Saturday, March 19
Springfield
4:00 p.m.
Missouri State University
vs
Illinois State
Softball Home Stand Continues This Weekend vs. Redbirds
March 18, 2022 | Softball
Please Note: Saturday's doubleheader has been moved to a 4:00 p.m. start for Game 1.
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The Starting Lineup
Series History
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| Missouri State Bears (8-12, 1-1 MVC) vs. Illinois State Redbirds (9-13, 0-0 MVC) | |
| Dates | Saturday, March 19 |Â 4:00 p.m. (Doubleheader) Sunday, March 20 | 12:00 p.m. |
| Location | Killian Stadium (1,200) | Springfield, Missouri |
| Tickets | Free Admission |
| Promotions | Saturday - Where's Boomer Search (Prizes) Sunday - Maroon Out |
| Follow | ESPN3 (Mike McClure, Chelsea Turner) | Live Stats | Twitter Watch Game 1 | Watch Game 2 | Watch Game 3 |
| Missouri State | Game Notes (PDF) | Softball Home Page | Media Guide  |
| Illinois State | Softball Home Page |
| Up Next | Tuesday, March 22 vs. Saint Louis | 4 p.m. | Killian Stadium |
The Starting Lineup
- Missouri State continues a nine-game home stand this weekend when the Bears entertain long-time rival Illinois State in a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series at Killian Stadium in Springfield. The Bears are coming off a doubleheader split with Southern Illinois on Wednesday in the MVC opener for both clubs. That doubleheader included 22 innings of softball, including 19 innings with the game tied or one team ahead by just one run.
- The Bears enter the weekend ranked 2nd in the MVC and 38th nationally in fielding percentage (.973) with just 16 errors in 590 chances through 20 games.
- In Game 1 vs. SIU on Wednesday, the Bears dropped a 15-inning marathon, 6-2, in its second-longest game on record. The Bears sent 60 hitters to the plate and got a complete-game from Steffany Dickerson, who struck out a career-high 12 hitters. MSU's longest-ever game is a 17-inning loss (2-1) to Louisiana Tech in 1985.
- Missouri State is 5-1 this season when allowing 3 runs or less and 7-1 in games decided by one or two runs.Â
- This week's MVC Pitcher of the Week, Steffany Dickerson (Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla.) is 2.1 innings away from 500 for her career. In 115 career appearances and 75 starts, Dickerson is 46-36 with 413 strikeouts and a 2.62 ERA.
- Daphne Plummer (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) has 206 career hits, one away from catching Sarah Madden (1997-00) for No. 2 on the team's career hits chart. She is also 5 runs away from 100 for her career (182 games) and would be the 6th Bear ever to reach that milestone.Â
- This weekend's series features the two winningest head coaches in MVC softball history in Illinois State's Melinda Fischer (1150 wins) and MSU's Holly Hesse (852 wins) -- and 2,002 combined victories.
- MSU's 2022 schedule features 8 teams that appeared in the 2021 NCAA Tournament (Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Kennesaw State, Wichita State, UNI and Southern Illinois), four of which were ranked in the USA Softball Preseason Top 25 (#4 Oklahoma State, #9 Arkansas, #21 Arizona State and #25 Wichita State).
- Payton Minnis (Sr., Blue Springs, Mo.) ranks 8th nationally and tops in the MVC in sac bunts. Minnis has 6 sacs in 19 games (0.32 per game) this spring and also ranks third on the team with 24 assists this season. She enters the weekend with 97 career games (82 starts)
- Lefty Madison Hunsaker (Sr., Peculiar, Mo.) is 18-11 in 214.1 career innings (82 appearances) and is 5 strikeouts away from 200 in her career.
- Alex Boze (Sr., Swansea, Ill.), this week's MVC Player of the Week, is 2 RBI away from 50 for her career (112 games). She ranks 21st nationally and tops in The Valley in slugging (.905) heading into the weekend.
- Missouri State head coach Holly Hesse is in her 34th season leading the Bears' program in 2021-22 and is the second-winningest coach in Missouri Valley Conference history with an 852-829-2 record. She began the 2022 season ranked 22nd among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories and reached career win No. 850 on March 13, 2022 vs. SEMO in Lawrence, Kan.
- 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.
- Hesse and the Bears compiled a 26-17 record in 2021 which featured 16 conference wins and a victory over No. 23 Iowa State (March 7). Â Missouri State started its conference campaign by winning seven of its first eight contests against league opponents and finished with a 16-6 record in MVC play which earned the Bears the No. 3 seed at the Valley Tournament.
- Hesse joined the 800-win club on a thrilling walk-off win over UNI on March 24, 2019. The Bears also relished their second straight 30-win campaign in 2019, the first time MSU has achieved that feat since three straight MVC titles from 1996-98.Â
- Other recent milestones for Hesse include her 700th victory, which came on a 4-0 win at Illinois State on April 18, 2015, completing a doubleheader sweep in Normal, Ill. She then 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.
- She is the winningest coach in Missouri State history and second-winningest coach in Missouri Valley Conference history. Her tenure includes two regular-season MVC titles, five MVC tournament crowns and five NCAA Tournament appearances.
- Hesse has coached 37 different first-team all-conference players which have received 53 first-team all-conference honors. Twenty-five of Hesse's players have gone on to earn NFCA All-Midwest Region honors, including Madison Hunsaker and Olivia Krehbiel in 2021.
- Recent statewide honors for Hesse include induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2018 and the 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.Â
Series History
- Illinois State leads the all-time series, 71-44. The Bears are 15-33 at home against the Redbirds, including a 6-8 ledger at Killian Stadium.
- The teams did not play last season, due to the series being rained out, and did not play in 2020 when the season was cut short due to the COVID pandemic. The Bears swept a doubleheader in Normal (9-5 and 6-2) on April 13, 2019 in the last meeting between these two teams.Â
Players Mentioned
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P/1B
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3B
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2B
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UTL
/ SoftballMonday, June 08
Saturday, May 30
Saturday, May 30
Thursday, May 28
