UNO welcomes back senior outfielder Kelly Pattison, who started all 45 games and posted a .277 batting average in 2017. Defensively, UNO returns one pitcher from last season – Laura Roecker – who led the staff with a 10-15 record. Head coach DJ Sanchez enters her second season at the helm for the Mavericks. UNO holds a slim, 5-4 all-time series lead over the Bears.
 
Dancing with the Devilettes
Mississippi Valley State posted a 13-37 overall record in 2017 and took fourth in the SWAC with a 5-7 league record. Junior Dejanne Gage returns to the Devilette lineup after accumulating 36 hits and batting .319 last season. With the loss of All-SWAC pitcher Rebekah Clinton, Mississippi Valley State looks to Chandler Ellis and Monica Rivera to take over action in the circle. This will be the first meeting between the Bears and Devilettes as head coach Lee Smith enters his 16th season at the helm for the program.
 
Battling the Bulldogs
Finishing the 2017 season with a 36-22 overall record and ninth-place rank in the SEC, the
Bulldogs will seek offensive production from senior shortstop Reggie Harrison and junior outfielder Bevia Robnson, who both carried over a .300 batting average. In the circle, the Bulldogs look to senior Cassady Knudsen, who went 9-2 and posted a 2.20 ERA. Mississippi State is under the direction of Vann Stuedeman, who is in her sixth season as head coach of the program. Meeting just four times, the Bears are 3-1 all-time against the Bulldogs.
 
Academic Leaders
Missouri State University ranks second among the nation's NCAA Division I softball programs in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's Academic Team rankings for the 2016-17 academic year. The Bears boasted an impressive 3.648 team grade-point average to rank No. 2 among the nation's major programs in the organization's annual academic release. A total of 143 Division I teams accumulated grade-point averages of 3.00 or higher in 2016-17. Last year, the Bears ranked 10th nationally on the NFCA's annual academic honor roll.