Starting 9
1) Missouri State (16-14, 5-4 Missouri Valley Conference) hosts the first game of this year's home-and-home series with Missouri (20-11, 4-8 SEC) on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
2) MoState is 31-30 all-time against Mizzou with a 17-11 home record and 8-8 mark at Hammons Field.
3) 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 47th in homers and 64th in doubles with 3.83 extra base hits per contest.
4) Missouri State freshman outfielders
Zack Stewart and
Taeg Gollert have made an immediate impact this season and rank 1-3 in the MVC in doubles with 13 and 10, respectively. Stewart is hitting .328 with six homers and 31 RBI, while Gollert hit two grand slams vs. Bradley on April 9 and has six homers and 25 RBI.
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 22 of 30 games this year and 40 of the last 48, with 90 total in that span. MSU has also tallied three or more extra-base hits in 20 of 30 games, with eight or more on four different occasions. The Bears rank second in the Valley in homers, doubles and slugging
6) The Missouri State leads the MVC in total strikeouts (294) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.75), the best rate in school history (9.10 in 2016 is 2nd), ranking 51st nationally in the latter category.
Brandt Thompson leads the league with 18 strikeouts looking and 56 total, and
Hayden Minton ranks fourth with 49. Thompson (53rd - 5.09) and
Trey Ziegenbein (70th - 4.62) and Minton (81st - 4.45) all rank in the top 100 nationally 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 Hull has reached safely in 20 or his 22 games this year.
8) MSU is 447-318 in its 33rd MVC season 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.
9) Head coach
Keith Guttin ranks second among active coaches and 13th overall with 1,356 career wins. Among active skippers, Guttin trails only Danny Hall of Georgia Tech (1,366). Minnesota's John Anderson is one win behind Guttin wih 1,355.
Series History
MoState is 31-30 all-time against Mizzou with a 17-11 home record and 8-8 mark at Hammons Field.
    Last season, the home team won by a single run in each contest, with the Tigers winning 6-5 on April 19 in Columbia and the Bears coming out on top 2-1 a week later in Springfield.
Last Time Out
Missouri State swept Bradley at home to move above .500 in MVC play. In the opener,
Brandt Thompson struck out 10 in 7.1 innings and
Zack Stewart's RBI double in the fifth put the Bears ahead for good after falling behind 2-0 on the way to a 4-3 win.
    Saturday, the Bears scored seven runs in the seventh inning for another come-from-behind victory, this time 9-7.
    Sunday,
Taeg Gollert became the first player in school history with two grand slams in a game, hitting one in the first inning and a walk-off shot to cap a five-run ninth inning for the Bears in a 14-10 win.
