Wednesday, April 26
Springfield, Mo.
1:00 p.m.
Missouri State University
vs
Southern Illinois
Softball Closes Home Slate with Visit from Salukis
April 25, 2023 | Softball
| Missouri State Bears (27-16, 17-3 MVC) vs. Southern Illinois Salukis (30-13, 11-9 MVC) | |
| Date & Time | Wednesday, April 26 | 1 p.m. CT |
| Location & Site | Killian Stadium | Springfield, Mo. |
| Promotions | The Bears Fund Appreciation Day - Free Pizza and Soda |
| Watch | ESPN+ (Mike McClure, Graham Doty) | Watch |
| Live Stats | Sidearmstats.com |
| Missouri State | Game Notes (PDF) | Softball Home Page  | Media Guide (PDF) |
| Southern Illinois | Softball Home Page |
| Bears Mobile App | App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices) |
| Up Next | April 28-30 at Indiana State | Terre Haute, Ind. |
The Starting Lineup - Storylines for the Southern Illinois Game
- Missouri State won its sixth straight consecutive MVC series, five of which have been sweeps, with a three-game sweep of Belmont last weekend. The Bears currently sit in second place in the MVC standings with a 17-3 conference record behind Northern Iowa.Â
- Head coach Holly Hesse is in her 35th season at the helm of the Bears program and she is just 1 win shy of 900 career victories. She ranks second in the MVC in overall career victories with 899 and second in MVC career victories with 396 league wins.Â
- The Bears enter the weekend with a 19-1 record in their last 20 games. Over that span, MSU is outscoring its opponents, 121-46, and is 49-of-56 in stolen base attempts compared to its oppoents who are 16-of-20 in stolen bases. MSU has nearly doubled its opponents in walks with a 77-40 advantage over the last 20 games.Â
- MSU also heads into the weekend with a perfect 14-0 record at home this season, as they are on a Killian Stadium record 17-game win streak dating back to last season. The home win streak ranks 3rd in the NCAA, trailing only Oklahoma (53) and South Dakota State (24). In those 14 contests, MSU is outscoring its opponents, 80-31, and has allowed just 4 home runs compared to 19 long balls for the Bears.
- Missouri State is 25-2 this season when scoring three or more runs and the Bears improve to 10-0 when scoring six or more runs. MSU is also 20-1 on the season when holding opponents to fewer than three runs.
- Olivia Krehbiel (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) and McKenzie Vaughan (So., Bella Vista, Ark.) are leading the way offensively for MSU this season, both owning batting averages of .320 or better. They each knocked three home runs and a double last weekend against Belmont with Krehbiel owning the slight edge with 7 RBI to Vaughan's 5 RBI. Krehbiel moved into a tie for second place all-time in MSU history with 22 career home runs and her seven RBI made it 100 runs driven in for her career, which is tied for fourth in MSU softball history. Vaughan is batting a team-high .420 over the last 20 games with 9 home runs, 24 RBI and a 1.020 SLG%, and she is leading MSU with a .422 average in MVC games.
- MSU is led by a trio of arms in the circle in Gracie Johnston (Sr., Augusta, Kan.), Mackenzie Chacon (So., Oologah, Okla.) and Vaughan. Chacon leads the staff with a 2.02 ERA, while Johnston owns the most victories with an 11-6 record and Vaughan leads the team with 62 strikeouts. Freshman Makenzi Swick has also pitched crucial innings in the last few weeks as she owns a 4-0 record on the year in 26 innings, while Shelby Houchlei has two saves on the season.Â
- The Bears continue to show off their speed as they rank 18th nationally and first in the MVC with 94 stolen bases, which is the most stolen bases by the Bears since 1996 (96). MSU is led by freshman Abby Ford who owns a MVC-leading 24 stolen bases, which also ranks 29th nationally. Ellie McCoy is second on the team and tied for 3rd in the Valley as she is 15-for-15 in stolen base attempts.Â
- MSU leads the Valley in the RPI rankings as the Bears sit at No. 77. SIU (85), UNI (86) and Belmont (99) join MSU in the Top 100 heading into Wednesday's matchup with the Salukis.
Missouri State trails the all-time series against Southern Illinois, 53-62, but the Bears own a 26-17 record at home against the Salukis. The two teams met earlier this season with SIU winning both games, 5-2 and 7-5.Â
   The last time the teams met in Springfield, the squads split the two-game set. MSU fell in the series opener, 6-2, in a 15-inning battle before bouncing back with a 2-1 victory in game two. Later in the season, MSU went on the road to Carbondale for the rubber match and came out with a 1-0 victory and the series win.Â
Players Mentioned
P/1B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
3B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P/1B
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