Starting 9
1) Missouri State (27-16, 14-4 Missouri Valley Conference) will play back-to-back MVC road series, beginning this weekend with a three-game set at league newcomer Murray State (25-21, 10-8). The Bears have won eight consecutive games, their longest streak since March 2018, and last won nine in a row in April 2017. Â The Bears are hitting .325 and holding opponents to a .220 average in their current eight-game win streak. Over the last 12 games, MoState is batting .338 with a .626 slugging percentage. The Bears and Racers play at 5 p.m. Friday, followed by a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday.
2) MoState is 5-1 all-time against Murray State, including a 4-1 record in Murray.
3) The Bears have homered in 35 of 43 games this year and 53 of the last 61, with 111 total in that span which included a 29-game streak from May 7, 2022-March 10, 2023. MSU has also tallied three or more extra-base hits in 32 of 43 games, with eight or more on four different occasions. The Bears lead the MVC in doubles, homers and slugging, ranking in the top 64 nationally in all three categories, and average 4.05 extra-base hits per contest.
4) The Missouri State pitching staff leads the MVC in total strikeouts (410) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.62), the best rate in school history (9.10 in 2016 is 2nd), ranking 52nd nationally in the latter category.
Brandt Thompson (74) and
Hayden Minton (70) rank 1-3 in the MVC in strikeouts. Thompson leads in the MVC in ERA at 2.54, and the Bears' 4.67 staff ERA sits 47th nationally.
5) Third-year sophomore outfielder
Spencer Nivens earned preseason all-MVC honors this season after a Freshman All-America season in 2022, and has continued his high level of play to rank among the MVC's top five in average, slugging, runs, hits, triples, homers and total bases. Nivens hit for MSU's first cycle since 1998 on Feb. 24 against Central Arkansas.
6) Missouri State freshman outfielders
Zack Stewart and
Taeg Gollert have made an immediate impact this season. Stewart is hitting .329 with 10 home runs and owns the MVC lead in doubles (15) and RBI (54). Only Ryan Howard (66 in 1999) sits ahead of Stewart on MSU's freshman RBI list. Gollert hit two grand slams vs. Bradley on April 9 and has 22 extra-base hits and 34 RBI.
7) MSU is 456-318 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.
8) The Bears have won 12 consecutive MVC games, the program's longest streak since winning 22 straight in 2016 and 2017. Over the last 12 league games, MSU is hitting .329 and slugging .570 with a 3.38 ERA. The Bears won 13 MVC contests in April, their most league wins in a calendar month since claiming 14 victories in April 1995.
9) Head coach
Keith Guttin ranks second among active coaches and 13th overall with 1,367 career wins. Among active skippers, Guttin trails only Danny Hall of Georgia Tech (1,374).
Series History
MoState is 5-1 all-time against Murray State, including a 4-1 record in Murray.
    The teams most recently had a home-and-home series of midweek games, with the Bears winning 5-4 in Springfield in 2018 and 15-10 in Murray in 2019. In the 2019 game,
Mason Hull hit the first two homers of his Missouri State career and drove in five runs.
    The remaining four games in the series have taken place on the Racers' home field, with MoState winning in 1991, two games in 1976, and Murray's lone victory coming in 1977.
Last Time Out
The Bears rallied from an early 6-1 deficit against Omaha on Tuesday in Kansas City to lead after six innings, and found themselves behind again at 9-7 in the eighth before a four-run inning capped by
Zack Stewart's three-run homer gave the Bears an 11-9 win. The top four batters in the MSU lineup got on base a combined 13 times and scored eight runs.
