Friday, March 31
Valparaiso, Ind.
11:00 a.m.
Missouri State University
at
Valparaiso
Softball Bears Set for Road Series at Valparaiso
March 29, 2023 | Softball
| Missouri State Bears (16-15, 6-2 MVC) at Valparaiso Beacons (3-21, 0-6 MVC) | |
| Schedule | Game 1 - Friday, March 31, 11 a.m. CT Game 2 - Sunday, April 2, 12 p.m. CT Game 3 - Sunday, April 2, 2 p.m. CT |
| Location & Site | Valpo Softball Complex | Valparaiso, Ind. |
| Live Stats | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| Missouri State | Game Notes (PDF) | Softball Home Page |
| Valparaiso | Softball Home Page |
| Bears Mobile App | App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices) |
| Up Next | Tuesday, April 4 vs. Central Arkansas | 4 p.m. CT Killian Stadium | Springfield, Mo. |
The Starting Lineup - Storylines for the Valparaiso Series
- Missouri State softball is currently riding a seven-game win streak following a weekend sweep of Evansville that included two walk-off victories. MSU capped its first home stand of the 2023 season with a 7-0 record as the Bears now prepare to hit the road once again to take on Valparaiso.Â
- During their seven-game win streak, the Bears have outscored their opponents, 36-5 and own a team batting average of .271. The MSU offense owns 7 home runs and has drawn 31 walks compared to 16 by their opponents in the span. Meanwhile, the pitching staff owns a combined 0.58 ERA, 38 strikeouts and has allowed no home runs over the last seven games.Â
- The Bears currently sit at No. 89 in the RPI, as they rank 57th in overall strength of schedule and 29th in non-conference strength of schedule this season. MSU has four wins over teams in the Top 100 of the RPI.Â
- McKenzie Vaughan (So., Bella Vista, Ark.) leads Missouri State with 7 home runs and a .762 slugging percentage on the season. She is tied for second on the team with 13 walks, and is third in batting average (.262) and RBI (13).Vaughan was named MVC Player of the Week on March 21 following the opening week of Valley play as she led the team with a .600 (3-for-5) batting average, seven RBI, three home runs, a 2.400 slugging percentage and an .800 on-base percentage against SIU and Drake. She also earned MVC Pitcher of the Week on March 7.
- Gracie Johnston (Sr., Augusta, Kan.) leads the Bears with eight wins this season as she owns a 2.94 ERA in 16 appearances. She has tossed seven complete games, collected a save and struck out 42 batters on the year.
- The Bears continue to show off their speed as they rank 29th nationally and first in the MVC with 58 stolen bases, led by freshman Abby Ford who owns a league-leading 19 stolen bases. Her 19 swipes also rank 20th nationally. Ellie McCoy is second on the team and ranks 5th in the Valley as she is 11-for-11 in stolen base attempts this season.Â
- Kenzie Derryberry (So., Bentonville, Ark.) leads the Missouri Valley Conference with six sacrifice bunts, and her 0.21 sacrifice bunts per game rank 36th nationally.Â
- Head coach Holly Hesse is in her 35th season at the helm of the Bears program. She ranks second in the MVC in overall career victories with 888 and second in MVC career victories with 385 league wins. Hesse entered the season ranked 17th among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories and is currently 888-852-2.Â
- The Bears return 11 position players and 3 pitchers from last season's squad, while welcoming five newcomers (four freshmen, one transfer). At the plate, the Bears return two of their top four hitters from a season ago in Alex Boze and Krehbiel, who batted .325 and .282 respectively, as they both led the team with 11 home runs and 31 RBI. In the cirlce, Missouri State looks a lot different as it lost 83% of its innings pitched from a year ago, with the departures of Steffany Dickerson and Madison Hunsaker. The Bears return three pitchers from last season's staff, while adding two new arms to the mix for 2023.
- With the retirement of long-time associate head coach Sue Frederick, the Bears welcome assistant coach, Kasey Griffth, to the tenured staff of head coach Holly Hesse and associate head coach Beth Perine. Griffith spent the last 10 years at Drake, serving as assistant coach from 2015-22. Griffith works closely with the MSU hitters and infielders, and serves as the first base coach.Â
Missouri State leads the all-time series against Valparaiso, 10-4, including a 4-1 record on the road. Last season, MSU swept the Beacons in a three-game series in Springfield by scores of 8-0 (6), 3-2 and 8-0 (6). The Bears also swept their last series on the road against Valpo in 2021 with an 8-3 series-opening win, followed by a couple of 8-0 run-rule victories. Â
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Players Mentioned
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/ SoftballMonday, June 22
Wednesday, June 17
Wednesday, June 17
Wednesday, June 17
