Softball Bears Close Out Road Trip at Valpo

Saturday, April 17

Valparaiso, Ind.

12:00 p.m.

Missouri State University

Valparaiso

Softball Bears Close Out Road Trip at Valpo

April 16, 2021 | Softball

By: MSU Athletics Communications

Missouri State Bears (16-14, 7-4 MVC) at Valparaiso (5-22, 1-11 MVC)
Dates	Saturday, April 17 – Sunday, April 18, 2021
Site \| Location	Valpo Softball Complex \| Valparaiso, Ind.
Game 1	Saturday, 12:00 p.m. \| Live Stats
Game 2	Saturday, 30 mins. after Game 1 \| Live Stats
Game 3	Sunday, 11:00 a.m. \| Live Stats
Missouri State	Softball Home Page \| Season Stats \| Roster \| Twitter \| Facebook
Up Next	April 21 \| vs. Southern Illinois \| Springfield, Mo.

The Prime Nine

Missouri State (16-14, 7-4 MVC) wraps up a three-week road stretch at Valparaiso (5-22, 1-11 MVC) on Saturday (Noon DH) and Sunday (11 a.m.). The three-game set concludes what was originally a 10-game road trip before weather wiped out the Bears' series at Illinois State last weekend. MSU is 2-3 in Valley road games while Valpo is 0-3 when hosting conference opponents this year.
With last weekend's scratch of the Redbirds series, the Bears have had 11 games canceled – all weather-related – this season, including what was supposed to be their season-opening tournament at the Louisiana Classic (Feb. 13-14).
Last time on the dirt, MSU dropped its final non-conference game of the season with a 9-1 setback to No. 10 Arkansas on April 6. Facing the nation's second-best home-run hitting team, the Bears surrendered six homers to the Razorbacks in the contest while Daphne Plummer scored the run for Missouri State after racing home on an RBI groundout from Darian Frost. It was the first loss this year for MSU against a team that was ranked or receiving votes in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top-25 poll after picking up wins against then-No. 23 ranked Iowa State (March 7) and Southern Illinois (March 24), who was receiving votes at the time.
The MSU pitching staff ranks third in the MVC with a team ERA of 3.10. The trio of Steffany Dickerson (Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla.), Madison Hunsaker (Sr., Peculiar, Mo.) and Gracie Johnston (So., Augusta, Kan.) stand among the top-13 Valley pitchers in ERA with Hunsaker (2.01) at fifth, Johnston (2.56) at ninth and Dickerson (3.28) at 13th. All three hurlers have contributed to MSU's five shutouts of 2021 which includes a scoreless outing from Dickerson against SIU, the league's top run-producing team, on March 24.
At the plate, Hunsaker leads the team with 16 RBI and five doubles. She has smacked two home runs, both of which have come in big games as her first dinger of 2021 punctuated MSU's top-25 win against the Cyclones (March 7) and she hit a two-run go-ahead home run to seal the victory versus UNI on March 20.
Daphne Plummer (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) paces the MSU lineup with a .333 batting average and a team-high 29 hits, 19 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. Plummer has reached safely in seven straight games after drawing a leadoff walk that resulted in her coming around to score against the Razorbacks (April 9). Her 28 starts in 2021 gives the senior shortstop a total of 149 for her four-year career. She joined Bailey Greenlee (Jr., Snohomish, Wash.) in recording their first career home runs in the game against Kansas City on March 30.
Payton Minnis (So., Blue Springs, Mo.) recently returned to the MSU lineup after recovering from an offseason injury. She has registered a hit in four of her five starts this year including multi-hit performances against Kansas City (March 30) and Bradley (April 3). Minnis is a career .324 hitter and has started in 54 games – all at second base – in her three years at MSU.
Kelly Metter (Sr., Columbia, Ill.) has recorded three multi-RBI games in 2021 to boost her season total to 13 runs driven in. Earlier this year, she tallied the third four-RBI game of her career after plating four runs against TAMU-CC on March 5.
Darian Frost (Sr., Lee's Summitt, Mo.) owns a .391 on-base percentage with 15 hits and has drawn 12 walks. Her four doubles on the season have all come against Valley opponents.

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 834-814-2 (.506). She began the year ranked 30th among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories.
Coach Hesse is 4-4 all-time against Valparaiso.
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

The all-time series between the two teams is tied, 4-4, and marks MSU's second straight trip to Valparaiso after going there for the first time in 2019.
In the 2019 series, Steffany Dickerson tossed her first career no-hitter to highlight a series split of a road trip that was reduced to a one-day doubleheader due to weather conditions. Dickerson blanked the Valpo lineup in the 6-0 game-one win and tallied seven strikeouts on her way to recording the program's 17th no-hitter which stands as the most recent outing in which the feat has been accomplished. She was backed by an MSU offense that featured a two-run single from Alex Boze and a 3-3 day at the plate from Daphne Plummer. In game two, Valpo capitalized on a five-run third inning to take a 5-2 result and ensure a series split.

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