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Missouri State

Morgan Greenlee

Softball Bears Take on Nationally-Ranked Foes at Alabama Tourney

February 21, 2019

By: MSU Athletics Communications
Missouri State at Easton 'Bama Bash, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Dates  Friday-Sunday, February 22-29, 2019
Site | Location Rhoads Stadium (3,940), Tuscaloosa, Ala. | Tourney Central
Game 1 Friday (1 p.m.) | vs. Louisiana-Monroe | Live Stats
Game 2   Friday (3:30 p.m.) | vs. #6 Alabama | Live Stats | SECNetwork+
Game 3 Saturday (10:00 a.m.) | vs. Louisiana-Monroe | Live Stats
Game 4 Saturday (12:30 p.m.) | vs. #6 Alabama | Live Stats | SECNetwork+
Game 5 Sunday (11:00 a.m.) | vs. #24 Minnesota | Live Stats
Missouri State Softball Home Page | Twitter | Facebook | Season Preview Video

The Prime Nine
  • Madison Hunsaker (So., Peculiar, Mo.) led the Bears to a 3-2 showing at the Southeastern Louisiana Lion Classic last week after hitting a team-best .588 for the weekend (10-for-17) with 4 doubles and an .824 slugging percentage. Hunsaker also recorded 38 putouts without an error on the week and recorded 14 total bases. She also made two pitching appearances out of the bullpen, allowing just two hits and no runs in 3.1 innings of work with a save. She enters the weekend riding a team-best 9-game hitting streak.
  • Missouri State is 1-0 against SEC teams this season. The Bears' win over No. 16-ranked Auburn on Feb. 9 in Gulf Shores marked the Bears' first victory over a ranked team since defeating No. 11 Oklahoma, 3-2, on March 19, 2008.
  • MSU is 6-1 on the season when out-hitting its opponents and 4-0 when scoring in the first inning. The Bears are 31-4 over the last two seasons when collecting more hits than their foes.
  • Freshman outfielder Rachel Weber batted .286 with 2 RBI in the opening weekend at the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores and followed that by batting .375 (6-for-16) in five starts at the Southeastern Louisiana Lion Classic last week. She was 2-for-3 in MSU's win over Auburn with the game-tying base hit in the second inning against the Tigers. She already has four multiple-hit games this season.
  • Standout hurler Steffany Dickerson (So., Broken Arrow, Okla.) has already made 8 appearances in the circle, posting a 3-2 record with 2 saves and 26 strikeouts in 32.0 innings of work. Her 1.09 ERA ranks fourth in the MVC.
  • Holly Hesse is in her 31st season as head coach of the Bears. She has a career record of 787-771-2 (.505) and ranks 32nd among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories.
  • Missouri State is hitting .556 (5-for-9) in bases-loaded situations this year. Morgan Greenlee (Sr., Snohomish, Wash.) is a team-best 2-for-2 with the bases load.
  • Madison Hunsaker's 5 doubles ranks 16th nationally and leads the Missouri Valley Conference.
  • Missouri State's 2.16 team ERA ranks 46th nationally and third-best in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears' 68.0 innings of work in the circle leads all MVC teams.

Head Coach Holly Hesse
  • Bears head coach Holly Hesse is in her 31st season leading the Bears' program as the second-winningest coach in Missouri Valley Conference history with a 787-771-2. She begins the 2019 season ranked 32nd among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories.
  • 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 then picked up her 750th win on Feb. 9, 2018 with a 4-0 win over Mississippi Valley State at the Bulldog Kickoff Classic in Starkville, Miss.
  • She is the winningest coach in Missouri State history, and her tenure includes two regular-season MVC titles, five MVC tournament crowns and five NCAA Tournament appearances.
  • The most notable program wins under Hesse have come against Michigan (1996), Alabama (2006) and Oklahoma (1995, 1998, 1999, 2008) all of which have gone on to win NCAA DI National Championships.
  • Hesse has coached 34 different first-team all-conference players which have received 49 first-team all-conference honors.  Twenty-one of Hesse's players have gone on to earn NFCA All-Midwest Region honors.  
  • Recent statewide honors for Hesse include induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2018 and the Staff Excellence in Public Affairs Award, presented to her in 2016 by the Missouri State University Board of Governors for distinctive work and accomplishments in support of Missouri States public affairs mission.
 
Series History
  • Louisiana-Monroe: MSU leads 4-3. MSU 7, ULM (2/6/15)
  • #6 Alabama: MSU leads 2-1. Last meeting: Ala. 6, MSU 0 (2/19/06)
  • #24 Minnesota: MSU leads 8-2. Last meeting: Minn. 11, MSU 4 (3/7/14)
 
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