Bears Take on First-Time Opponent in Weekend Series at Samford

Friday, April 1

Birmingham, Ala.

6:00 p.m.

Missouri State University

Samford

Bears Take on First-Time Opponent in Weekend Series at Samford

March 30, 2022 | Baseball

Live Stats Listen ESPN+ (Fri.)ESPN+ (Sat.)ESPN+ (Sun.)Game Notes

By: MSU Athletics Communications

Missouri State at Samford
Schedule	Friday, April 1, 6 p.m. Saturday, April 2, 2 p.m. Sunday, April 3, 12 p.m.
Location	Birmingham, Ala.
Site	Joe Lee Griffin Field
Radio	KBFL-FM 1060 AM (Fri.) KBFL-FM 96.9/AM 1060 (Sat. &Sun.)
Listen Live	Varsity Network App
ESPN+	Friday \| Saturday \| Sunday
Live Stats	Friday \| Saturday \| Sunday
Missouri State	MSU Game Notes Baseball Home Page
Samford	Baseball Home Page

Starting 9
1) The Missouri State Bears (12-9) continue a seven-game road swing this weekend in Alabama when they visit Samford (12-10) for a three-game series in Birmingham.

2) So far this season, the Bears have collected 94 extra base hits, with 50 doubles, five triples and 39 home runs. Missouri State is slugging .540, good for 9th nationally, and ranks 7th in homers per game (1.86) and 21st in doubles per game (2.38). MSU's 7 homers March 2 at Kansas were the most since 2002.

3) Senior Dakota Kotowski ranks 3rd nationally with 12 home runs and leads the country with 0.57 homers per game. Mason Hull leads the MVC and ranks 38th nationally with 29 RBI, and his nine home runs (0.43/game) make Missouri State the only team in the country with two players in the top 20 in home runs per game.

4) Kotowski hit his 10th home run on March 20 in MSU's 18th game of the season. Only Jason Hart has reached double figures in fewer games, hitting his 10th in game 16 of the 1998 campaign.

5) Missouri State has turned 22 double plays on the year to rank 13th nationally in total DPs and 8th in per game average at 1.05.

6) Adam Link is the reigning MVC Pitcher of the Week. The senior fired eight shutout innings March 25 against a Nevada team that entered the game with a .303 batting average. Link faced one batter over the minimum.

7) Missouri State's bullpen put together a 26-inning scoreless streak that began March 8 and ended March 20. MSU relievers own 4.06 ERA for the full season and limit opponents to a .243 batting average. Trey Ziegenbein ranks fifth in the MVC with a 2.25 ERA out of the pen. Meanwhile, the Bears are hitting .314 and scoring 4.9 runs per game against opposing relievers.

8) The Bears have never met Samford on the baseball diamond. Missouri State is 3-2 against current Southern Conference membership, going 2-2 against Mercer and 1-0 versus UNC Greensboro, all at neutral sites.

9) Head coach Keith Guttin picked up his 1,300th career victory on April 13, 2021 at Missouri. Guttin's troops beat the Tigers 7-5 in Columbia, and the 40th-year coach currently ranks third among active coaches and 18th overall with 1,321 career wins.