Starting 9
1) Missouri State (11-8) opens Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend when it hosts Evansville (13-7) at Hammons Field. With rain in the forecast for Friday, the Bears and Purple Aces will play a noon doubleheader on Saturday and 1 p.m. game on Sunday. UE and MoState are the top two teams in the MVC in terms of winning percentage and ERA, and the projected game one pitching matchup of MSU's
Brandt Thompson (37) and reigning MVC Pitcher of the Year Nick Smith (35) features the league's two strikeout leaders.
2) MSU is 442-308 in 32 MVC seasons with six regular season titles. Since 2015, the Bears have won more combined regular season titles (3-2) and tournament championships (3-1) than the rest of the league's current membership combined.
3) The Bears are 62-46 all-time against Evansville with a 29-21 home record in the series. The Aces swept the regular season series in Springfield last year before Missouri State won 7-6 in the winner's bracket final of the league tournament at Hammons Field.
4) The Bears have continued their slugging ways this year after ranking in the top 17 nationally in 2022 in home runs and slugging percentage with 4.03 extra base hits per game. This season, the Bears rank 34th in homers and 28th in doubles with 4.26 extra base hits per contest.
5) Missouri State homered in the first 11 games this season to extend its streak to 29 consecutive games with a long ball. The Bears have now blasted a round-tripper in 14 of 19 games this year and 32 of the last 37, with 75 total in that span. MSU has also tallied three or more extra-base hits in 14 of 19 games, with eight or more on three different occasions. The Bears lead the Valley in slugging, homers and doubles.
6) The Missouri State pitching staff has allowed a .243 opponent average with a 3.55 ERA over the last 11 games and tied a school record with 19 strikeouts on March 10 versus SIUE. The Bears lead the MVC in strikeouts and rank second in ERA, while
Brandt Thompson and
Trey Ziegenbein rank 1-2 in strikeout-to-walk ratio.
7) Senior second baseman
Mason Hull and sophomore outfielder
Spencer Nivens earned preseason all-MVC honors this season. Hull is also a preseason third-team All-American according to Collegiate Baseball, while Nivens was named a Freshman All-American by the publication last season. Nivens hit for MSU's first cycle since 1998 on Feb. 24 against Central Arkansas, and leads the league with seven homers and a .763 slugging percentage.
8) Missouri State has 23 new players on its roster this season with three ranked among D1Baseball's top 50 impact transfers. Pitchers
Jake Eddington (8th) and
Hayden Minton (38th) and catcher
Cody Kelly (49th) appear on the list.
9) Head coach
Keith Guttin ranks tied for second among active coaches and 14th overall with 1,351 career wins. Among active skippers, Gut trails only Danny Hall of Georgia Tech (1,361) and is tied with Minnesota's John Anderson (1,351).
Series History
The Bears are 62-46 all-time against Evansville with a 29-21 home record in the series. The Aces swept the regular season in Springfield last season before Missouri State won 7-6 in the winner's bracket final of the league tournament at Hammons Field.
Last Time Out
The Bears were swept in a three-game set March 17-19 at 10th-ranked East Carolina, with the offense being held in check against a talented ECU pitching staff.
Friday, the Pirates added a two-run homer in the eighth inning for insurance in a 3-0 victory, handing the Bears their first shutout loss since May 2021. Saturday, ECU rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth for a 4-3 victory, then completed the sweep Sunday with a 10-1 win.
