Friday, May 11
Des Moines, Iowa
6:32 p.m.
Missouri State University
vs
Southern Illinois
MSU Softball Enters 2018 MVC Championship as No. 2 Seed
May 10, 2018 | Softball
SPRINGFIELD – After finishing second overall in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Missouri State softball team (32-19, 17-8 MVC) heads into the 2018 MVC Championship as the No. 2 seed and will wait to play either No. 3 Southern Illinois, No. 6 UNI or No. 7 Illinois State on Friday, May 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Buel Field in Des Moines, Iowa.
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Live stats, live updates and live streams on ESPN+ will be available for the postseason contest.
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The Starting Lineup
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.
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She is the winningest coach in Missouri State history with a 781-763-2 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.Â
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Series History
Drake leads the all-time series, 51-48-1, in a rivalry that dates back to 1979. The Bears are 23-21 all-time in Des Moines and have won two of the last three series there.
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Last year in Springfield, the Bulldogs won both games of a low-scoring series at Killian Stadium, 3-1 and 1-0, on April 28. Hailee Vigneaux went 1-for-3 with an RBI in the first game, while Kaitlin Beason struck out her 100th career batter. In the second game, Vigneaux collected her 100th career hit, and Holly Kelley allowed one earned run in 4.1 innings. MSU avenged the loss at the MVC Tournament in Normal on May 11, 2-1, as Kelley tossed a no-hitter, and Mary Stephens smacked a two-run double.
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Bears in the MVC Tournament
Missouri State is 72-46 (.612) all-time in the MVC/Gateway Conference Tournaments with six previous titles -- 1983-1996-1997-1998-2006-2011. The No. 2 team on the all-time tournament win list -- Illinois State -- has 58 wins and also six championships. The Bears are making their 14th straight MVC Tournament appearance and have finished in the top three of the MVC field seven times in that span.
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All-Conference Nods
MSU junior Darian Frost (Lee's Summit, Mo.) leads four Bears named to the All-MVC teams on Wednesday. Frost is one of two catchers on the first team, while shortstop Daphne Plummer (Lee's Summit, Mo.), first baseman Kaitlin Beason (Webb City, Mo.) and center fielder Erika Velasquez Zimmer (Coppell, Texas) earned All-MVC second-team honors.
Beason was also named to the MVC All-Defensive Team after finishing the regular season with a spotless 1.000 fielding percentage. It is the first time Frost, Beason and Plummer have earned post-season awards while Velasquez Zimmer repeated on the second team from one season ago.
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Valley Weekly Awards
Missouri State won five individual awards from the Missouri Valley Conference this season.
Daphne Plummer earned the Bears' first weekly award and picked up Newcomer of the Week honors on Feb. 19 following a breakout week at the UTSA Softball Classic. The shortstop led the squad with a .500 batting average at the UTSA Softball Classic, where she racked up nine hits, two doubles, one triple and five RBIs. She led the team with two hits in MSU's 4-3 victory over Prairie View and was the lone Bear to reach home in the team's 1-0 win against Lamar. She collected a pair of hits against tournament host UTSA and drove in a season-high four RBI against Kansas.
Erin Griesbauer was given Pitcher of the Week honors on Mar. 19 following a win over Tulsa and save against Illinois State. 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.
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Madison Hunsaker earned Newcomer of the Week Honors in the same week. Hunsaker led the MSU offense with a .444 average at the plate. 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.
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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.
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Griesbauer earned the Bears' only MVC Enterprise Bank Scholar-Athlete of the Week award (Apr. 11) after a fantastic outing at Evansville. The MSU sophomore sensation factored in all three games of the Bears' sweep of Evansville, collecting two wins and a save and posting a 0.62 ERA in the series. She started the weekend with a complete-game, nine-inning win over the Aces, allowing just four hits (all singles) and just one run in the thrilling extra-inning affair. She returned a couple hours later out of the bullpen to close out an eight-inning victory, going a perfect two-thirds of an inning in relief to nail down her third save of the year -- on just three pitches -- including an assist.
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Finally, she helped the Bears' come-from-behind efforts in Saturday's series finale, pitching 1.2 innings in relief and surrendering no hits, allowing a single walk and fanning one to pick up her fourth victory in Valley play and second in as many days. Her 9.0 innings in Friday's first game in Evansville was a career high, while her 0.79 WHIP and .118 batting average against were tops on the MSU staff for the weekend.
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Plummer earned her first Player of the Week honor and second weekly award of the season after a dominating performance against Indiana State. Plummer had a great weekend at the plate, going a combined 5-for-7 in two games. The freshman sensation led the Bears with a dominating .714 average at the dish, while racking up one double and two runs. Her six assists and .714 on-base percentage also paced the Bears.
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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.
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Walk-Off Drama
Darian Frost's walk-off grand slam against Southern Illinois on April 17 was her second game-ending home run of the 2018 season. She also hit a walk-off solo homer in the 9th inning of MSU's win over Illinois State on March 17. On April 28, Kaitlin Beason hit a walk-off solo homer to defeat Indiana State on Senior Day at Killian Stadium, 5-4. MSU has won 10 games in 2018 in its final at-bat with six walk-offs.
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Final Details
MSU received a two-round bye to start the 2018 MVC Championship and will wait to face their opponent at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 11 at Buel Field. Sixth-seeded UNI will take on No. 7 Illinois State on Thursday and the winner will advance to play No. 3 Southern Illinois on Friday at 1:30 p.m. The winner of that contest will go head-to-head against the Bears later that night. For more information regarding the 2018 championship, visit the MVC website at MVC-Sports.com. For all the latest information on the Missouri State softball team, visit MissouriStateBears.com or follow @MSUSoftball on Twitter.
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Live stats, live updates and live streams on ESPN+ will be available for the postseason contest.
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| 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament | |
| Dates | Thursday, May 10 | Saturday, May 12 |
| Site | Location | Buel Field | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Game 1 | Friday at 6 p.m. | vs. TBA |
| Follow Along | ESPN+ | Live Stats |
| Missouri State | Game Notes | Softball Home Page | Twitter |
The Starting Lineup
- Daphne Plummer hit .478 (22-for-46) during the month of April with 5 doubles and a .630 slugging percentage. The MVC Player of the Week hit .714 (5-for-7) in MSU's series sweep of Indiana State and has a club-high 27 hits this season with 2 outs.
- Senior Erika Velasquez Zimmer is just four hits shy of joining the 200-hit club. Only four MSU players -- Barb Gaines (1990-93), Sarah Madden (1997-00), Kate Madden (1993-96) and Diedre Shores (1995-98) have collected 200 career hits. Zimmer is already MSU's career leader in stolen bases (63), while her 607 at-bats ranks 3rd on the Bears' career chart. She enters the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Championship with 196 career hits and a .323 career batting average.
- Plummer surpassed teammate Velasquez Zimmer's MSU freshman record for hits in a season with 62. Plummer currently leads all Valley freshman in hits and batting average (.380). No Bears' freshman standout has ever hit better than .365 in a season (Zimmer hit .361).
- Finishing 17-8 in Missouri Valley Conference play, MSU has complied 17 or more conference wins for just the third time in program history, joining previous milestone seasons in 2006 (18-4) and 2015 (17-9).
- MSU is a combined 12-7 against teams who earned appearances in this season's MVC Championship.
- Four Bears – Darian Frost, Kaitlin Beason, Daphne Plummer and Erika Velasquez Zimmer – earned post-season honors. Frost was the lone Bear to represent MSU on the All-MVC First Team while Beason,
- Plummer and Velasquez Zimmer each earned second-team honors. Beason also received MVC All-Defensive Team laurels.
- Missouri State is 72-46 (.612) all-time in the MVC/Gateway Conference Tournaments with six previous titles -- 1983-1996-1997-1998-2006-2011.
- MSU was 13-5 (.722) at Killian Stadium this year, marking the highest winning percentage and the second-most home wins in the 10-year history of the 1,200-seat facility. The Bears were 14-9 at home in 2011.
- Racking up 32 wins this season, the Bears' 2018 campaign has been the squad's second-winningest season since 1997. The Bears posted a 35-26 overall record in the 1997 season and a remarkable 40-17 record in 2006.Â
- All-time Bears' great Barb Gaines (1990-93) was named to the MVC All-25 Year Team on April 26. Gaines, the program's only NFCA Division I All-American, had a career batting average of .403 -- tops on MSU's career list -- and is also the program's career hits leader with 252.
- Darian Frost ranks 4th nationally in sacrifice flies (6), and 29 of her team-high 33 RBI have come in MSU wins this season.
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.
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She is the winningest coach in Missouri State history with a 781-763-2 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.Â
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Series History
Drake leads the all-time series, 51-48-1, in a rivalry that dates back to 1979. The Bears are 23-21 all-time in Des Moines and have won two of the last three series there.
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Last year in Springfield, the Bulldogs won both games of a low-scoring series at Killian Stadium, 3-1 and 1-0, on April 28. Hailee Vigneaux went 1-for-3 with an RBI in the first game, while Kaitlin Beason struck out her 100th career batter. In the second game, Vigneaux collected her 100th career hit, and Holly Kelley allowed one earned run in 4.1 innings. MSU avenged the loss at the MVC Tournament in Normal on May 11, 2-1, as Kelley tossed a no-hitter, and Mary Stephens smacked a two-run double.
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Bears in the MVC Tournament
Missouri State is 72-46 (.612) all-time in the MVC/Gateway Conference Tournaments with six previous titles -- 1983-1996-1997-1998-2006-2011. The No. 2 team on the all-time tournament win list -- Illinois State -- has 58 wins and also six championships. The Bears are making their 14th straight MVC Tournament appearance and have finished in the top three of the MVC field seven times in that span.
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All-Conference Nods
MSU junior Darian Frost (Lee's Summit, Mo.) leads four Bears named to the All-MVC teams on Wednesday. Frost is one of two catchers on the first team, while shortstop Daphne Plummer (Lee's Summit, Mo.), first baseman Kaitlin Beason (Webb City, Mo.) and center fielder Erika Velasquez Zimmer (Coppell, Texas) earned All-MVC second-team honors.
Beason was also named to the MVC All-Defensive Team after finishing the regular season with a spotless 1.000 fielding percentage. It is the first time Frost, Beason and Plummer have earned post-season awards while Velasquez Zimmer repeated on the second team from one season ago.
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Valley Weekly Awards
Missouri State won five individual awards from the Missouri Valley Conference this season.
Daphne Plummer earned the Bears' first weekly award and picked up Newcomer of the Week honors on Feb. 19 following a breakout week at the UTSA Softball Classic. The shortstop led the squad with a .500 batting average at the UTSA Softball Classic, where she racked up nine hits, two doubles, one triple and five RBIs. She led the team with two hits in MSU's 4-3 victory over Prairie View and was the lone Bear to reach home in the team's 1-0 win against Lamar. She collected a pair of hits against tournament host UTSA and drove in a season-high four RBI against Kansas.
Erin Griesbauer was given Pitcher of the Week honors on Mar. 19 following a win over Tulsa and save against Illinois State. 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.
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Madison Hunsaker earned Newcomer of the Week Honors in the same week. Hunsaker led the MSU offense with a .444 average at the plate. 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.
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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.
              Â
Griesbauer earned the Bears' only MVC Enterprise Bank Scholar-Athlete of the Week award (Apr. 11) after a fantastic outing at Evansville. The MSU sophomore sensation factored in all three games of the Bears' sweep of Evansville, collecting two wins and a save and posting a 0.62 ERA in the series. She started the weekend with a complete-game, nine-inning win over the Aces, allowing just four hits (all singles) and just one run in the thrilling extra-inning affair. She returned a couple hours later out of the bullpen to close out an eight-inning victory, going a perfect two-thirds of an inning in relief to nail down her third save of the year -- on just three pitches -- including an assist.
              Â
Finally, she helped the Bears' come-from-behind efforts in Saturday's series finale, pitching 1.2 innings in relief and surrendering no hits, allowing a single walk and fanning one to pick up her fourth victory in Valley play and second in as many days. Her 9.0 innings in Friday's first game in Evansville was a career high, while her 0.79 WHIP and .118 batting average against were tops on the MSU staff for the weekend.
              Â
Plummer earned her first Player of the Week honor and second weekly award of the season after a dominating performance against Indiana State. Plummer had a great weekend at the plate, going a combined 5-for-7 in two games. The freshman sensation led the Bears with a dominating .714 average at the dish, while racking up one double and two runs. Her six assists and .714 on-base percentage also paced the Bears.
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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.
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Walk-Off Drama
Darian Frost's walk-off grand slam against Southern Illinois on April 17 was her second game-ending home run of the 2018 season. She also hit a walk-off solo homer in the 9th inning of MSU's win over Illinois State on March 17. On April 28, Kaitlin Beason hit a walk-off solo homer to defeat Indiana State on Senior Day at Killian Stadium, 5-4. MSU has won 10 games in 2018 in its final at-bat with six walk-offs.
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Final Details
MSU received a two-round bye to start the 2018 MVC Championship and will wait to face their opponent at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 11 at Buel Field. Sixth-seeded UNI will take on No. 7 Illinois State on Thursday and the winner will advance to play No. 3 Southern Illinois on Friday at 1:30 p.m. The winner of that contest will go head-to-head against the Bears later that night. For more information regarding the 2018 championship, visit the MVC website at MVC-Sports.com. For all the latest information on the Missouri State softball team, visit MissouriStateBears.com or follow @MSUSoftball on Twitter.
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#MSUBearsÂ
Players Mentioned
P/1B
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P/1B
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
SS
/ Softball
1B
/ Softball
1B/3B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballMonday, June 22
Wednesday, June 17
Wednesday, June 17
Wednesday, June 17
