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SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State softball head coach Holly Hesse has finalized her team's schedule for the upcoming 2021 season, a 56-game slate which includes 15 home contests at Killian Stadium.
 
"We are very excited about our schedule and the highly-competitive programs we will face this spring," said Hesse.  "We start off with a lot of tough, early challenges including games against top-25 teams which will be valuable in preparing us for Valley play.  We had a lot of momentum and strong pieces falling into place last season before it was canceled.  We look forward to playing games again and getting a chance to put all of our hard work out on the field."
 
A string of five non-conference tournaments kicks off MSU's slate with the Louisiana Classic (Feb. 12-13) serving as the season opener.  The four-game competition pits Missouri State against top-25 teams Louisiana (No. 9) and Baylor (No. 22), who the Bears shut out last season, 3-0 (Feb. 9, 2020). 
 
For the second straight year, the Bears make a trip to the state of Mississippi after competing in the Ole Miss Classic in 2020.  This time MSU will be on the campus of Mississippi State for the Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament to face the No. 22 Bulldogs, Stephen F. Austin and Mississippi Valley State. 
 
MSU will compete in the Michelle Short Memorial Tournament hosted by Central Arkansas in the final weekend of February (26-28).  The three-day tournament features contests against UCA, Omaha and Western Illinois.
 
The Bears head to Arlington, Texas for the UTA Maverick Classic on March 5-7 with opponents and game times still to be determined for the spring tournament put on by UT Arlington.
 
The team's final non-conference tournament of the spring will be at the Shocker Softball Tournament in Wichita, Kan. on March 12-14.  The five-game event includes matchups against former Missouri Valley Conference foe Wichita State, Omaha and North Texas.
 
Hesse's squad will play two single-game contests at Southeast Missouri State (March 17) and Saint Louis (March 18) before getting into MVC play.  The Bears make their home and MVC debut against UNI on March 20-21 to begin a nine-game stretch at the end of March.  A mid-week road trip to Southern Illinois (March 24) precedes a return to Killian for a weekend series against Drake (March 27-28) and a non-conference game against Kansas City (March 30).
 
April opens with a rigorous 11-game road swing for MSU, beginning with back-to-back doubleheaders at Bradley (April 2-3) and a top-25 matchup against No. 18 Arkansas (April 6).  The Bears then get back into league play with games against Illinois State (April 10-11) and Valparaiso (April 17-18).
 
After hosting SIU for the series' rubber match on April 21, the Bears have home games against Loyola (April 24-25) and Tulsa (April 28).
 
Missouri State faces Indiana State in Terre Haute, Ind. on May 1-2 before concluding the regular season at home against Evansville on May 7-8.  The Bears will turn around and head to Evansville, Ind. as the Purple Aces play host to this year's MVC Championship on May 13-15.
 
Hesse boasts a roster that features 19 returners—including 15 letterwinners and eight position starters—from a squad that went 7-12 in a shortened 2020 season.  Among the MSU returners are a pair of senior All-MVC first team selections, catcher Darian Frost (2018) and pitcher Steffany Dickerson (2019).