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Missouri State

Darby Joerling

Softball MSU Athletics Communications

Bears Host In-State Rival Saint Louis in Softball Showdown

Missouri State Bears (17-9) vs. Saint Louis Billikens (5-17)
Dates Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Site | Location Killian Stadium (1,200), Springfield, Mo.
Game Time 4:02 p.m. | ESPN+ | Live Stats | MSU Game Notes
Missouri State Softball Home Page | Twitter | Facebook | MSU Media Guide

The Prime Nine
  • Missouri State continues its seven-game home stand Wednesday at Killian Stadium when the Bears entertain in-state rival Saint Louis University at 4 p.m. The Bears are 3-0 at home this season and are 20-0 all-time at home against the Billikens (1-0 at Killian).
  • Missouri State head coach Holly Hesse is rapidly approaching 800 career wins. Now in her 31st season as head coach of the Bears, Hesse has compiled a 798-776-2 career ledger with four home games slated this week for MSU. Hesse started the season ranked 32nd on the NCAA's active wins list and would become just the second MVC coach (along with Illinois State's Melinda Fischer) to reach the 800-win milestone.
  • Kelly Metter (So., Columbia, Ill.) has the Bears' longest active hitting streak at 4 games. Over the last four contests, Metter is 4-for-10 (.400) with a home run (at SEMO) 3 runs and a double. She is tied for 5th in the MVC in doubles (6).
  • Daphne Plummer (So., Lee's Summit, Mo.) hit safely in 5-of-6 games last week, batting .353 (6-for-17) with 4 RBI, including a walk-off base hit in Saturday's first game against Loyola. She went 2-for-4 in the MVC opener with an RBI in the win over SIU, then had hits in each game of the of series sweep of Loyola with 3 walks, including a bases-loaded RBI walk in game one. She is hitting .429 in Valley games.
  • MSU ranks 39th nationally in double plays per game (0.46), having turned a league-high 12 twin killings in 2019.
  • Kyana Mason (Sr., Independence, Mo.) ranks in the top 10 in the Missouri Valley in 10 statistical categories, including 1st in the MVC in assists (64), 2nd in hits (30), 7th in runs (19) and 10th in hitting (.390).
  • Steffany Dickerson (So., Oklahoma City, Okla.) helped launch the Bears to a 4-1 start in league play with three complete-game MVC victories in the circle last week (3-0). She posted a 1.83 ERA with 22 strikeouts and just 2 walks in 21.0 innings. She also batted .333 on the week (6-of-18) with 3 RBI and a double. Dickerson (10-3) shares the MVC lead in pitching victories and ranks 4th in the league in innings (79.2), 4th in strikeouts (70), 6th in ERA (2.02) and tied for second in appearances (20).
  • With recent season-ending injuries to senior Morgan Greenlee and redshirt junior Hannah Heinrichs, the Bears are down to one active senior (Mason) and two veteran juniors (Erin Griesbauer and Darby Joerling) among their 16 healthy roster players. MSU has seven freshmen, five sophomores and a junior transfer among its underclass and newcomer talent guiding its early-season success.
  • MSU junior right-hander Erin Griesbauer (Blue Springs, Mo.) pitched a complete-game shutout in Saturday's 1-0 win over Loyola in just her second complete game effort of the season. She allowed just 3 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3 while facing just two over the minimum against the Ramblers in securing her second career shutout
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 798-776-2 record. She began the 2019 season ranked 32nd among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories.
  • Coach Hesse is 19-10-1 all-time against Saint Louis.
  • 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. Earlier this season, Hesse led the Bears to a 4-3 win at No. 16 Auburn.
  • 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, including two players -- Kaitlin Beason and Holly Kelley -- in 2018.
  • 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 MSU Board of Governors for distinctive work and accomplishments in support of Missouri State's public affairs mission.
  Series History
  • Missouri State leads the all-time series with Saint Louis by a 40-7-1 count, including a 20-0 mark in all home games against the Billikens. The Bears are also at 1-0 at Killian Stadium against SLU, and the Billikens have won 5 of the last 7 meetings since 2010.
  • Last year in St. Louis, the Bears earned a 6-3 win over SLU as Missouri State starting pitcher Erin Griesbauer tossed five scoreless innings, and junior Morgan Greenlee blasted the first home run of her career. In her fifth win of the season, Griesbauer surrendered just four hits in five scoreless innings. The MSU offense combined for 11 hits to mark the Bears' ninth double-digit hit game of the season. [Box Score]
  • Daphne Plummer was 3-for-3 in the game with 3 RBI, while Madison Jones also finished 3-for-3 in the winning effort for MSU.
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Players Mentioned

Kaitlin Beason

#10 Kaitlin Beason

P/1B
5' 8"
Senior
Madison Jones

#1 Madison Jones

2B
5' 8"
Senior
Holly Kelley

#9 Holly Kelley

P
5' 9"
Senior
Steffany Dickerson

#13 Steffany Dickerson

P
5' 8"
Sophomore
Morgan Greenlee

#12 Morgan Greenlee

OF/C
5' 7"
Senior
Erin Griesbauer

#20 Erin Griesbauer

P
5' 9"
Junior
Hannah Heinrichs

#7 Hannah Heinrichs

OF
5' 10"
Junior
Darby Joerling

#5 Darby Joerling

OF
5' 9"
Junior
Kyana Mason

#2 Kyana Mason

3B
5' 4"
Senior
Kelly Metter

#22 Kelly Metter

2B
5' 9"
Sophomore
Daphne Plummer

#14 Daphne Plummer

SS
5' 7"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Kaitlin Beason

#10 Kaitlin Beason

5' 8"
Senior
P/1B
Madison Jones

#1 Madison Jones

5' 8"
Senior
2B
Holly Kelley

#9 Holly Kelley

5' 9"
Senior
P
Steffany Dickerson

#13 Steffany Dickerson

5' 8"
Sophomore
P
Morgan Greenlee

#12 Morgan Greenlee

5' 7"
Senior
OF/C
Erin Griesbauer

#20 Erin Griesbauer

5' 9"
Junior
P
Hannah Heinrichs

#7 Hannah Heinrichs

5' 10"
Junior
OF
Darby Joerling

#5 Darby Joerling

5' 9"
Junior
OF
Kyana Mason

#2 Kyana Mason

5' 4"
Senior
3B
Kelly Metter

#22 Kelly Metter

5' 9"
Sophomore
2B
Daphne Plummer

#14 Daphne Plummer

5' 7"
Sophomore
SS

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