Softball Bears Host Illinois State in MVC Opener

Friday, March 16

Springfield

3:30 PM

Missouri State University

Illinois State

Softball Bears Host Illinois State in MVC Opener

March 14, 2018 | Softball

By: MSU Athletics Communications

SPRINGFIELD – Coming off a big mid-week win at Tulsa, the Missouri State softball team (13-10) opens up its home and Missouri Valley Conference slate against league favorite Illinois State (9-17) on Mar. 16-17 at Killian Stadium. Friday's doubleheader is slated for 3 and 5:30 p.m. and Saturday's series finale is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.

Missouri State (13-10) vs. Illinois State (9-17)
Dates	Friday, Mar. 16 \| Saturday, Mar. 17
Site \| Location	Killian Stadium \| Springfield, Mo.
Game 1	Friday at 3 p.m. \| Live Stats \| ESPN3
Game 2	Friday at 5:30 p.m. \| Live Stats \| ESPN3
Game 3	Saturday at 11 a.m. \| Live Stats
Promotions	SATURDAY ONLY - Girl Scout Day - 'Wear Green, Get in Free", Poster Signing
Missouri State	Game Notes \| Softball Home Page \| Twitter

The Starting Lineup

Posting its first win over Tulsa since the 2006 season, MSU ground out a 7-6, come-from-behind victory, Tuesday night at Tulsa. MSU out-hit Tulsa 12-8 and combined for a .364 batting average against the 2017 NCAA Tournament team. Prior to Tuesday's meeting, the Bears dropped the last 12 contests against the Golden Hurricanes.
Last weekend, two Bears – Hannah Heinrichs and Kelly Metter – hit their first home runs of the season. Heinrichs blasted a two-run homer against Western Illinois and Metter launched a solo shot over the centerfield wall against former Valley foe Wichita State.
An underclassmen on the MSU roster, sophomore Carsten Warner celebrates her 20th birthday on St. Patrick's Day this coming weekend.
Second on the team with a .347 batting average, senior Erika Velasquez Zimmer picked up her 170th career hit last weekend at the Shocker Softball Tournament. Velasquez Zimmer leads the lineup with 26 hits and 17 runs and has earned 10 steals on the season.
MSU's 10-inning victory against Western Illinois marked the longest game the Bears have played since its MVC Tournament game against Southern Illinois on May 14, 2010.
Buckling down, the Missouri State defense sits first in the MVC and 35th nationally with a .974 fielding percentage.
Four Bears – Kaitlin Beason, Erika Velasquez Zimmer, Daphne Plummer and Hailee Vigneaux – carry a .313 or higher batting average. The four have combined for 88 of MSU's 160 hits and have put together 19 extra-base hits.
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 762-757-2 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.

Rocking the Redbirds
Selected as the 2018 MVC preseason favorite, Illinois State comes into the opening week of MVC action 9-17 overall. The Redbirds play MSU victim Tulsa Wednesday night after falling to Oklahoma State, 9-1, on Tuesday. Illinois State's schedule reflects 10 losses against nationally ranked opponents. The Redbirds have faced Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina, LSU, Oklahoma State, McNeese State, Arizona State and Michigan this season. Struggling at the plate, the Illinois State lineup has collected 128 hits while going .198 at the plate. Allison Spence leads the Redbirds with 21 hits and 17 RBI, as well as six doubles. Sarah Finck has seen the most innings in the circle, and leads the staff with 32 strikeouts and a 6-7 record over 80.1 innings of work. Collectively, the pitching staff maintains a 4.33 ERA prior to its game against Tulsa. The Redbirds are led by Melinda Fischer, who is in her 33^rd season as head coach. Fischer is one of 18 head coaches in NCAA Division I softball to win over 1,000 games in their coaching career.

Series History
With a series history that dates back to 1969, Illinois State holds a 71-39 all-time series lead over Missouri State. The Redbirds made out with the last three meetings against the Bears, pulling off the series sweep last season in Normal, Ill. The last MSU win came on Mar. 19, 2016 when the Bears came away with a 3-2 victory at Killian Stadium. In the bottom of the sixth, Kaitlin Beason roped a single to left-center. After pinch runner Bethany Sullinger assumed the role of runner at first, Erin Duewel lifted the first pitch to left-center. Her line drive hit the top of the fence and skidded over for the go-ahead two-run homer.

Final Details
Friday's doubleheader is slated for 3 and 5:30 p.m. and Saturday's series finale is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Live stats, as well as live updates, will be available for all games. Friday's games will be live streamed on ESPN3. For all the latest information on the Missouri State softball team, visit missouristatebears.com or follow @MSUSoftball on Twitter.

#MSUBears