Friday, April 7
Normal, Ill.
5:00 p.m.
Missouri State University
at
Illinois State
Bears Softball Heads to Illinois State for Weekend Series
April 05, 2023 | Softball
| Missouri State Bears (18-15, 9-2 MVC) at Illinois State Redbirds (17-15, 7-1 MVC) | |
| Schedule | Game 1 - Friday, April 7, 5 p.m. CT Game 2 - Saturday, April 8, 2 p.m. CT Game 3 - Sunday, April 9, 12 p.m. CT |
| Location & Site | Marian Kneer Stadium | Normal, Ill. |
| Watch | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| Live Stats | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| Missouri State | Game Notes (PDF) | Softball Home Page | Media Guide (PDF) |
| Illinois State | Softball Home Page |
| Bears Mobile App | App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices) |
| Up Next | Wed., April 12 vs. Kansas City | 5 p.m. CT Killian Stadium | Springfield, Mo. |
The Starting Lineup - Storylines for the Illinois State Series
- Following their third consecutive MVC series sweep last weekend at Valparaiso, the Missouri State Bears are riding a 10-game win streak. In the last 10 games, the Bears are batting .300 as a team and have outscored their opponents, 68-8. MSU pitchers have combined for a 0.64 ERA during the streak, allowing just six earned runs, striking out 53 batters and owning a .178 opposing batting average in 66.0 innings. MSU has collected nine home runs and drawn 43 walks in that span while the pitching staff has only allowed one homer and walked 23 opposing batters.
- MSU's 10 wins in a row marks the longest streak since the Bears had two separate win streaks of 11 and 10 games during the 2006 season, in which MSU won the MVC Tournament and went on to the NCAA Los Angeles Regional.
- The Bears currently sit at No. 86 in the RPI, as they rank 85th in overall strength of schedule and 26th in non-conference strength of schedule this season. MSU has four wins over teams in the Top 100 of the RPI.Â
- Missouri State is 16-2 this season when scoring three or more runs and the Bears improve to 7-0 when scoring six or more runs. MSU is also 17-1 on the season when holding opponents to fewer than three runs.
- McKenzie Vaughan (So., Bella Vista, Ark.) and Olivia Krehbiel (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) are leading the way offensively for MSU this season. Krehbiel leads the team in multiple categories including: average (.326), hits (29), runs (21), doubles (9), triples (3) and walks (16). Meanwhile, Vaughan leads MSU with 7 home runs, a .740 slugging percentage and a .478 on-base percentage. In MVC games, Vaughan's average jumps to a team-leading .474 (9-for-19) and her SLG% rises to 1.158 with 4 home runs and 10 RBI.Â
- Gracie Johnston (Sr., Augusta, Kan.) continues to be Missouri State's ace in the circle. In MVC games, the righty owns a 0.96 ERA and holds a 6-1 record. Her conference ERA is fifth in the Valley while her six victories are tied for the league lead. She has not allowed an earned run in her last seven overall appearances (31.1 combined innings).Â
- The Bears continue to show off their speed as they rank 24th nationally and first in the MVC with 69 stolen bases, led by freshman Abby Ford who owns a league-leading 19 stolen bases. Her 19 swipes also rank 32nd nationally. Ellie McCoy is second on the team and ranks 5th in the Valley as she is 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts this season.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 890 and second in MVC career victories with 388 league wins. Hesse entered the season ranked 17th among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories and is currently 890-852-2.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.Â
- 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 trails the all-time series against Illinois State, 47-72, including a 21-30 record on the road against the Redbirds. However, the Bears have won eight of the last nine meetings between the two teams.
   Last season in Springfield, Missouri State swept the series by scores of 3-2 (11 Inn.), 2-1 and 5-1. MSU was also victorious in the last two games played in Normal, winning 9-5 and 6-2 in a doubleheader on April 13, 2019.Â
Players Mentioned
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OF
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P
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3B
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OF
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P/1B
/ SoftballWednesday, June 17
Wednesday, June 17
Wednesday, June 17
Monday, June 15
