Softball Heads to UCA for Five-Game Slate

Thursday, February 25

Conway, Ark.

11:45 a.m.

Missouri State University

Central Arkansas

Softball Heads to UCA for Five-Game Slate

February 24, 2021 | Softball

By: MSU Athletics Communications

Missouri State Bears (3-1) at Michelle Short Memorial Tournament (Conway, Ark.)
Dates	Thursday, Feb. 25 – Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021
Site \| Location	Farris Field \| Conway, Ark.
Game 1	Thursday, 11:45 a.m. vs. Central Arkansas \| Live Stats \| Watch
Game 2	Thursday, 6:30 p.m. vs. Western Illinois \| Live Stats
Game 3	Friday, 10:00 a.m. vs. Omaha \| Live Stats
Game 4	Friday, 2:30 p.m. vs. Western Illinois \| Live Stats
Game 5	Saturday, 10:00 a.m. vs. Omaha \| Live Stats
Missouri State	MSU Game Notes \| Softball Home Page \| Roster \| Twitter \| Facebook
Up Next	March 5-7 \| Boerner Invitational (UT Arlington) \| Arlington, Texas

The Prime Nine

Missouri State (3-1) travels to the Michelle Short Memorial Tournament in Conway, Ark. on Feb. 25-27 after the three-day event was moved up due to projected inclement weather. The Bears take on host Central Arkansas (11:45 a.m.) and Western Illinois (6:30 p.m.) on Thursday, followed by Friday matchups against Omaha (10 a.m.) and WIU (2:30 p.m.) before wrapping up with Omaha (10 a.m.) on Sunday.
MSU opened up its 2021 season by going 3-1 at Mississippi State's Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament earlier this week (Feb. 21-22). Missouri State won three consecutive games to begin its season for the first time since 2015 with a pair of shutout victories over Stephen F. Austin (7-0, 4-0) and a 5-3 win against Mississippi Valley State. The Bears suffered their only setback of the tournament with a 5-0 loss to No. 22 Mississippi State to close out their season-opening series.
The Bears pitching staff put on an impressive display in the circle in Starksville, Miss., posting back-to-back combined shutout efforts against the Ladyjacks and tallying 30 strikeouts between the four-game stretch. The MSU bats provided plenty of spark to aid its solid pitching, outscoring its opponents 16-8 while creating scoring chances via a speedy lineup that swiped 13 bags in the tournament.
Madison Hunsaker (Sr., Peculiar, Mo.) began her senior campaign with a pair of dominating relief appearances against SFA and MVSU on Sunday (Feb. 21). She was named Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week for her efforts in Sunday's contests, becoming the first Bears pitcher to garner the weekly honor since Erin Griesbauer in 2018. In her first start of the year, she tossed five scoreless innings against SFA in what resulted as MSU's second combined shutout against the Ladyjacks. Overall for the tournament, she posted a line of 11.2 IP, 0R, 7H, and 17K while hitting .400 with three runs, two RBI and a double at the plate.
Daphne Plummer (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) recorded a hit in each of the first four games to carry a four-game hitting streak heading into the UCA tournament. As the Bears' leadoff hitter, she has put her stage-setting abilities on display here in the early part of the season with a team-high six hits, four runs scored, and three stolen bases.
In her first start of 2021, Steffany Dickerson (Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla.) pitched 4 1/3 innings of scoreless ball and tallied eight strikeouts to earn the win against SFA (Feb. 21). She went on to hold No. 22 Mississippi State scoreless in four of her six innings of work.
Olivia Krehbiel (So., Lee's Summit, Mo.) drove in three runs over the course of the four-game tournament. She capped MSU's three-run sixth against SFA (Feb. 21) with an RBI double.
Missouri State head coach Holly Hesse (pronounced HESS-ee) is in her 33rd season at the helm for the Bears and boasts a career record of 821-801-2 (.506). She began the year ranked 30th among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories. As the winningest coach in program history, she has led the Bears to two regular-season MVC titles, five MVC Tournament crowns and five NCAA tournament appearances.
Missouri State went 7-12 in a shortened 2020 season that was canceled prior to the beginning of MVC play.

Head Coach Holly Hesse

Bears head coach Holly Hesse is in her 33rd season leading the Bears' program as the second-winningest coach in Missouri Valley Conference history with a career record of 821-801-2 (.506). She began the year ranked 30th among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories.
Coach Hesse is 8-4 vs. Central Arkansas, 11-8 vs. Western Illinois and 1-4 vs. Omaha in her career.
Hesse joined the elite 800-win club on March 24, 2019 with the Bears' 3-2 come-from-behind win over Northern Iowa at Killian Stadium to make her the 30th active Division I coach at the time 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. In 2019, Hesse led the Bears to a 4-3 win at No. 16 Auburn.
Hesse has coached 36 different first-team all-conference players which have received 51 first-team all-conference honors. Twenty-three of Hesse's players have gone on to earn NFCA All-Midwest Region honors, including Steffany Dickerson in 2019.
Recent statewide honors for Hesse include induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2018 and the Missouri State University 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

Central Arkansas – Bears lead series 8-4. Last meeting: Bears 6, UCA 4 (8 inn.) (3/2/19)
Western Illinois– Bears lead series 26-21. Last meeting: Bears 2, WIU 1 (10 inn.) (3/11/18)
Omaha – Mavericks lead series 5-6. Last meeting: Bears 6, UNO 2 (5 inn.) (2/11/18)

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