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Softball MSU Athletics Communications

Softball Bears Wrap Non-Conference Slate at UMKC

Missouri State Bears (26-17) at UMKC Kangaroos (25-20)
Dates Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Site | Location Urban Youth Academy (capacity 500), Kansas City, Mo.
Game Info 3:00 p.m. | WAC Digital Network | Live Stats | MSU Game Notes
Missouri State Softball Home Page | Twitter | Facebook | MSU Media Guide
Up Next The Bears will host MVC-leader Drake this Saturday (DH) and Sunday at Killian Stadium as part of MSU's senior weekend celebration

The Prime Nine
  • Missouri State steps out of conference play for the final time on Tuesday afternoon (3 p.m.) when the Bears travel to UMKC for a single game. MSU is 15-9 in games outside the Valley this spring with a .297 team batting average and 4.6 runs per game.
  • Second baseman Payton Minnis (Fr., Blue Springs, Mo.) led the Bears in batting average (.571), slugging (.714) and on-base percentage (.667) last week, going 4-for-7 with a pair of walks and a double in three games. She was 3-for-3 against Evansville in Saturday's series finale with a clutch sixth-inning double against. Minnis jumped up to second on the club in hitting for the season with a .338 average.
  • Steffany Dickerson (So., Oklahoma City, Okla.) starts the week 3 strikeouts away from 200 for her career and one win away from 25. Her 17 wins this season ranks 3rd in the MVC and 32nd nationally.
  • Daphne Plummer (So., Lee's Summit, Mo.) is 3-for-4 (.750) lifetime against the 'Roos, with 2 RBI and a pair of runs against UMKC last season. Likewise, Madison Hunsaker (So., Peculiar, Mo.) was 1-for-1 against UMKC last season with a home run and 4 RBI.
  • Senior Kyana Mason (Independence, Mo.) now ranks second among all Missouri Valley players in total hits with 56 while ranking fourth in the league in batting average at .406. She is hitting .440 (33-for-75) this season against non-conference opponents with 3 doubles, 3 homers and 11 RBI and is 2-for-4 (.500) career against UMKC with 3 runs.
  • The Bears lead the all-time series against UMKC, 40-10, in a rivalry that dates back to 1988. The Bears have won nine in a row since UMKC's last win against the Bears on March 19, 2013 in Springfield (7-2).
  • The Bears boast 7 players from the Kansas City area, including: Darian Frost (Lee's Summit), Erin Griesbauer (Blue Springs), Madison Hunsaker (Peculiar), Kyana Mason (Independence), Payton Minnis (Blue Springs), Daphne Plummer (Lee's Summit) and Carolyn Stock (Parkville). Ironically, the only common thread on the UMKC and MSU rosters are former high school teammates Hannah Heinrichs (RJr., MSU) and Maegan Rollow (Sr., UMKC) who are both from Broken Arrow (Okla.) High School.
  • Madison Hunsaker (So., Peculiar, Mo.) has reached base safely in 6 straight games -- a team high. The first baseman and left-handed hurler is hitting .331 against non-conference opponents this season with all 8 of her doubles coming against teams outside The Valley.
  • The Bears have outscored their opponents 20-6 this season in the sixth inning. As a result, MSU is 21-1 when tied or leading heading into the sixth and 22-1 when tied or leading coming out of the sixth inning.
  • Hope Hamilton (Fr., Combine, Texas) came off the bench Saturday against Evansville to deliver a pinch-hit, three-run home run against the Aces in her first career dinger. It was MSU's first pinch-hit home run since Madison Hunsaker (vs. UMKC) on March 20, 2018.

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 807-784-2 (.507) record. She began the 2019 season ranked 32nd among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories.
  • Coach Hesse is 38-10 all-time against UMKC.
  • Hesse joined the elite 800-win club on Sunday, March 24 with the Bears' 3-2 come-from-behind win over Northern Iowa at Killian Stadium to make her the 30th active Division I coach with 800 wins at the time. Hesse 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., after earning her 700th victory with a 4-0 win at Illinois State on April 18, 2015, completing a doubleheader sweep in Normal, Ill.
  • 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
  • In a rivalry that dates back to 1988, Missouri State leads the all-time series with the Kangaroos, 40-10, including an 11-5 ledger in games play at UMKC.  The Bears have also won 9 in a row in the series, dating back to 2014.
  • Last season in Springfield (March 20), the Bears scored an 11-5 victory at Killian Stadium. Highlighted by a two-out grand slam from freshman Madison Hunsaker, the Bears scored double-digit runs for the third time on the season. MSU unleashed 13 hits in six innings. Hailee Vigneaux and Daphne Plummer led the Bear lineup with three hits apiece and senior Kaitlin Beason followed close behind with two. Five other Bears recorded hits in the victory. Holly Kelley (7-2) struck out four and walked two in 3.2 innings of work, with Erin Griesbauer gave up a single in 2.1 innings with a pair of K's [BOX SCORE]
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Players Mentioned

Kaitlin Beason

#10 Kaitlin Beason

P/1B
5' 8"
Senior
Holly Kelley

#9 Holly Kelley

P
5' 9"
Senior
Hailee Vigneaux

#11 Hailee Vigneaux

OF
5' 7"
Senior
Steffany Dickerson

#13 Steffany Dickerson

P
5' 8"
Sophomore
Darian Frost

#33 Darian Frost

C
5' 10"
Senior
Erin Griesbauer

#20 Erin Griesbauer

P
5' 9"
Junior
Hannah Heinrichs

#7 Hannah Heinrichs

OF
5' 10"
Junior
Madison Hunsaker

#15 Madison Hunsaker

P/1B
5' 8"
Sophomore
Kyana Mason

#2 Kyana Mason

3B
5' 4"
Senior
Daphne Plummer

#14 Daphne Plummer

SS
5' 7"
Sophomore
Carolyn Stock

#16 Carolyn Stock

1B/P
6' 1"
Sophomore
Payton Minnis

#11 Payton Minnis

2B/OF
5' 5"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Kaitlin Beason

#10 Kaitlin Beason

5' 8"
Senior
P/1B
Holly Kelley

#9 Holly Kelley

5' 9"
Senior
P
Hailee Vigneaux

#11 Hailee Vigneaux

5' 7"
Senior
OF
Steffany Dickerson

#13 Steffany Dickerson

5' 8"
Sophomore
P
Darian Frost

#33 Darian Frost

5' 10"
Senior
C
Erin Griesbauer

#20 Erin Griesbauer

5' 9"
Junior
P
Hannah Heinrichs

#7 Hannah Heinrichs

5' 10"
Junior
OF
Madison Hunsaker

#15 Madison Hunsaker

5' 8"
Sophomore
P/1B
Kyana Mason

#2 Kyana Mason

5' 4"
Senior
3B
Daphne Plummer

#14 Daphne Plummer

5' 7"
Sophomore
SS
Carolyn Stock

#16 Carolyn Stock

6' 1"
Sophomore
1B/P
Payton Minnis

#11 Payton Minnis

5' 5"
Freshman
2B/OF

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