Prime 9
- The Missouri State Bears will reunite with a familiar foe in the Wichita State Shockers Tuesday (May 7) evening, when the two clubs square off at Hammons Field for the first time since May 2017
- Despite claiming four-straight wins over Wichita State, MSU still trails the Shockers by a 66-46 overall margin in the series; the Bears are 29-23 vs. WSU in Springfield, including seven-consecutive wins at Hammons Field since 2015
- The Bears enter their final non-conference game of the season with a 4-6 home mark vs. non-MVC foes, which ensures just their second sub-.500 home mark in non-conference games over the last 10 seasons; MSU is 84-43 (.661) overall vs. non-MVC competition at Hammons Field since 2010
- MSU has played the 16th-toughest non-conference schedule in the nation, as well as the 15th-strongest overall, according to WarrenNolan.com; the Bears have matched up against clubs with .500 or better records in 38 of their 46 contests to date, including 22 games against top 50 RPI teams
- The Bears lead the MVC in pickoffs with 16 on the season; three different MSU hurlers — Logan Thomazin, Davis Schwab and Logan Wiley — have picked off three baserunners, as has catcher Logan Geha
- Junior catcher Drew Millas has reached base safely via a hit, walk or hit by pitch in a career-best 20-straight games entering Tuesday's contest; he also brings a career .556 batting mark vs. WSU into the game
- Junior first baseman Ben Whetstone leads the Valley in double plays turned (38), putouts (328) and defensive chances (354) for the season; he ranks second in MSU history in career fielding percentage (.992) as well
- MSU's 41 home runs as a team rank second in the MVC, while the Bears' also rank among the league's best clubs in hit by pitches (43) and walks (184), ranking third and fourth, respectively
- Dakota Kotowski became just the third Missouri State freshman to reach double-digits in home runs with his 10th long ball of the year vs. DBU Saturday; he needs five more to match Jason Hart (1996) in the No. 2 spot on MSU's freshman home run list
Leading Off
The
Missouri State Bears will resume one of their longest-standing rivalries when they host the
Wichita State Shockers Tuesday (May 7) for a 6:30 p.m. (CDT) contest at Hammons Field. Tuesday's game will mark the final midweek and non-conference contest of the season for the Bears, who have gone just 9-22 outside of MVC play this spring.
The Bears (15-31) snapped a six-game skid with their doubleheader sweep of DBU on Saturday, also halting an eight-game Missouri Valley Conference slide with their eighth win in their last 10 meetings with the Patriots.
Wichita State (21-26) also stopped a lengthy losing streak this past weekend, topping Connecticut in the final game of the two clubs' American Athletic Conference series in Storrs to end a seven-game dry spell.
Series History
Entering the two clubs' first non-conference meeting since 1990, the Shockers hold a commanding 66-46 edge over the Bears in a series that dates back to 1987. MSU has claimed 11 of its last 13 meetings with WSU, including each of the last four meetings, all of which took place during in 2017 — the Shockers' final MVC season.
The Bears have enjoyed a recent run of success at home against the Shockers with wins in each of their last seven games in the series at Hammons Field since May 2015. Overall, MSU is 29-23 vs. WSU in Springfield, including a 14-11 mark at Hammons Field.
Sechler Saves Another
Bears sophomore closer
Connor Sechler notched career save number 12 Saturday against DBU, locking up a 4-3 MSU victory with 2.0 hitless innings. The Bolivar, Mo., product climbed into a tie with Grant Gordon (2010-13) for sixth place on the Bears' career saves list and needs one more to match Bob Zimmermann's MSU total for the fifth spot on the chart.
Millas Rolling Down the Stretch
Junior All-American
Drew Millas has turned in his best stretch of the season over the last six weeks, bringing a streak of 20 consecutive games reaching base safely via a hit, walk or hit by pitch into Tuesday's game. Over the Bears' last 30 games since March 16, Millas has recorded a hit in 27 contests, batting .308 with three home runs and 17 RBIs while posting team highs for hits (36) and on-base percentage (.406).
Kotowski Climbing
Bears freshman outfielder
Dakota Kotowski belted an opposite-field home run in the first inning of the Bears' series finale with DBU Saturday. That solo shot opened the scoring and ultimately factored as the deciding run in the 6-0 MSU victory that clinced the series win for the Bears. Kotowski now owns the top spot on the MVC's home run leaderboard with six during conference play. The Channahon, Ill., native also leads the league in slugging (.760) and ranks fourth in total bases (38) during Valley play.
Additionally, Kotowski took over sole possession of third place on MSU's freshman home run list, surpassing the rookie season totals of
Jeremy Eierman (2016), Matt Gardner (1999) and Nick Kays (1997). Kotowski needs to club five more homers to equal the freshman total of Jason Hart (1996) in the No. 2 position on the list and 10 more to catch all-time freshman home run leader Ryan Howard (1999). MSU's group of newcomers has been instrumental in the Bears' run production so far this spring, with six first-year players combining to account for 85 of the clubs' 204 RBIs and 24 of its 41 home runs. In addition to Kotowski's performance, sophomore
Joey Polak has started 43 games at third base and ranks fourth in the league with three homers during MVC play.
Duffy at Home in the Top Spot
Since moving to the top of the Bears' batting order on April 12,
Jack Duffy has settled into the role of offensive catalyst nicely, logging a .310 batting mark in MSU's last 14 games. The junior outfielder has recorded six multi-hit performances, including a career-best four-hit effort vs. New Orleans on April 20, and has reached base safely in 13 of the 14 contests. The Kansas City product has also swiped three bags, including his second steal of home this season April 27 against Bradley.
Non-Con Domination
MSU has been nearly unstoppable against non-conference competition over the last four seasons, compiling an 95-61 (.609) record in regular-season games versus non-league foes since the start of the 2015 season. The Bears, who have won 42 of their last 63 regular-season non-conference home games, outscoring their non-league opponents by a 852-566 margin at Hammons Field over the same stretch.
Bears on the Radio
Once again in 2019, Meyer Communications is slated to provide live radio coverage of all 53 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.
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