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Missouri State

Softball Team

Softball Opens Up Four-Game Homestand with Drake Series

March 26, 2021

By: MSU Athletics Communications
Missouri State Bears (13-9, 4-1 MVC) vs. Drake (5-15, 1-2 MVC)
Date Saturday, March 27 – Sunday, March 28, 2021
Site | Location Killian Stadium | Springfield, Mo.
Game 1 Saturday, 12:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Game Notes
Game 2 Saturday, 30 mins. after Game 1 | Live Stats | Game Notes
Game 3 Sunday, 11:00 a.m. | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)
Game Notes
Missouri State Softball Home Page | Season Stats | Roster | Twitter
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Up Next March 30 | vs. Kansas City | Springfield, Mo.

The Prime Nine
  • Missouri State (13-9, 4-1 MVC) returns to Killian for a four-game homestand, beginning with a weekend series against Drake (5-15, 1-2 MVC) on March 27-28. Then, the Bears will host Kansas City for a single-game non-conference bout with the Roos on Tuesday, March 30 at 5 p.m.
  • Last time on the dirt, MSU completed a doubleheader sweep of Missouri Valley Conference frontrunner Southern Illinois on Wednesday, March 24 in Carbondale, Ill. Steffany Dickerson blanked the Salukis to lift the Bears to a 4-0 win in game one. In the opener, Alex Boze provided Dickerson the early run support with a two-run homer in the first inning while Tess Weakly followed with a solo shot in the second. In game two, it was much of the same for MSU but it was Madison Hunsaker and Olivia Krehbiel delivering the power performances with Hunsaker's seven innings of one-run ball and Krehbiel's two-run blast leading to a 4-1 Bears victory.
  • The Bears have turned up the power at the dish recently, belting six of their 12 home runs on the season within the past five games. The 12 round-trippers is tied for fifth in the conference while Boze's team-high four home runs is tied for fourth among MVC sluggers.
  • MSU ranks third in the league in extra-base hits, racking up a total of 48 with 20 doubles, six triples and 12 home runs. The six triples is tied for best in the MVC with all of them coming in a four-game span (Feb. 26-March 5).
  • With Wednesday's game-one dinger, Alex Boze (Jr., Swansea, Ill.) hit her third multi-RBI home run of a recent four-game tear that began with a seventh-inning go-ahead blast against SLU on March 16. She added another clutch hit with a game-tying home run against UNI in the series finale on March 21. In her past five games, Boze is slugging .882 with three HR, a double and eight RBI.
  • Madison Hunsaker (Sr., Peculiar, Mo.) recorded her second complete-game outing of the year on Wednesday, holding the Salukis to one run while striking out four. She ranks in the top-5 among Valley pitchers with a season ERA of 1.64 and is sixth in strikeouts with 49 whiffs. She garnered conference Pitcher of the Week honors on Feb. 22. At the plate, Hunsaker is hitting .273 and has a team-high seven extra-base hits with four doubles, a triple and two home runs.
  • Along with Hunsaker, pitchers Steffany Dickerson (Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Gracie Johnston (So., Augusta, Kan) provide the Bears a three-headed attack from the circle. The trio has contributed to MSU's five shutouts in 2021, which is second most in the league. Dickerson notched her second solo scoreless outing in game one against SIU where she allowed just four hits. Carrying a 3-2 record, Johnston is tied for fourth in the MVC with 13 appearances.
  • Leadoff hitter Daphne Plummer (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) paces the MSU lineup with a .339 batting average and a team-high 21 hits. She has 15 runs scored on the season, setting the stage by going a perfect 10-for-10 on stolen base attempts. Her 10 swipes rank fourth in the conference. As a four-year player for coach Holly Hesse, Plummer has made 141 total starts in her career.
  • Darian Frost (Sr., Lee's Summitt, Mo.) smacked two doubles in two games against UNI on March 20 to give the senior catcher 24 extra-base hits for her career. She is hitting .256 on the season and added her second career triple against WIU on Feb. 26.
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 831-809-2 (.507). She began the year ranked 30th among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories.
  • Coach Hesse is 40-52-1 vs. Drake 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
  • Drake leads the all-time series, 56-49-1 margin in a rivalry that dates back to 1979. MSU is 13-24-1 all-time at home against the Bulldogs and 3-8 at Killian Stadium.
  • In 2019, Drake took two of three games in Springfield on April 27-28. DU's Nicole Newman tossed a no-hitter to lead the Bulldogs to a 9-0 victory in game one. The Bears battled back in game two with Steffany Dickerson limiting Drake to two hits and Alex Boze delivering the game-winning runs in the bottom of the sixth for MSU's 4-2 win. In the rubber match, a five-run seventh inning from the Bulldogs spoiled the Bears' home finale and handed the hosts a 9-5 setback.
 
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