Missouri State Bears (25-11) at Missouri Tigers (27-13)
Site	Taylor Stadium (3,031)  |  Columbia, Mo.
Date/First Pitch:	Tuesday, April 24  |  6:30 p.m.
Watch:	SECN+
Radio:	KBFL 1060 AM/96.9 FM
Follow:	Live Stats  |  @MSUBearBaseball
Game Notes:	Missouri State  |  Missouri
Series History:	MSU leads 29-26 (13-15 vs. MU in Columbia)

PRIME 9

• Missouri State is 11-6 in true road/neutral games this season; the Bears have gone 59-34 in true road games over the last four seasons and 79-40 overall away from Hammons Field over the same span
• The Bears lead the series with Mizzou by a 29-26 margin, despite dropping their first meeting of the season with the Tigers two weeks ago in Springfield; MSU has won six of the last eight games in the series overall, including two of the last three in Columbia
• Drew Mililas was named MVC Player of the Week for the third time this season on Monday after going 8-for-15 with a pair of homers and seven RBIs last week; the honor is the sixth overall weekly player or pitcher of the week award for a Bear this spring
• Preseason All-America pick Jeremy Eierman, who was named to both the Golden Spikes Award and Brooks Wallace Award watch lists, swiped the 41st base of his career last weekend to become the lone Bear to rank among the top 10 players in program history in both steals and home runs (38) 
• MSU leads the Valley in team ERA (3.91) and opponent batting (.228); Individually, Dylan Coleman paces the circuit in strikeouts (79) and opposing batting (.188), while Logan Geha's six sac bunts leads the league as well 
• With his 11 strikeouts last Friday against Illinois State, Coleman moved into fourth place on the Bears' career strikeout list with 267 K's; the junior also notched his 20th victory as a Bear to crack the crack the top 10 for wins
• Matt Brown brings a career-best 10-game hit streak into Tuesday's game; the senior has batted .353 with three homers and 12 RBIs over the course of his streak
• Head coach Keith Guttin (1,244) surpassed the career win total of former Southern Illinois coach Itchy Jones to move into sole possession of the No. 21 position on the NCAA's all-time Division I coaching wins list     
• Missouri State has 73 combined come-from-behind victories over the last four seasons, including 14 through its first 36 contests of the 2018 campaign 

LEADING OFF
The Missouri State Bears will ride a three-game win streak into their Tuesday (April 24) evening contest with the Missouri Tigers at Taylor Stadium. The Bears and Tigers will conclude their 2018 season series with a 6:30 p.m., game that will be broadcast live on the SEC Network+.

The Bears (25-11) are coming off a three-game sweep of Illinois State over the weekend that put the brakes on a four-game slide. MSU powered up to hit six home runs in the series to maintain their hold on the top spot in the MVC regular-season standings.

Missouri (27-13) claimed two of three SEC games from Vanderbilt in Columbia this past weekend. The Tigers used a pair of shutdown pitching performances to win the first two games of the series, allowing just two total runs, before dropping the finale.

SERIES HISTORY
The Bears hold a 29-26 edge over the Tigers in a series that dates back to 1975. Missouri State has won six of the last eight meetings, despite dropping an 8-6 decision to the Tigers in the two clubs' first contest of the season back on April 10 in Springfield. 

The Tigers hold a 15-13 advantage against the Bears in Columbia, but Missouri State has taken two of the last three games in teh series at Taylor Stadium. MSU has enjoyed a string of recent success against fellow Show-Me State Division I clubs, going a combined 31-16 against SLU, SEMO and MU over the last 12 seasons.

WATCHING EIERMAN 
Junior shortstop Jeremy Eierman swiped his 41st career base in Friday's series-opening 4-2 win over Illinois State to become lone Bear on MSU's top 10 lists for both home runs and steals. Eierman, who also homered in Saturday's series finale to move into a tie with Ben Carlson for eighth on MSU's all-time homer list with 38, while his total of 41 steals matched those of Bob Blakley (1974-77), Gary Mitchell (1976-78), Greg Brewer (1985-86) and Kevin Medrano (2009-12) for the 10th spot on the Bears career list.

A unanimous preseason All-America pick, Eierman earned another national honor last week when he was named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List for the second straight year. The honor, for which Eierman was one of five national finalists in 2017, recognizes the top collegiate shortstop in the country. The Warsaw, Mo., native was previously selected for USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, which features 40 of the nation's top college players. Eierman was a unanimous preseason All-America and the No. 9 college prospect for the 2018 MLB Draft, as well as the No. 17 overall prospect, by Baseball America prior to the start of the season. He currently ranks among the MVC's top 10 individuals in nine different offensive categories.

BROWN BUILDING MOMENTUM
Bears third baseman Matt Brown has locked his game into high gear over the last three weeks, turning in a hot streak at the plate that has seen the senior post a career-best 10-game hit streak since April 6. Brown has hit .353 (12-for-34) with three home runs and 12 RBIs over the course of the streak. Since March 14, Brown has logged a team-best .479 on-base percentage to help the Bears win 16 of their 22 contests.

ROAD WARRIORS
Missouri State has proven to be hard to stop on the road over the past four seasons, logging a 59-34 (.634) record in such contests. Including their 20-6 record in neutral-field games over the same stretch, the Bears have gone 79-40 (.664) away from Hammons Field since the start of the 2015 season. MSU has held its own against top 25 clubs on the road as well, logging five victories in 12 such contests over the same span.

CARDIAC CUBS
Missouri State has made a habit of eliminating leads over the last three seasons, and their recent hot streak has highlighted this trend. The Bears rallied for comeback wins in each of their first two wins over Illinois State this past weekend and have now totaled 73 come-from-behind victories since the start of the 2015 season. This year alone, the Bears have rallied for 14 wins after trailing the opposition. MSU has been good in close encounters as well, recording a 9-1 mark in one-run contests, including three walkoff wins at home.

IN RARE COMPANY
With Missouri State's 6-3 win over Illinois State Saturday, Bears head coach Keith Guttin moved past former Southern Illinois coach Itchy Jones into sole possession of the No. 21 spot on the NCAA's Division I career coaching wins list. With a career record of 1,244-770 (.618), Guttin needs 11 more wins to catch Jack Stallings (Wake Forest, Florida State and Georgia Southern) and move into the top 20. Guttin is the second-winningest coach in MVC history, while his win total ranks sixth among all active Division I head coaches.

STREAKING AGAIN
After registering a record-setting 22-game win streak in Missouri Valley Conference play over the previous two seasons, the Bears have continued their winning ways at home this spring to fashion yet another memorable string of victories. With their three-game sweep of Illinois State over the weekend, the Bears stretched their Hammons Field win streak to 21 straight regular-season wins over Valley foes. MSU, which last suffered a home setback to an MVC opponent on May 8, 2016 vs. Southern Illinois, has hit .338 and outscored the opposition by a 184-65 margin over the course of the streak. 

With their midweek loss to Mizzou on April 10, the Bears saw their 10-game Hammons Field win streak come to an end. But the Bears' double-digit home win streak represented the sixth different streak of at least six home victories since the start of the 2015 season, as well as the Bears' third-longest home streak since moving to Hammons Field in 2004. The longest such streak is 16 straight victories from April 18, 2015 through March 6, 2016.

The Bears have logged their top two single-season home win totals over the last two years, going 76-23 (.768) overall at home since the start of the 2015 season.

BEARS ON RADIO
Once again in 2018, Meyer Communications is slated to provide live radio coverage of all 52 Missouri State regular-season games, plus all Bears' games in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and any 2018 postseason play. 

The broadcasts can be heard primarily on KBFL 1060 AM and 96.9 FM in Springfield with Art Hains, Ben Goss and Corey Riggs describing the action. An online audio stream is available through KBFL's website via RadioSpringfield.com.