Missouri State Bears (31-19, 21-6 MVC) at MVC Softball Championship
Schedule	Quarterfinals | Thursday, May 11 vs. No. 7 Belmont | L, 1-2 (15 Inn.)
Location & Site	Charlotte West Stadium | Carbondale, Ill.
MVC SB Championship	MVC Tournament Central | Bracket Media Central
Tickets	Tickets
Quarterfinals	Watch (Connor Onion, Laura Leonard) | Live Stats
Missouri State	Game Notes (PDF) | Softball Home Page | Media Guide (PDF)
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices)

The Starting Lineup - Storylines for the MVC Softball Championship

• Missouri State enters the MVC Softball Championship as the defending champion of the tournament. The Bears went 31-19 overall and 21-6 in the Valley during the regular season and head to Carbondale as the No. 2 seed. In last year's tournament as the No. 2 seed, the Bears went on to knock off top-seeded Northern Iowa, 10-4, in the championship game to secure a spot in their seventh NCAA Tournament. 
• Head coach Holly Hesse captured career victory No. 900 on April 26 against Southern Illinois to become just the 18th active NCAA Division I head coach with at least 900 wins.On May 7 at Murray State, she also collected her 400th Gateway/Missouri Valley Conference victory. 
• The Bears opened the conference slate with two losses to SIU in Carbondale. Since then, Missouri State owns a 23-4 record, while outscoring its opponents 144-71. In that span, MSU has major advantages over its opponents in walks (92-60) and stolen bases (52-20). Three Bears are hitting above .300 in the last 27 games: McKenzie Vaughan (.397, 12 HR, 30 RBI), Olivia Krehbiel (.325, 20 RBI, 23 runs) and Ellie McCoy (.309, 24 runs, 9 SB).
• McKenzie Vaughan (So., Bella Vista, Ark.) leads the way for MSU offensively this season. The sophomore owns a team-leading .333 batting average, 14 home runs, .784 SLG% and .465 OB%. Vaughan broke MSU's single-season home run record on 4/29/23 at Indiana State and is currently tied for seventh in career home runs at MSU with 19. Her 14 long balls this season rank 4th in the MVC and 34th nationally, while her SLG% ranks 23rd in the nation. Against Valley foes, her numbers rose to a .397 average, .926 SLG% and .523 OB%. 
• Olivia Krehbiel (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.), who is hitting .312, has had a career year in multiple offensive categories including hits, doubles, triples, RBI, walks and stolen bases. She is second on MSU's career home run list with 23 as she is just five homers shy of breaking the current record (27, Jessie Smith: 2006-09).
• MSU went unbeaten at home this season (15-0), and extended their home win streak to 18 games which is a Killian Stadium record that dates back to last season. The home win streak also ranks 3rd in NCAA Divison I, trailing only Oklahoma (56) and South Dakota State (27). 
• Missouri State is 28-3 this season when scoring three or more runs and the Bears improve to 11-0 when scoring six or more runs. MSU is also 22-1 on the season when holding opponents to fewer than three runs.
• 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 2.06 ERA and owns a 7-0 record in conference action, while Johnston owns the most victories with an 12-7 record and Vaughan leads the team with 68 strikeouts and owns two saves. 
• The Bears continue to show off their speed as they rank 22nd nationally and first in the MVC with 97 stolen bases, which is the most stolen bases in a single season by the Bears in their NCAA Division I era. MSU is led by freshman Abby Ford who owns a MVC-leading 26 stolen bases, which also ranks 29th nationally. Ellie McCoy is second on the team and tied for 4th in the Valley as she is 15-for-15 in stolen base attempts. 

MVC Tournament History
Missouri State owns the most Gateway/MVC Tournament wins with a 75-49 (.605) all-time record in the tournament. The Bears have also collected the most conference tournament titles in The Valley after winning their seventh trophy last season. 
    MSU won the MVC Tournament championship in Springfield a year ago, marking their first title since 2011. The Bears defeated No. 6 Illinois State, 5-1, in the semifinals, before knocking off top-seeded Northern Iowa, 10-4, in the championship game to secure a spot in their seventh NCAA Tournament.