Bears Primed for Weekend Series at Oklahoma

Friday, March 15

Norman, Okla.

6:30 p.m.

Missouri State University

Oklahoma

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Bears Primed for Weekend Series at Oklahoma

March 15, 2019 | Baseball

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Missouri State Bears (4-11) at Oklahoma Sooners (14-3)
Site:	L. Dale Mitchell Park (3,180) \| Norman, Okla.
Game 1:	Friday, March 15 \| 6:30 p.m.
Watch/Live Stats:	SoonerSports.tv \| SoonerSports.com
Game 2:	Saturday, March 16 \| 2:00 p.m.
TV/Live Stats:	Fox Sports Oklahoma \| SoonerSports.com
Game 3:	Sunday, March 17 \| 1:00 p.m.
TV/Live Stats:	Fox Sports Oklahoma \| SoonerSports.com
Follow:	@MSUBearBaseball \| Tickets
Radio:	KBFL 1060 AM/96.9 FM \| RadioSpringfield.com
Game Notes:	Missouri State \| Oklahoma
Series History:	OU leads 3-1

Prime 9

The Missouri State Bears will open their first-ever three-game series against the Oklahoma Sooners Friday (March 15) evening at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman, Okla.
Missouri State head coach Keith Guttin ranks fifth among all active NCAA Division I coaches in total wins (1,263) and needs eight more victories to match the career total of former Miami (Fla.) coach Ron Fraser for the No. 19 position on the NCAA's Division I coaching wins list
Oklahoma holds a 3-1 all-time series edge against MSU, including wins in each of the last two meetings (7-3 on Feb. 28, 2003 in Beaumont, Texas, and 7-5 on March 27, 1993 in Norman)
MSU turned three double plays for the first time in 2019 Wednesday at ORU and played error-free baseball for the second time in its last three contests after committing at least one defensive miscue in each of its first 12 games
MSU has gone 93-54 in road and neutral site contests since 2015, including a 68-42 mark in true road games
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 bullpen has successfully closed out 156 straight contests in which they have taken a lead into the ninth inning dating back to May 2014
Logan Geha leads all Bears regulars in on-base percentage (.421), runs scored (8), home runs (2), RBIs (7), walks (9) and steals (5); after hitting just one home run in his first 91 games as a Bear, he has homered twice in MSU's last three outings (March 10 at Arkansas State and March 13 at ORU)
Six MSU newcomers have accounted for 24 of the Bears' 55 RBIs and 27 of the club's 66 runs scored this season; Freshmen Anthony Herron, Jr., and Mason Hull have each posted a club-best two multi-RBI performances

Leading Off
The Missouri State Bears wrap up their five-game swing through the state of Oklahoma this weekend with a three-game set against the Oklahoma Sooners at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman. Friday's (March 15) series opener is slated for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch, with single games to follow on Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.).

After turning in one of their best performances of the season to stop a six-game losing streak Wednesday at Oral Roberts, the Bears (4-11) will be looking to start a streak of a different nkind this weekend. MSU raced out to a 10-0 lead at ORU, then rode 5 1/3 shutout innings from its bullpen to an 11-2 victory. Oklahoma (14-3) enters the series with wins in its last three ballgames, including a 9-1 victory Tuesday against UT Arlington.

Missouri State will put the finishing touches on its 11-game road swing next weekend with its second trip to the West Coast this season. The Bears will meet the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos for a three-game series at Caesar Uyeska Stadium, March 22-24.

Series History
This weekend's series will mark the first time Missouri State and Oklahoma will meet in a three-game series. OU has taken three of the first four games in the all-time series, including each of the last two. MSU's lone win in the series came in April 1989 at Meador Park, when the Bears avenged an 11-4 setback to the Sooners earlier in the same season with a 19-3 victory. The Sooners claimed a 7-5 win in Norman in 1993, then pulled out a 7-3 victory over the Bears in Beaumont, Texas in Feb. 2003.

Streak Stopper
Missouri State used its most complete performance of the season to stop its six-game slide with an 11-2 victory over Oral Roberts Wednesday evening in Tulsa. MSU scored 10 times in the first two innings, turned a season-high three double plays in an error-free defensive effort and closed out the win with 5 2/3 innings of scoreless work from its bullpen. Senior Jake Lochner logged 3.2 innings of one-hit relief, while Sam Faith recorded a career day with two hits and three RBIs to lead the offense.

The Bears (4-11) touched up ORU for a pair of first-inning runs, then broke the game wide open with their biggest scoring rally in two years. Faith delivered run-producing hits in each of the first two innings, putting the Bears on the board with a two-run single in the first before doubling home another baserunner as part of the eight-run second.

So Fresh and So Clean
Missouri State's talented freshman class has wasted little time in making an impression on Bears opponents this season. In MSU's two-game sweep of UCA (Feb. 26-27) in particular, Bears freshmen combined to hit .412 with two homers, 11 RBIs and seven runs scored. On the mound, four rookie hurlers logged a 2.84 ERA with 16 strikeouts over 12.2 combined innings in the series. Overall this season, 12 of the Bears' 13 newcomers have seen game action, including four position players who have established themselves as regulars in MSU's starting lineup, and four more rookies who have drawn starting mound assignments in the first 15 games of the season.

Logan Thomazin registered one of the more memorable debut starts by a Bear, holding UCA hitless for 5 2/3 innings and striking out 11 hitters over 7.0 total innings of one-hit ball on Feb. 27. Fellow freshman Javier Ramos turned in a landmark debut at the plate as well, becoming the first Bear to belt a grand slam in his first collegiate at-bat as part of MSU's seven-run eighth inning (Feb. 27). Ramos's effort followed another freshman, Anthony Herron, Jr., who homered in the game one win and drove in four runs in the series. Additionally, freshman shortstop Mason Hull produced his second multi-RBI effort of the season Feb. 27 and is currently second the club with six RBIs for the year.

MSU's talented class of newcomers has been instrumental in the Bears' run production so far this spring, with six rookies combining to account for 24 of the clubs' 55 total RBIs. Additionally, Hull and Herron are the only two MSU players to log multiple multi-RBI performances and the same rookie group has scored 27 of the Bears' 66 runs on the year.

Model of Consistency
Missouri State suffered its first three-game, non-conference series sweep since 2014 last weekend at Arkansas State. The Bears, who have gone 89-49 (.645) against non-conference foes since 2015, have been remarkably consistent in non-league action, winning 13 of their last 18 three-game, non-conference series since dropping all three of their games to DBU in March 2014. That series, which was previously scheduled as a non-conference set prior to the Patriots joining the MVC for the 2014 season, represented MSU's only three-game sweep against a non-league opponent since March 2011, when they were swept at Southern Miss.

Powering Up
After hitting just three home runs as a team through their first 10 games of the season, the Bears broke out the power bats over their last two games at Arkansas State last weekend. MSU doubled its season total with three long balls, getting solo shots from Logan Geha and Collin Clayton and a two-run bomb from Dakota Kotowski. The home runs by Clayton and Kotowski marked their first as Bears. Of MSU's seven homers so far, four of them (including Anthony Herron, Jr., and Javier Ramos) have come from newcomers hitting their first round-trippers in Maroon and White.

Non-Con Domination
MSU has been nearly unstoppable against non-conference competition over the last four seasons, compiling an 89-49 (.645) record in regular-season games versus non-league foes since the start of the 2015 season. The Bears, who have won 40 of their last 57 regular-season non-conference home games, outscoring their non-league opponents by a 813-511 margin at Hammons Field over the same stretch.

What a Relief
While the Bears have held a lead in just five of their 15 contests this season to date, the Missouri State bullpen can boast of a recent track record of locking down victories. Dating back to May 2014, the Bears relief corps has closed out 156 consecutive victories in which MSU has taken a lead into the ninth inning.

The Bears bullpen has posted an uncharacteristic 7.79 staff ERA through the first 15 games, but two mainstays from last year—sophomore closer Connor Sechler and senior lefty Jake Lochner—have combined to log 22.2 innings of relief with 18 total strikeouts.

Road to Success
MSU has proven to be hard to stop on the road over the past four seasons, logging a 68-42 (.618) record in such contests. Including their 25-12 record in neutral-field games over the same stretch, the Bears have gone 93-54 (.633) away from Hammons Field since the start of the 2015 season.

The Bears went 14-8 in true road games a year ago, after logging 19 road wins in 2017 and a program-record 21 wins in 27 road contests in 2015. MSU's 0.857 win percentage on the road that year represented its best since 1978, when it posted an identical percentage with a 12-2 road mark.

Coupled with their 9-3 record in neutral field contests in 2015, the Bears' total of 30 wins away from home was second only to national champion Virginia in the Division I ranks and qualified as the best in school history. The Bears also posted the longest road win streak in Division I baseball in 2015, claiming 11-straight victories from March 15 to April 25.

Bears on Radio
Once again in 2019, Meyer Communications is slated to provide live radio coverage of all 54 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.