ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Missouri State's Erin Griesbauer and Madison Hunsaker earned weekly Missouri Valley Conference softball awards Monday as the league's Pitcher and Newcomer of the Week, respectively, thanks to their performances in the Bears' victory at Tulsa and sweep of preseason favorite Illinois State.
 
Griesbauer had a breakout week in the circle for the Bears. The sophomore led the Missouri State pitching staff with 11 innings pitched and picked up a big win at Tulsa – a 2017 NCAA tournament team. At Tulsa, she entered the game in relief in the bottom of the third and posted five shutout innings against the Golden Hurricanes.
 
Tulsa, who put up six runs before Griesbauer made her appearance, was limited to just three hits after she entered the circle. Closing out another game, she was a brick house against the Redbirds in game one where she threw 2.2 shutout innings to secure the MSU victory. She picked up Missouri State's only save of the season in the game-one victory. Griesbauer posted a 0.64 ERA on the week, tallied six strikeouts and limited batters to a .233 batting average.
 
Hunsaker led the MSU offense with a .444 average at the plate this week. Along with her efforts at the dish, she picked up her first victory in the circle in game two against Illinois State. Hunsaker picked up one hit and one walk in the Bears' 7-6 win over Tulsa. She plated two runs in game one against Illinois State thanks to an RBI single up the middle – she was one of two bears to record two hits in the game.
 
After the Bears got down 3-1 in game two, Hunsaker belted her first home run of the season on a three-run shot past the right-center fence. Her dinger put the Bears up 4-3 and gave MSU its first lead of the game. After Illinois State regained its lead, Hunsaker entered the circle in the top of the seventh and induced two quick outs. Hunsaker's efforts in the circle earned her the first victory of her Missouri State career and she led the staff with a spotless ERA.
 
Coming Up Next
After sweeping Illinois State, the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference preseason favorite, the Missouri State softball team (16-10) returns to Killian Stadium on Tuesday at 5 p.m. for a contest against the UMKC Kangaroos. Live stats, live updates and a live stream will be available for the matchup. For all the latest information on the Missouri State softball team, visit missouristatebears.com or follow @MSUSoftball on Twitter.