Prime 9
1) The Missouri State Bears (5-3) continue a four-game trip through the state of Arkansas with a midweek series at Arkansas State (0-7). The Bears and Red Wolves square off at 5 p.m. Tuesday and 3 p.m. Wednesday in Jonesboro.
2) Jonesboro is the site of the first two games in MSU baseball history, when A-State won a doubleheader by scores of 5-3 and 16-3 on March 14, 1964.
3) The Bears hit two grand slams Sunday at Central Arkansas, a first for Missouri State since March 22, 2016 against
Arkansas State.
Drake Baldwin and
Jaden Rolffs did the honors. Additionally, four consecutive MSU batters were hit by pitches in the UCA game. Not since 2011 had that happened as many as three times in a row.
4) Missouri State has four college graduates on the roster, with
Jack Duffy,
Logan Geha,
Ben Whetstone and
Logan Wiley each electing to use the additional season eligibility granted to 2020 spring athletes.
5) The Bears' roster features five players who have earned all-Missouri Valley Conference honors during their respective careers, led by former Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America picks
Ty Buckner and
Dakota Kotowski; Buckner was a second-team choice in 2018, Kotowski earned first team and Freshman of the Year honors in 2019, while
Jack Duffy (second team),
Logan Wiley (second team) and
Ben Whetstone (honorable mention) were also honored that season. Additionally,
Grant Wood was the Ohio Valley Freshman of the Year in 2018 at Murray State.
6) Missouri State is 44-26 against Arkansas State with a 21-16 record in Jonesboro, though the Bears have lost their last three games at Tomlinson State-Kell Field.
7) The Bears have scored 62 runs through eight games this season, and did not score their 62nd run last year until the 8th inning of game 13.
8) Keith Guttin currently ranks third on the NCAA's Division I wins list for active coaches and 19th all-time with 1,293 for his 39-year career; he is 7 wins away from Fresno State's Bob Bennett in the 18th spot on the chart.
9) Missouri State in the top 50 nationally in batting average (49th - .291) on-base percentage (44th - .404) and scoring (46th - 7.8). Individually,
Jack Duffy ranks 16th nationally in hits (2.0/game) and 28th in runs (1.62/game), while
Ben Whetstone is 18th in walks (1.38/game).
