Missouri State Bears (6-3) at Boerner Invitational (Arlington, Texas)
Dates	Friday, March 5 – Sunday, March 7, 2021
Site | Location	Allan Saxe Field | Arlington, Texas
Game 1	Friday, 9:00 a.m. vs. Wichita State | Live Stats
Game 2	Friday, 2:00 p.m. vs. Texas A&M – Corpus Christi | Live Stats
Game 3	Saturday, 9:00 a.m.­ vs. North Texas | Live Stats
Game 4	Saturday, 4:30 p.m. vs. UT Arlington | Live Stats
Game 5	Sunday, 9:00 a.m. vs. #23 Iowa State | Live Stats
Missouri State	Softball Home Page | Roster | Twitter | Facebook
Up Next	March 12-14 | Shocker Softball Tournament (Wichita State) | Wichita, Kan.­­

The Prime Nine

• Missouri State (6-3) heads to Arlington, Texas this weekend to compete in the Boerner Invitational, hosted by UT Arlington.  The Bears play games against Wichita State (9 a.m.) and Texas A&M – Corpus Christi (2 p.m.) on Friday, North Texas (9 a.m.) and UTA (4:30 p.m.) on Saturday and wrap up the tournament with a top-25 matchup against No. 23 Iowa State (9 a.m.) on Sunday.
• With inclement weather altering the Bears' schedule, MSU opened its season with a nine-game stretch in its first week of action.  The Bears played a two-day tournament at Mississippi State on Feb. 21-22 before finishing their week at Central Arkansas for a five-game slate on Feb.25-27.
• MSU went 3-2 at the Michelle Short Memorial Tournament, hosted by UCA last weekend (Feb. 25-27).  The Bears swept two games against Western Illinois, including a 12-2 run-rule victory, and defeated Omaha, 3-1.
• The Bears tallied 11 extra-base hits in Conway last weekend with seven doubles and four triples.  MSU recorded a triple in three straight contests, beginning with Madison Hunsaker's triple-bagger against Omaha (Feb. 26), then two courtesy of Daphne Plummer and Darian Frost against WIU (Feb. 26) before Tess Weakly capped the slugging spree with one against Omaha in the weekend finale (Feb. 27). 
• 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 824-803-2 (.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.
• Tess Weakly (So., Elsberry, Mo.) drove in a team-high four runs and smashed three extra-base hits this past weekend at UCA.  The sophomore slugger hit .385 with two doubles, a triple, and four RBI while posting a .692 slugging percentage at the three-day tournament.  Her two doubles came in the Bears' 12-5 victory over Western Illinois (Feb. 25), driving in the game's opening run with her RBI double in the first before adding her second run-scoring extra-base hit in the fifth.  Weakly recorded her first career triple in MSU's weekend finale against Omaha (Feb. 26).
• With four appearances in the opening week, Gracie Johnston (So., Augusta, Kan.) posted a 1.27 ERA and earned her first win of the season.  Making her second start of 2021, Johnston turned in a complete-game effort in Missouri State's 3-1 win against Omaha on Feb. 27 where she finished with a line of 7IP, 0ER, 5H, and 4K.  The right-hander began the week by pitching two innings of scoreless relief to close out a 4-0 win over Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 22.  Johnston continued her scoreless streak with another relief appearance (1.2IP) in the Bears' game against Central Arkansas on Feb. 25.
• Leadoff hitter, Daphne Plummer (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) is hitting a blistering .444, which ranks fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference, with a double, a triple and eight runs scored to begin her senior campaign.  Her six stolen bases is tied for most in the conference.
• Madison Hunsaker (Sr., Peculiar, Mo.) added another win to her early-season pitching record (3-1) after striking out six in Missouri State's 12-2 victory over WIU (Feb. 26).  She was named MVC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 22.  Overall for the season, she has a pitching line of 1.47 ERA, 19.0 IP, 4ER, 15H and 25K.  Hunsaker ranks fifth in the Valley in strikeouts (25), seventh in ERA (1.47) and eighth in opposing batting average (.214).

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 824-803-2 (.506). She began the year ranked 30th among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories.
• Coach Hesse is 44-52 vs. Wichita State, 2-3 vs. TAMU-CC, 4-3 vs. North Texas, 4-6 vs. UTA, and 4-5 vs. Iowa State 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
Wichita State – Bears lead series 59-54.Last meeting: WSU 7, Bears 6 (3/11/18)
Texas A&M – Corpus Christi – Islanders lead series 2-3.Last meeting: Bears 4, TAMU-CC 1 (2/15/19)
North Texas – Bears lead series 4-3.Last meeting: UNT 2, Bears 1 (8 inn.) (2/15/20)
UT Arlington – Bears lead series 8-7.Last meeting: UTA 2, Bears 1 (2/13/16)
Iowa State – Series is tied 8-8.Last meeting: Bears 8, ISU 6 (2/16/13)