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Missouri State

Daphne Plummer

Softball MSU Athletics Communications

Bears Host SIU and Tulsa in Mid-Week Softball Matchups

Missouri State Bears (22-14, 8-5 MVC) vs. SIU (23-9, 8-3 MVC) & Tulsa (26-12)
Dates Tuesday, April 9 & Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Site | Location Killian Stadium (1,200), Springfield, Mo.
Game Info Tuesday, 12:02 p.m. | ESPN+ | Live Stats | MSU Game Notes
Game Info Wednesday, 5:02 p.m. | ESPN+ | Live Stats | MSU Game Notes
Missouri State Softball Home Page | Twitter | Facebook | MSU Media Guide
Promotions Tuesday: Lunch with the Bears (Free Pizza and Soft Drinks)
Wednesday: MSU Faculty Appreciation Day

The Prime Nine
  • Missouri State is back home at Killian Stadium for a pair of mid-week softball games Tuesday (12 p.m.) and Wednesday (5 p.m.) against Southern Illinois and Tulsa, respectively. The SIU game is part of the Lunch with the Bears promotion with free pregame pizza and soft drinks for all fans as the Bears and Salukis square off in the rubber game of their three-game MVC series. Wednesday's game against Tulsa will feature MSU Faculty Appreciation Day.
  • MSU sophomore Daphne Plummer (Lee's Summit, Mo.) collected her 100th career hit in last Wednesday's game against No. 14-ranked Arkansas at Killian stadium (her 84th career game). Her 63 hits last season were a Missouri State freshman record, while her 40 hits in 2019 are tied for ninth-best in the MVC. Plummer hit .421 in six games last week and is hitting a team-best .415 in league games, which ranks 6th in the MVC.
  • The Bears' pitching staff is coming off a stellar week, compiling a 0.88 team ERA in six games -- five on the road and one at home against a nationally-ranked foe.  MSU's four hurlers struck out 26 hitters in 40.0 innings and allowed just 22 hits and 13 walks in that span with a .161 batting average against. Steffany Dickerson threw a no-hitter on the week -- the club's second this season -- with a 1.24 ERA in four starts with a save. Erin Griesbauer was 1-1 on the week with a 0.62 ERA in 11.1 innings of work, while Bailey Greenlee (3.0 IP) and Madison Hunsaker (3.0 IP) combined to allow just one hit all week in a combined 6.0 innings of work. MSU's season ERA fell to 2.57 last week, which ranks third in the MVC.
  • MSU's RPI this week is No. 65. The Bears are 6-9 vs. teams in the top 100 while the MVC is rated as the 11th-best conference. T    his week's opponents rank as follows: Southern Illinois (52), Tulsa (21) and Illinois State (115).
  • Right-hander Erin Griesbauer (Jr., Blue Springs, Mo.) has a 0.79 ERA over her last six appearances, covering four starts and 26.2 innings pitched. She has struck out 13 hitters in that span, dating back to March 14.
  • Despite a 3-3 record last week, the Bears' on-base percentage was more than 100 points higher than their opponents (.346 to .237). MSU out-hit its foes by a 37-22 margin for the week with twice as many walks (26-13).
  • With 3 double plays at Bradley this weekend, MSU jumped to 44th nationally in double plays per game (0.44), tops in the Missouri Valley. MSU's 16 win killings is on pace to surpass last year's season total of 22.
  • MSU's Steffany Dickerson (So., Oklahoma City, Okla.) (52.0 IP) and SIU's Brianna Jones (47.2 IP) are both tied for second in the MVC in strikeouts in league games with 42.
  • Dickerson ranks 33rd nationally in pitching victories (14-6), while her 3 saves ranks 25th among all Division I players. Her next victory in the circle will make her the third MSU hurler since 2013 -- along with Chelsea Jones (2013) and Erin Struemph (2015) -- to win 15 games.
  • In the March 12 doubleheader in Carbondale, Payton Minnis (Fr., Blue Springs, Mo.) was 2-for-4 vs. SIU and was hit by 2 pitches for a .667 OBP.

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 803-781-2 (.507) record. She began the 2019 season ranked 32nd among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories.
  • Coach Hesse is 34-52 all-time against Southern Illinois and 25-23 vs. Tulsa.
  • 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
  • Missouri State trails the all-time series against Southern Illinois, 48-59, including a 24-16 ledger in Springfield and 6-6 record at Killian Stadium.
    Last year, the Bears won the regular season series against the Salukis for the first time since 2014 with wins of 7-6 and 7-4 at Killian before the rubber game in Carbondale was rained out. The SIU had the last laugh, however, eliminating the Bears from the MVC Tournament in Des Moines, 9-8, in the semis.
  • Earlier this year in Carbondale, the teams split a doubleheader on March 12. MSU earned a dramatic 5-3 win in game one before dropping the second game of the twin bill, 11-2. MSU got a two-out, two-run single up the middle by Rachel Weber in the top of the seventh to get the victory. Her game-winner followed an RBI single by Steffany Dickerson that tied the game two batters earlier. Dickerson (8-3) struck out 5, including a noteworthy strikeout against Katelyn Massa to end the game.
  • MSU leads the all-time series with Tulsa, 25-23, but snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Golden Hurricane on the road last season (March 13), 7-6.
  • A sacrifice fly by freshman Kelly Metter in the top of the sixth proved to be the game winner in a come-from-behind win. Thanks to 3 hits by Kaitlin Beason, the Bears out-hit Tulsa, 12-8 and overcame early deficits of 4-0 and 6-2. MSU's four-run fifth saw an RBI by Darian Frost and bases-loaded hit by pitch to Carsten Warner. Erin Griesbauer threw 5.0 scoreless innings in relief for the win.
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Players Mentioned

Erin Struemph

#25 Erin Struemph

Pitcher
6' 0"
Junior
Kaitlin Beason

#10 Kaitlin Beason

P/1B
5' 8"
Senior
Holly Kelley

#9 Holly Kelley

P
5' 9"
Senior
Carsten Warner

#17 Carsten Warner

IF
5' 5"
Sophomore
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
Madison Hunsaker

#15 Madison Hunsaker

P/1B
5' 8"
Sophomore
Kelly Metter

#22 Kelly Metter

2B
5' 9"
Sophomore
Daphne Plummer

#14 Daphne Plummer

SS
5' 7"
Sophomore
Bailey Greenlee

#3 Bailey Greenlee

P/OF
5' 5"
Freshman
Payton Minnis

#11 Payton Minnis

2B/OF
5' 5"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Erin Struemph

#25 Erin Struemph

6' 0"
Junior
Pitcher
Kaitlin Beason

#10 Kaitlin Beason

5' 8"
Senior
P/1B
Holly Kelley

#9 Holly Kelley

5' 9"
Senior
P
Carsten Warner

#17 Carsten Warner

5' 5"
Sophomore
IF
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
Madison Hunsaker

#15 Madison Hunsaker

5' 8"
Sophomore
P/1B
Kelly Metter

#22 Kelly Metter

5' 9"
Sophomore
2B
Daphne Plummer

#14 Daphne Plummer

5' 7"
Sophomore
SS
Bailey Greenlee

#3 Bailey Greenlee

5' 5"
Freshman
P/OF
Payton Minnis

#11 Payton Minnis

5' 5"
Freshman
2B/OF

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