The Starting Lineup - Storylines
? Missouri State is 5-11 to begin the 2022 campaign, but the Bears have faced a strong schedule to this point The Bears are coming off an impressive 9-8 win over Wichita State on Wednesday night (March 9), in which MSU launched four home runs in the come from behind victory. MSU's other signature win this season was a top 25 victory at No. 21 Arizona State on Feb. 13, 4-0.
? Head coach
Holly Hesse is in her 34th season at the helm of the Bears program. She ranks second in the MVC in overall career victories with 849 and second in MVC career victories with 361 league wins. Hesse entered the season ranked 22nd among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories (849-828-2).
? Missouri State was picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference this season by the MVC coaches, while D1 Softball pegged the Bears to place second in the MVC and make an NCAA Tournament appearance in the preseason. Hesse has led MSU to the NCAA Tournament five times in her career, with the Bears' last appearance coming in 2011.
? The Bears returned 13 position players and 4 pitchers from last season's squad, while welcoming six newcomers (five freshmen, one transfer). In the circle, the Bears returned 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 welcomed back its top four hitters from last season (Plummer, Krehbiel, Weakly and Hunsaker) 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.
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Alex Boze (Sr., Swansea, Ill.) had a career night against Wichita State on March 9, recording the first three homer game by a Bear on record, while tying the MVC record for homers in a game and breaking the Killian Stadium record.Her five RBI were also the most by a Bear since 2016. Boze is tied for 1st in the nation with a 1.250 slugging percentage and 8th nationally in batting average (.500) and on-base percentage (.611). She leads the Missouri Valley conference in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS (1.861) and home runs (6).
? Freshman
McKenzie Vaughan (Fr., Bella Vista, Ark.) burst onto the scene at the Razorback Rumble (March 3-5) after launching two two-run homers, both of which served as game winners for the Bears. The freshman hit .400 for the tournament that weekend, collecting a team-leading 5 RBI and leading the team with a 1.000 slugging percentage in four games started in Fayetteville. She continued her slugging ways against Wichita State, knocking her third homer of the year in MSU's home-opening victory against the Shockers on March 9.Vaughan ranks 2nd in the MVC with an .824 slugging percentage, trailing only her Bear teammate
Alex Boze.
?
Daphne Plummer (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) leads MSU with 20 hits on the season and is second in battting average at .400. Plummer leads the MVC with 8 stolen bases this season and ranks 3rd in batting average. She went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI her last time out against Wichita State.
? The Bears will face a challenging non-conference schedule in 2022, as they will take on 8 Power Five squads with 10 games against those opponents. Four teams on Missouri State's schedule were 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 is 31-11 all-time against Southeast Missouri State. The team's last met on March 14, 2019 with SEMO coming out with 5-2 over the Bears. MSU's last victory against SEMO came on March 2, 2019 by a score of 7-4 at the Central Arkansas Invitational.
The Bears own a 6-2 all-time record against Iowa, including a 2-2 neutral site record. Missouri State has won the last two matchups against the Hawkeyes, which both came back in February 2015 by scores of 3-2 and 6-2.
Among the Nation's Best
Missouri State's
Alex Boze ranks among the nation's best with her offensive explosion so far this season. The senior catcher is tied for 1st in the country with a 1.250 slugging percentage, joining New Mexico State's Ramsay Lopez at the top of the list. Boze also ranks 8th nationally in both batting average (.500, 14-for-28) and on-base percentage (.611), while also coming in at 11th in home runs per game at 0.46.
In MSU's last time on the field, against Wichita State on March 9, Boze became the first Bear on record to log a three homer game, while tying the Missouri Valley Conference record for home runs in a game. She scattered the three home runs across the entire field (right, center, left) and her final long ball, which came in the sixth inning, served as the game winner for the Bears over the Shockers.
