STARKSVILLE, Miss. – Missouri State softball opened up its 2021 season with a two-game sweep here Sunday at day one of the Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament in Starksville, Miss.
 
The Bears (2-0) took game one against Stephen F. Austin, 7-0 before coming out on top of a back-and-forth battle with Mississippi Valley State, 5-3 in game two.
 
"First and foremost, it was great to be out on the field competing again," said head coach Holly Hesse.  "We got tremendous performances in the circle from our senior pitchers (Dickerson and Hunsaker).  Everyone in our lineup contributed in some way today which is really great to see in the first set of games.  We've got to come out again tomorrow with the same energy and focus for what will be another challenging day, especially with facing a top-25 team."
 
Game 1
Bears 7, SFA 0
Steffany Dickerson (1-0) and Madison Hunsaker's dominant pitching performance along with a six-run stretch over the final four innings sealed the Bears' season-opening win.
 
The MSU pitching tandem struck out a total of 13 batters and allowed just three hits while also providing a spark offensively, driving in three of the team's seven runs.
 
It was Hunsaker who broke open the Bears' big sixth inning with a two-run single, bringing home Daphne Plummer and Bailey Greenlee who hit back-to-back singles to set the stage.  Later in the inning, Olivia Krehbiel's extra-base hit to center field brought Hunsaker all the way around to score from first.
 
The Bears tacked on runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh inning, beginning with Dickerson helping her cause on an RBI single up the middle in the top half of the fourth.  Kelly Metter followed in the fifth to plate Darian Frost who reached on a single.  In her debut plate appearance, freshman Ellie McCoy led off the seventh with a double.  She would come around to score after tagging up to third on a Kelsie Lewis flyout and then immediately racing home when the throw from right was off-line.
 
Missouri State carried over its trend of first-inning scoring from last season as Tess Weakly registered the game's first run on a single through the right side of the infield.  In 2020, the Bears scored 13 of its 47 runs on the year in opening frames.
 
Nine Bears recorded a hit in the contest with Hunsaker and Weakly each drawing two walks to reach base safely three times apiece.  Pitcher Gracie Johnston closed out the final inning with a pair of strikeouts in her inning of relief.  
 
Game 2
Bears 5, MVSU 3
The bats started off hot for both clubs in the tournament's second game of the day as all eight runs came within the first three innings.  MVSU scored a run in three consecutive innings to begin the contest and the Bears held serve through the first two frames, but utilized a three-run third to capture its first lead and collect what proved to be the game's final runs.
 
In that decisive third inning, MSU's top of the order loaded the bases for Alex Boze to come through with her two-run double.  Metter followed with a sac fly to plate Krehbiel and provide the Bears all the runs they would need en route to the 5-3 victory.
 
After the Devilettes opened up the scoring in the top of the first, MSU answered with a run of its own in the home half.  Plummer led off with a single and then made use of the base paths to score on a fielder's choice off the bat of Krehbiel.
 
In the second, Keisha White hit a home run to retake the lead for MVSU, but the Bears struck back again.  This time it was a Skyler Shaw base knock that drove in the game-tying run as the freshman outfielder notched her first career RBI on a 2-2 pitch to score Metter from third.
 
Hunsaker (1-0) accompanied her solid pitching from game one with another terrific relief outing.  She recorded five scoreless innings and fanned six batters, bringing her total for the day to 11 strikeouts.  In the game's final four innings, she allowed just three baserunners to reach on her way to earning her first win of the new season.
 
Plummer went 2-3 at the plate with two runs scored.  Boze had her first extra-base hit since bagging two doubles against Jackson State last year (March 1, 2020).  
 
Missouri State returns tomorrow for the final day of the season-opening tournament with a rematch against Stephen F. Austin starting at 9 a.m., followed by a matchup against No. 22 Mississippi State at 2 p.m.