SPRINGFIELD – Following a three-game sweep at Evansville, the Missouri State softball team (23-14) looks to continue its winning ways on Wednesday, Apr. 11, in a 5 p.m. contest against the Oklahoma State Cowgirls at Killian Stadium.
 
Live stats, live updates, as well as a live stream on The Valley on ESPN3 will be available for the mid-week matchup.
 

Missouri State (23-14, 8-4 MVC) vs. Oklahoma State (28-11, 7-2 Big 12)
Date | Time	Wednesday, Apr. 11 | 5 p.m.
Site | Location	Killian Stadium | Springfield, Mo.
Follow Along	Live Stats | The Valley on ESPN3 | Tickets
Promotion	Orange Game - wear orange, get in free!
Missouri State	Game Notes | Softball Home Page | Twitter

The Starting Lineup

• MSU's Orange Game celebrates senior Allie Alvstad's battle, and victory, against acute myeloid leukemia. She was diagnosed with cancer in September of 2014 and underwent a bone marrow transplant in December of the same year at Baylor Cancer Center in Dallas, Texas. Alvstad was awarded the MVC's 2014-15 Most Courageous Award and remains an active advocate for cancer research.
• 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.
• Stepping up in the circle, the MSU pitching staff ranks second in the Valley and 86^th in the nation with a 2.87 ERA. Erin Griesbauer leads the way with a 2.11 ERA and three saves on the season. The Bears have combined for 187 strikeouts and have limited batters to a .246 average in the box.
• Freshman standout Daphne Plummer leads the MSU lineup and ranks fourth in the MVC with 41 hits this season. She has brought in 22 RBI, which ranks eighth among Valley hitters. Defensively, she sits third in the league with 82 assists as the Bears' everyday shortstop.
• 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 60^th steal of her career in the final inning of the Bears' 4-3 victory over the Purple Aces.
• Sophomore sensation Erin Griesbauer was phenomenal 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.
• 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 .511 slugging percentage, and has raked in 10 extra-base hits and 16 RBI.
• The Bears rank 9th 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.
• 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 772-761-2 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 4-23 all-time against Oklahoma State.
 
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
With a series history that dates back to 1977, the Cowgirls hold a 25-7 all-time series lead over the Bears. MSU is 0-7 at home against Oklahoma State and the two teams have alternated wins over the last four meetings.
 
In the last meeting between the two teams, MSU reigned in a 7-3 win at Stillwater, Okla. Then-juniors Erika Velasquez Zimmer and Hailee Vigneaux were perfect at the plate, and combined for five of MSU's seven runs. MSU out-hit the Cowgirls 10-8 and racked up six RBI off of Shea Coats. In the circle, Kaitlin Beason limited the Cowgirls to just five hits and three runs and Holly Kelley closed out the game for the win.
 
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 Cowgirls
Two Bears, Erika Velasquez Zimmer and Hailee Vigneaux have found offensive success against Oklahoma State. In two games, Vigneaux has gone 3-5 at the plate (.600) and has scored twice while Velasquez Zimmer went a perfect 4-for-4 against the Cowgirls in last season's matchup.
 
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).
 
Final Details
First pitch on Wednesday is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Killian Stadium. Live stats, a live stream, and live updates will be available. For all the latest information on the Missouri State softball team, visit MissouriStateBears.com or follow @MSUSoftball on Twitter.