Bears Softball Set for Texas A&M Invitational

Friday, February 18

College Station, Texas

9:00 a.m.

Missouri State University

Pitt

Bears Softball Set for Texas A&M Invitational

February 17, 2022 | Softball

Missouri State at Texas A&M Invitational
Dates	Friday-Sunday, Feb. 18-20
Tournament Central	Texas A&M Invitational
Location & Site	College Station, Texas \| Davis Diamond
Game 1	Friday, 9:00 a.m. vs. Pitt \| Live Stats
Game 2	Friday, 4:30 p.m. at RV Texas A&M \| Watch (SECN+) \| Live Stats
Game 3	Saturday, 9:00 a.m. vs. Kansas \| Live Stats
Game 4	Saturday, 11:30 a.m. vs. Stephen F. Austin \| Live Stats
Game 5	Sunday, 9:00 a.m. vs. Stephen F. Austin \| Live Stats
Missouri State	MSU Game Notes (PDF) \| Softball Home Page
Up Next	March 3-5, Razorback Rumble

The Starting Lineup
?    Missouri State kicked off the 2022 season at the Kajikawa Classic at Arizona State University. The Bears went 1-4 as they played three games against top 25 teams, and finished off the tournament with an upset victory over #21 Arizona State, 4-0, on Feb. 13.
?   Missouri State finished the 2021 season with a 26-17 overall record and a 16-6 Missouri Valley Conference record. The Bears concluded the regular as the third-place team in the MVC and advanced to the semifinals of the MVC Tournament before they were knocked off by the No. 2 seed, Northern Iowa, 3-2.
?    Head coach Holly Hesse is entering her 34th season at the helm of the Bears program. She ranks second in the MVC in overall career victories with 845 and second in MVC career victories with 361 league wins. Hesse enters the season ranked 22nd among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories (845-821-2).
?   Missouri State was picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference this season by the MVC coaches, while D1 Softball recently pegged the Bears to place second in the MVC and make an NCAA Tournament appearance. Hesse has led MSU to the NCAA Tournament five times in her career, with the Bears' last appearance coming in 2011.
?   The Bears return 13 position players and 4 pitchers from last season's squad, while welcoming six newcomers (five freshmen, one transfer). In the circle, the Bears return all but one member of their staff that ranked third in the MVC last season with a 2.66 ERA. Meanwhile in the batter's box, Missouri State will have its top four hitters from last season (Plummer, Krehbiel, Weakly and Hunsaker) back for 2022.. MSU's veteran presence is highlighted by the return of three seniors for their fifth years: Steffany Dickerson, Madison Hunsaker and Daphne Plummer.
?     Daphne Plummer (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) posted a team-leading .429 batting average at the Kajikawa Classic as she logged six hits, six runs scored and a .571 slugging percentage. For her performances against a loaded field at the Kajikawa Classic (three games versus top 25 teams), Plummer was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week. Plummer is also currently on an 18-game hitting streak and a 24-game reached base streak, both of which date back to last season.
?   Steffany Dickerson (Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla.) led the way for the Bears in the circle at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Arizona. The senior logged a 2.15 ERA and went 1-1, while also logging two RBI at the plate. In 13.0 innings of work, Dickerson struck out 13 and allowed 4 ER. On Feb. 13 against #21 Arizona State, Dickerson pitched a one-hit complete game shutout against the Sun Devils to lead MSU to their first victory of the season.
?    Olivia Krehbiel (Jr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) earned NFCA All-Region second team honors last season after posting a .342 batting average and leading the Bears in RBI (30) and walks (24). Krehbiel also tied for the team lead with 5 home runs.
?     The Bears will face a challenging non-conference schedule in 2022, as they will take on 8 Power Five squads with 11 games against those opponents. Four teams on Missouri State's schedule are ranked in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Top 25 (#4 Oklahoma State, #9 Arkansas, #21 Arizona State and #25 Wichita State).
?     The coaching staff of Hesse, Sue Frederick and Beth Perine has been together since the 1996 season, making them the longest-tenured staff in the nation.

Series Histories
Missouri State and Pitt have never met.
   Missouri State is 2-13 all time against Texas A&M. The Aggies have won the last 10 matchups, including the last contest in which Texas A&M defeated the Bears 8-2 on Feb. 18, 2017.
   Kansas owns the all-time series advantage over Missouri State, 75-19. The Jayhawks have won the last five matchups. The two programs last met on Feb. 18, 2018 as Kansas defeated the Bears, 7-6.
   Missouri State owns an 8-1 all-time record against Stephen F. Austin, as the Bears have won the last four matchups wihile allowing zero runs in those contests. MSU and SFA last met in 2018 with the Bears winning both games by scores of 7-0 and 4-0.