Printable Schedule
 
SPRINGFIELD – A highly competitive 52-game schedule awaits the Missouri State softball team as Bears head coach Holly Hesse announced today her team's slate for the upcoming 2020 season.
 
Hesse's 32nd season as head coach of the Bears will feature 11 foes that played in the NCAA Tournament last season. Likewise, the team's 12th season at Killian Stadium includes a full schedule of 17 home contests, featuring visits from NCAA qualifiers Southern Illinois (March 11) and Southeast Missouri (April 7).
 
"We are really looking forward to the season ahead," said Hesse. "There are a lot of challenging teams on our schedule and a lot of exciting opportunities for us. We hope to elevate the program by facing tough opponents and carrying the momentum of a great fall into the spring season."
 
The Bears kick off the 2020 campaign Feb. 7-9 at the prestigious NFCA Lead-Off Classic in Clearwater, Fla. Hesse's squad will square off with three NCAA Tournament teams in Clearwater -- Mississippi State, Minnesota and Notre Dame -- while also doing battle with elite programs North Carolina State and Baylor.
 
The team's second tournament of the spring will be a four-game event in Denton, Texas at the North Texas Invitational, Feb. 14-15. The Bears will square off with former MVC rival Creighton and tourney host North Texas, in addition to UT Martin and Abilene Christian.
 
A busy February schedule concludes at the Ole Miss Classic, Feb. 28 to March 1. Host Ole Miss won 41 games last season and made the NCAA Tournament, while California Baptist and Jackson State round out the tournament field in Oxford.
 
Missouri State's tournament stretch concludes a week later in Stillwater at the Mizuno Classic, hosted by Oklahoma State. Missouri State will play Mercer and Murray State twice apiece before concluding the event against host Oklahoma State, a 2019 Women's College World Series participant, on March 8.
 
With a short turnaround, MSU will begin Missouri Valley Conference play on March 11 with a doubleheader against SIU at Killian Stadium. The Salukis were league runners-up last year and made the NCAA Tournament field.
 
March play also includes home series against Valparaiso (March 14-15), Illinois State (March 21-22) and a single game against UCA (March 31). The Bears also travel to three NCAA Tournament teams in the month with road games at Arkansas (March 17), Tulsa (March 18) and Missouri (March 24), in addition to a three-game Valley tilt at Loyola (March 28-29).
 
The Bears will have eight home games in the month of April with visits from SEMO (April 7), Bradley (April 10-11), Wichita State (April 22) and Indiana State (April 25-26). MSU will also make three road swings in April with trips to UNI (April 4-5), Southern Illinois (April 14) and Evansville (April 18-19).
 
The Bears wrap up the regular season at defending MVC champion Drake, May 1-2, before joining the rest of the Valley programs in Evansville, May 6-9, for the single-elimination MVC Tournament.
 
Hesse is the second-winningest coach in Missouri Valley Conference history with 811 career victories. She returns 17 squad members and 15 letterwinners from a squad that posted 30 wins for the second straight season.