Bears Head to Windy City to Face MVC Newcomer UIC

Friday, April 14

Chicago, Ill.

6 p.m.

Missouri State University

UIC

Bears Head to Windy City to Face MVC Newcomer UIC

April 13, 2023 | Baseball

Listen Live ESPN+ (Game 1)ESPN3 (Game 2)ESPN3 (Game 3)Live Stats Game Notes

By: MSU Athletics Communications

Missouri State at UIC
Schedule	Game 1 - Friday, April 14, 6 p.m. Game 2 - Saturday, April 15, 2 p.m. Game 3 - Saturday, April 15, 5 p.m.
Location	Chicago, Ill.
Site	Curtis Granderson Stadium
Listen Live	Varsity Network App
ESPN+/3	Friday \| Saturday - 1 \| Saturday - 2
Live Stats	Sidearm Stats
Missouri State	MSU Game Notes Baseball Home Page
UIC	Baseball Home Page

Starting 9
1) Missouri State (16-14, 5-4 Missouri Valley Conference) makes its first trip to Chicago in more than 30 years this weekend to take on league newcomer UIC.

2) MoState is 9-2 versus the Flames with a 4-2 record against UIC in the Windy City.

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 46th in homers and 63rd in doubles with 3.81 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 .333 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 23 of 31 games this year and 41 of the last 49, with 91 total in that span. MSU has also tallied three or more extra-base hits in 21 of 31 games, with eight or more on four different occasions. The Bears lead the MVC in doubles/game and homers/game and rank second in slugging percentage.

6) The Missouri State leads the MVC in total strikeouts (303) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.73), 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 57 total, and Hayden Minton ranks fourth with 49. Thompson (62nd- 4.75) and Minton (82nd - 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 leads the MVC with 88 total bases.

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 tied for 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 tied with Guttin in total wins.

Series History
MoState is 9-2 versus the Flames with a 4-2 record against UIC in the Windy City. The Bears and UIC were both members of the Mid-Continent Conference from 1984-90 but never played in the regular season, instead meeting six times in the conference tournament which was held annually at UIC.
Missouri State won that championship annually from 1984-89, while UIC's two wins in the series helped the Flames to the 1990 title.
The Bears also own a win in 1977 and swept a four-game non-conference series in Springfield in 1991.

Last Time Out
The Bears lost 10-1 at home Tuesday to Missouri in the first game of this season's home-and-home series with the Tigers. It was a 1-0 MU lead after five innings before the Tigers pulled away, tacking on a three-run third and six more in the final two frames. Anthony Socci hit a solo homer for the Bears, and Tyler Tscherter allowed a run in four innings in a solid mound performance.