SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State softball team (23-15) will celebrate its 50^th year of intercollegiate action during the Bears' Missouri Valley Conference series against the Bradley Braves on April 14-15. Saturday's doubleheader is slated for 12 and 2 p.m. and first pitch on Sunday is scheduled for 11 a.m.
 
Live stats, live updates and a live radio broadcast will be available for Saturday's games, while a live stream on ESPN+ will be available for Sunday's series finale. Due to potential inclement weather, Sunday's previously scheduled kid's clinic has been canceled.
 
The weekend will begin with a 7 p.m. reception at the Meyer Alumni Center (300 S Jefferson Ave.) in downtown Springfield from 7-8:30 p.m. on Friday, April 13 and continue the next morning with a "Coffee with the Coaches" event Saturday from 8-9 a.m. at Classic Rock Café (1900 W Sunset St, Springfield).
 
All alums in attendance will be recognized on the field between games of the doubleheader. All former players and staff are invited to attend.
 

Missouri State (23-15, 8-4 MVC) vs. Bradley (15-20, 4-6 MVC)
Dates	Saturday, April 14 | Sunday, April 15
Site | Location	Killian Stadium | Springfield, Mo.
Game 1	Saturday at 12 p.m. | Live Stats | Listen
Game 2	Saturday at 2 p.m. | Live Stats | Listen
Game 3	Sunday at 11 a.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+ ($)
Promotions	Legacy Weekend
Missouri State	Game Notes | Softball Home Page | Twitter

 
The Starting Lineup

• Leading the Bears on Wednesday against Oklahoma State, newcomer Daphne Plummer went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate. She scattered two singles and a season-high two doubles, marking her second four-hit game of the season. Striking out just nine times this season, Plummer remains one of the toughest hitters in the country to strike out as she leads the MSU lineup with a .421 on-base percentage.
• Gathering two steals against Evansville, senior speedster Erika Velasquez Zimmer became the Bears' all-time career stolen base leader on Saturday, Apr. 7. She eclipsed the 22-year-old record with the 60th steal of her career in the final inning of the Bears' 4-3 victory over the Purple Aces.
• Seeing major offensive improvement from last season, the MSU lineup is just 10 RBI shy of tying its 149 mark from its 2017 campaign. Six Bears, led by Daphne Plummer, carry 10 or more RBI and two Bears have collected 20 or more.
• Sophomore sensation Erin Griesbauer earned MVC Enterprise Bank Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors following fantastic performances in all three games of the Bears' sweep of Evansville over the weekend. She collected two wins and a save, and posted a miniscule 0.62 ERA during her time in the circle. Her 9.0 innings in Friday's first game against the Purple Aces was a career high, while her 0.79 WHIP and .118 batting average against led the MSU staff for the weekend. She maintains a 3.97 GPA in Exercise & Movement Science.
• With 30 hits already this season, Kaitlin Beason is just three hits away from joining the century-hit club. She leads the lineup with a .500 slugging percentage, and has raked in 10 extra-base hits and 16 RBI.
• The Bears rank 10th in the nation and lead the Valley in triples per game. MSU has tallied an impressive 14 triples this season, where Kyana Mason and Madison Jones lead the lineup – and the league – with three apiece. Erika Velasquez Zimmer and Daphne Plummer have both recorded two triples while Darian Frost, Madison Hunsaker and Kelly Metter have recorded one each.
• MSU's three-game sweep of Evansville not only helped the Bears match their win total from last season (23), but also marked the club's first three-game Valley sweep away from Springfield since downing Bradley three straight in Peoria in 2011.
• Freshman standout Daphne Plummer leads the MSU lineup and ties for second in the Valley with 45 hits this season. She has brought in 22 RBI, which ranks ninth among Valley hitters. Defensively, she sits third in the league with 84 assists as the Bears' everyday shortstop.
• The MSU lineup surpassed its home run production from last season over the weekend thanks to three homers against the Evansville Purple Aces. The Bears totaled 16 dingers last season and now carry 17 in the 2018 season. Kaitlin Beason and Darian Frost lead the pack with four homers apiece.
• 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.

 
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. 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 772-762-2 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.
 
Hesse is 52-28 all-time against Bradley.
 
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. 
 
Series History
Winning the conference series in 2017, Missouri State holds a solid, 58-34 all-time series lead over the Braves. The Bears are 28-14 at home against Bradley and have ground out nine of those wins at Killian Stadium.
 
The Bears blanked Bradley in the first two games of the MVC series last year, but the Braves prevented the sweep with a 9-1 victory in game three. Then-sophomore Morgan Greenlee drove in the Bears' lone run of the game after Darian Frost led off the top of the second with a walk. MSU combined for 19 hits, four doubles and one triple against the Braves during the series.
 
Academic Leaders
Missouri State University ranked 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.
 
Bears vs. the Braves
Even though she missed the entirety of last season due to injury, redshirt sophomore Hannah Heinrichs found success at the plate against the Braves in her freshman campaign. Heinrichs went 4-for-9 at the plate during the 2016 season, where she scattered four singles. She collected one RBI, as well as one stolen base in her first series against Bradley.
 
Young Guns
Missouri State's great crop of young talent has produced three weekly awards from the Missouri Valley Conference this season with freshmen Daphne Plummer (Feb. 19) and Madison Hunsaker (March 19) earning MVC Newcomer of the Week this spring. Sophomore pitcher Erin Griesbauer has also earned an MVC distinction in 2018 as Valley Pitcher of the Week (March 19). Griesbauer has also earned MVC Enterprise Bank Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors this season (March 11).
 
Final Details
Saturday's doubleheader is set to begin at 12 p.m. at Killian Stadium. Live stats, live updates and a live radio broadcast will be available on Saturday. For all the latest information on the Missouri State softball team, visit MissouriStateBears.com or follow @MSUSoftball on Twitter.