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Hesse Huddle

Softball MSU Athletics Communications

Softball Bears Head to SEMO for Thursday Showdown

Missouri State (14-8) at SE Missouri St. (17-7)
Date Thursday, March 14, 2019 (4:02 p.m.)
Site | Location Southeast Softball Complex (600), Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Game 1 4:02 p.m. | Live Stats | MSU Game Notes
Missouri State Softball Home Page | Twitter | Facebook | Season Preview Video

The Prime Nine
  • Over the last 7 games, Missouri State's trio of Payton Minnis (Fr., Blue Springs, Mo.), Kyana Mason (Sr., Independence, Mo.) and Steffany Dickerson (So., Oklahoma City, Okla.) have collected 34 of the team's 67 hits in that span. Minnis is 10-for-15 (.667) with 5 RBI; Mason is 13-for-21 (.619) with 7 RBI, 2 HR; and Dickerson is 11-of-21 (.524) with 8 RBI, 4 2B, 2 HR in that stretch to lead the Bears to a 6-1 record since Feb. 28.
  • Daphne Plummer (So., Lee's Summit, Mo.) has Missouri State's longest active hitting streak at 7 games. Last season, she led all MVC freshmen -- and set a Missouri State freshman record -- with 63 hits and a .382 average.
  • The Bears are 11-1 when scoring first this season and 8-1 when scoring in the first inning. Likewise, MSU is 12-1 this year -- and 35-4 over the last two seasons -- when out-hitting its opponents.
  • Missouri State's recent 6-game win streak (Feb. 28 to March 12) was the Bears' longest since they reeled off eight straight victories from March 31 to April 15, 2015.
  • MSU ranks 39th nationally in double plays per game (0.455), having turned a league-high 10 twin killings in 2019.
  • Kyana Mason (Sr., Independence, Mo.) ranks 9th in the Missouri Valley Conference in hitting at .409. She was named MVC Player of the Week on March 4 after batting .688 and slugging 1.188 over five games at the UCA Adam Brown Memorial Shamrock Classic. She collected 11 hits, 8 runs, 7 RBI and a pair of home runs over the tournament.
  • Madison Hunsaker (So., Peculiar, Mo.) hit safely in 17 straight games to open the 2019 campaign before going 0-for-4 against SEMO on March 2. Her hitting streak was the longest by any Bear since 1996. She currently shares the MVC lead with 7 doubles in 22 contests.
  • Payton Minnis (Fr., Blue Springs, Mo.) was named MVC Newcomer of the Week on March 4 after hitting an incredible .727 at the UCA Tournament, going 8-for-11 at the plate with 5 RBI and a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen bases.
  • The Bears have a dozen freshmen and sophomores on their 2019 roster, making them one of the youngest programs in the MVC. MSU has 7 freshmen, 5 sophomores and a junior transfer among its active players.Holly Hesse is in her 31st season as head coach of the Bears. She has a career record of 795-775-2 (.506) and entered the 2019 season ranked 32nd among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories.
  • The Bears are SEMO's only loss over the Redhawks' last 10 ball games (since Feb. 23). Missouri State topped Southeast, 7-4, in Conway, Ark., on March 2.
  • MSU had four players recognized on all-tournament teams to start the year. Steffany Dickerson and Morgan Greenlee earned laurels at the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores (Feb. 8-10) before Madison Hunsaker and Alex Boze were named to the all-tourney squad in Tuscaloosa (Feb. 22-24).

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 795-775-2 record. She began the 2019 season ranked 32nd among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories.
  • Coach Hesse is 25-7 all-time against SEMO, including a 7-4 win over the Redhawks on March 2 in Conway, Ark.
  • 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
  • The Bears lead the all-time series against SEMO by a 30-10 count in an in-state rivalry that dates back to 1976. MSU is 11-2 all-time in Cape Girardeau, most recently with an 8-0 win there on March 1, 2014.
  • Earlier this season in Conway, Ark., Missouri State pounded out 13 hits to hold off a late-charging SEMO club, 7-4. After working around a bases-loaded threat in the first inning, Dickerson blasted a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning to make it 3-0. Addison Barnouski slugged the Redhawks back into it with a pair of RBI hits to make it a 4-3 contest midway through, but the Bears got things going in the bottom of the fifth on RBI hits by Morgan Greenlee, Payton Minnis and Kyana Mason. Madison Hunsaker came out of the pen for a nine-pitch save. Dickerson struck out four in 6.2 innings of work and finished 3-for-4 with seven total bases. Darby Joerling and Mason also had three hits for the Bears. [Box Score]
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Players Mentioned

Steffany Dickerson

#13 Steffany Dickerson

P
5' 8"
Sophomore
Morgan Greenlee

#12 Morgan Greenlee

OF/C
5' 7"
Senior
Madison Hunsaker

#15 Madison Hunsaker

P/1B
5' 8"
Sophomore
Darby Joerling

#5 Darby Joerling

OF
5' 9"
Junior
Kyana Mason

#2 Kyana Mason

3B
5' 4"
Senior
Daphne Plummer

#14 Daphne Plummer

SS
5' 7"
Sophomore
Alex Boze

#10 Alex Boze

C
5' 8"
Freshman
Payton Minnis

#11 Payton Minnis

2B/OF
5' 5"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Steffany Dickerson

#13 Steffany Dickerson

5' 8"
Sophomore
P
Morgan Greenlee

#12 Morgan Greenlee

5' 7"
Senior
OF/C
Madison Hunsaker

#15 Madison Hunsaker

5' 8"
Sophomore
P/1B
Darby Joerling

#5 Darby Joerling

5' 9"
Junior
OF
Kyana Mason

#2 Kyana Mason

5' 4"
Senior
3B
Daphne Plummer

#14 Daphne Plummer

5' 7"
Sophomore
SS
Alex Boze

#10 Alex Boze

5' 8"
Freshman
C
Payton Minnis

#11 Payton Minnis

5' 5"
Freshman
2B/OF

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