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Millas

Baseball

Bears Head West for Tony Gwynn Legacy

Missouri State Bears (1-2) at Tony Gwynn Legacy
Dates: Friday, Feb. 22 - Sunday, Feb. 24
Site: San Diego, Calif.
Game 1: vs. No. 24 Cal State Fullerton  |  Friday - 3 p.m. (CST)
Tony Gwynn Stadium (3,000)  |  Live Stats
Game 2:   at San Diego  |  Saturday - 8 p.m. (CST)
Fowler Park (1,700)  |  Live Stats  |  Watch
Game 3:   vs. Fresno State  |  Sunday - 12 p.m. (CST)
Tony Gwynn Stadium (3,000)  |  Live Stats
Follow: Tony Gwynn Legacy Central  |  @MSUBearBaseball
Radio: KBFL 1060 AM/96.9 FM (Corey Riggs)  |  RadioSpringfield.com            
Game Notes:  Missouri State  |  Cal State Fullerton  |  San Diego  |  Fresno State          
Series Histories: First meetings with all three opponents  

Prime 9
  • The Bears will be making their first trip to California since the 1995 NCAA West Regional in Fresno; MSU will also be facing three first-time opponents this weekend in Cal State Fullerton, San Diego and Fresno State
  • Missouri State head coach Keith Guttin ranks fifth among all active NCAA Division I coaches in total wins (1,260)
  • The Bears, who return 19 letterwinner's from last year's 40-17 Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and post-season tournament championship squad, were tabbed the league's preseason favorite by the MVC head coaches
  • Davis Schwab struck out a career-high six Utah hitters in the Bears' first win of the season last Saturday, working a personal-best 4.1 innings of scoreless relief in the 6-2 victory
  • John Privitera reached base safely in eight straight trips to the plate last weekend, marking the longest for any Bear since Jake Burger reached in nine consecutive plate appearances March 15-18, 2016    
  • The Bears' roster features three different returners who have earned All-America recognition during their respective MSU careers, led by 2019 preseason Collegiate Baseball All-America picks Drew Millas and Connor Sechler     
  • MSU has 80 combined come-from-behind wins over the last four seasons and went 13-2 in one-run games in 2018
  • The Bears have posted a 86-40 (.683) regular-season non-conference mark over the last four seasons
  • Eleven different Bears made their MSU debuts during the opening weekend of play in San Marcos, Texas    
Leading Off
The Missouri State Bears will embark on the first of two 2019 West Coast excursions this weekend when they take part in the Tony Gwynn Legacy in San Diego, Calif. The Bears will open play Friday (Feb. 22) with a 3 p.m. (CST) game against No. 24 Cal State Fullerton Titans at Tony Gwynn Stadium, on the campus of San Diego State University, before moving operations to Fowler Park on Saturday (6 p.m.), when they meet the host San Diego Toreros. MSU will wrap up its stay in California with a 12 p.m. game Sunday against the Fresno State Bulldogs at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
    
After returning from San Diego, the Bears will open the home portion of their 2019 schedule with a two-game midweek series against Central Arkansas, beginning with a Tuesday (Feb. 26) afternoon contest (3 p.m.). MSU will host UCA again Wednesday (3 p.m.), before opening a three-game non-conference series with nationally-ranked UC Irvine Friday (March 1) and concluding their six-game home stand with another midweek tilt vs. Oral Roberts (March 5).

Series Histories
Missouri State will be facing a trio of first-time opponents this weekend in their initial participation in the Tony Gwynn Legacy. The Bears will also be making their second regular-season trip to the state of California and their fourth visit overall.

MSU last visited the Golden State for the 1995 NCAA West Regional in Fresno, where it dropped a pair of close calls to Long Beach State and Middle Tennessee. Prior to that, the Bears went 1-5 at the Fresno State Classic in March 1993, and 0-2 at the 1982 NCAA Division II College World Series in Riverside.

Lifting the Lid
With its 16-4 setback to Nevada last Friday, Missouri State fell to 24-13 in season openers under head coach Keith Guttin and 36-20 overall in such affairs as a program. The Bears' lopsided  loss to the Wolf Pack also snapped a six-game MSU opening-game win streak that dated back to their last trip to San Marcos in 2013.

West Coast Flavor
MSU's 2019 schedule features a definitive West Coast vibe, with the Bears set to take on seven different opponents in a total of 11 contests from the Mountain West, Pac-12, Big West or West Coast Conference during the non-conference portion of the schedule. This weekend's trip to San Diego represents the first of two early-season trips to California, with games against two former national champions (Cal State Fullerton and Fresno State) and perennial power San Diego on tap.

MSU, which hosts UC Irvine in its first weekend home series of the season next weekend (March 1-3), will also make a return trip to the Golden State March 22-24, for a three-game series with UC Santa Barbara.

Millas, Sechler Honored
After earning All-America honors to spearhead the Bears' 2018 MVC title run, both Drew Millas and Connor Sechler were tabbed for 2019 preseason All-America honors by Collegiate Baseball. Millas posted a career year in helping the Bears to their second consecutive Valley regular-season championship last spring, posting team-best figures for batting (.321), hits (68) and RBIs (61) en route to earning first-team All-MVC and second-team All-America honors from the NCBWA. The catcher/DH recorded 18 multi-hit games and 18 multi-RBI efforts, as well as three separate four-hit games as a sophomore.

Sechler was a freshman All-America choice of both Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA after anchoring the Bears' bullpen with eight saves and a 2.98 earned run average in 2018. The right-hander limited the opposition to a combined .208 batting average, while striking out 59 hitters in 54.1 innings over an MSU freshman-record 32 appearances.

Johnny on the Spot
Junior second baseman John Privitera recorded a strong opening weekend in Texas, batting .500 over three games for the Bears, including a stretch in which he reached base safely via a hit, walk or hit by pitch in eight consecutive plate appearances. That streak represented the longest by a Bear in neraly three years since Jake Burger's string of reaching base in nine-consecutive plate appearances from March 15-18, 2016.

The Lee's Summit, Mo., product started his season with a pair of hits in MSU's Friday setback to Nevada, then went 3-for-3 with a steal and three runs scored in the Bears' Saturday win over Utah. Privitera reached base in all five of his trips to the plate and also handled all eight of his defensive chances on the weekend without a miscue.

Valley Forecast
Highlighted by three selections to the 2019 Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Team, Missouri State was the choice of the league's head coaches to claim its third-consecutive conference crown. Leading the Bears' contingent of three preseason All-MVC choices were returning first-team all-conference picks catcher/DH Drew Millas and reliever Connor Sechler, while reigning MVC Championship Most Outstanding Player Ben Whetstone also picked up a nod at first base.

The Bears, ranked as high as No. 24 in Collegiate Baseball's Preseason Poll, captured their third NCAA Regional berth in four seasons last spring after becoming just the second Valley school to win back-to-back regular-season titles (joining Wichita State). MSU (59 points) garnered five of the eight first-place votes to edge DBU for the top spot by just one point. The Patriots, who received two first-place votes, out-gained No. 3 Indiana State (49), which picked up the other first-place vote, while Bradley (39) rounded out the top half of the preseason poll.

Cardiac Cubs
The Bears were in control from the first inning of their initial victory of 2019 Saturday against Utah, but MSU has made the comeback rally an artform in accumulating the most overall victories over a four-year period (170) in program history. Since the start of the 2015 season, the Bears have rallied for a victory on 80 separate occasions, including 21 times last spring, which represented 52.5 percent of their overall season win total (40).

Title Town
Missouri State wrapped up one of the more dominant performances in Missouri Valley Conference history with its fourth league tournament title last spring. The Bears swept the Valley Championship field for the second time in four years, logging a 10-0 shutout of Evansville, two comeback wins over Indiana State and a 10-inning, walk-off win over host DBU.

MSU, which also captured its sixth regular-season Valley title and 10th conference championship overall under the direction of Dan Callahan MVC Coach of the Year Keith Guttin, capped off an unprecedented run of success against MVC foes. The Bears went 18-3 during league play, running their two-year MVC mark to 36 wins in 40 total conference games. Coupled with their 4-0 week at the Valley Tournament, the Bears have won 43 of their 49 total contests against MVC foes over the last two seasons.

Bears on the Radio
Once again in 2019, Meyer Communications is slated to provide live radio coverage of all 56 Missouri State regular-season games, plus all Bears' games in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and any 2019 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.

 
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Players Mentioned

Jake Burger

#9 Jake Burger

IF
6' 2"
Junior
R/R
Drew Millas

#24 Drew Millas

C
6' 2"
Junior
B/R
John Privitera

#32 John Privitera

IF
5' 8"
Junior
L/R
Davis Schwab

#13 Davis Schwab

LHP
6' 4"
Senior
L/L
Connor Sechler

#14 Connor Sechler

RHP
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Ben Whetstone

#45 Ben Whetstone

IF
6' 6"
Junior
L/R

Players Mentioned

Jake Burger

#9 Jake Burger

6' 2"
Junior
R/R
IF
Drew Millas

#24 Drew Millas

6' 2"
Junior
B/R
C
John Privitera

#32 John Privitera

5' 8"
Junior
L/R
IF
Davis Schwab

#13 Davis Schwab

6' 4"
Senior
L/L
LHP
Connor Sechler

#14 Connor Sechler

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
RHP
Ben Whetstone

#45 Ben Whetstone

6' 6"
Junior
L/R
IF

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