SPRINGFIELD – Returning to tournament play, the Missouri State softball team (8-6) gears up to battle the two-time defending national champion Oklahoma Sooners and Abilene Christian this weekend at the Courtyard Marriott Tournament in Norman, Okla.
 
The Bears will face the fourth-ranked Sooners at 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and will go head-to-head against the Wildcats at noon on Saturday and Sunday.
 

Courtyard Marriott Tournament
Dates	Friday, Mar. 2 | Saturday, Mar. 3 | Sunday, Mar. 4
Site | Location	Marita Hynes Field (1,378) | Norman, Okla.
Game 1	Friday at 5 p.m. - MSU at Oklahoma | Live Stats | Live Stream | Radio
Game 2	Saturday at 12 p.m. – MSU vs. Abilene Christian | Live Stats
Game 3	Saturday at 5 p.m. - MSU at Oklahoma | Live Stats | Live Stream | Radio
Game 4	Sunday at 12 p.m. – MSU vs. Abilene Christian | Live Stats
Missouri State	Game Notes | Softball Home Page | Twitter

 
The Starting Lineup

• The MSU offense is off to a solid start this season. The Bears have outscored their opponents 60-42 and have combined for 99 hits.
• Darian Frost was the lone Bear to record a hit and reach base in Wednesday's game at Arkansas. Frost reached base in the top of the fifth thanks to a single into center field and extended her hitting streak to now three games.
• Darian Frost, Steffany Dickerson and Madison Jones earned All-Tournament honors for their efforts at the Louisiana Tech Invitational. Frost hit .500 for the weekend with a team-high four RBI. Her two-run homer was the difference in MSU's 2-0 win over national powerhouse LA Tech. Notching her second triple of the season, Jones collected five hits to go along with a .556 batting average. She also raked in four RBI and one steal. Dickerson was 1-0 on the weekend with a perfect 0.00 ERA against LA Tech, allowing just four hits – all singles –with just one walk and a .167 batting average over 7.0 total innings. The freshman sensation also batted .400 with a double and 3 RBI on the weekend.
• Boasting 29 extra base hits this season, Missouri State leads the league with seven triples and sits second with 19 doubles. The Bears rank eighth in the country in triples per game. Madison Jones and Kyana Mason are two of five players around the league to record a pair of triples, while Daphne Plummer and Kaitlin Beason lead MSU with five doubles apiece.
• Captaining the MSU outfield, Erika Velasquez Zimmer collected her 150th career start in Wednesday's game against Arkansas. Fellow senior Madison Jones is five starts away from reaching the 150 mark and has played in 152 games during her time in a Bear uniform.
• Five Bears maintain a .300 or better batting average through 14 games this season. Senior slugger Kaitlin Beason leads the Bears with a .464 average and an impressive .857 slugging percentage. Beason has tallied a team-high two home runs and has collected six RBI in 10 appearances.
• The Missouri State pitching staff has limited opponents to a .240 batting average and maintains a 2.76 ERA. Steffany Dickerson and Holly Kelley have logged 24 or more innings of work in the circle and combine for 53 strikeouts this season. Both hurlers have posted a pair of shutouts while Kelley boasts one save.
• On February 9, 2018, MSU head coach Holly Hesse eclipsed the 750 career-victory mark thanks to the Bears' 4-0 win over Mississippi Valley State. Only 37 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.
• 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.

 
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 751 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 757-753-2 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. 
 
Striking the Sooners
Ranked fourth in the nation, the two-time defending national champion Sooners enter Friday's contest with a 9-2 overall record. The Sooners have posted wins over No. 16 Arizona State, BYU and North Carolina but were upset by Boston University and Arizona. At the plate, OU combines for a .319 batting average, blasting 11 home runs while tapping 92 hits. Sydney Romero leads the squad with 15 hits and a .441 batting average. Standout Paige Parker leads the Sooners' efforts in the circle with a miniscule, 0.41 ERA and 35 strikeouts. As a staff, OU posts a 0.76 ERA and has limited its opponents to a .180 batting average. The Sooners are led by NFCA Hall of Fame head coach Patty Gasso, who is in her 24^th season at the helm of the program. Meeting first in 1975, Oklahoma boasts a 17-9 all-time series lead over the Bears.
 
Wrangling the Wildcats
ACU enters the Courtyard Marriott Tournament on a four-game losing streak after suffering back-to-back losses at Baylor on Sunday, Feb. 25. The Wildcats played a pair of Bear opponents, splitting with Valley foe Southern Illinois and falling in a 4-2 decision to UTSA in San Antonio, Texas. Donelle Johnson leads the ACU offense with a .375 batting average while slugger Brianna Barnhill has tallied four homers on the season. Veteran Hannah Null leads the Wildcat pitching staff with a 2.27 ERA in 46.1 innings of work. She has accumulated 41 strikeouts while limiting opponents to a .240 batting average. Leading the Wildcats, Bobby Reeves is in the midst of his eighth season as head coach. Meeting just once, MSU holds a 1-0 lead over ACU.
 
For all the latest information on the Missouri State softball team, visit missouristatebears.com or follow @MSUSoftball on Twitter.