The Starting Lineup - Storylines for the NFCA Leadoff Classic
- Missouri State finished 2023 with a 31-20 overall record and finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 21-6 conference ledger. MSU's season came to an end in the second round of the MVC Tournament with a 2-1 loss in a 15-inning battle against Belmont.
- The Bears open the 2024 season at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla. where they will face #5/7 Clemson on opening night (Thur., Feb. 8). MSU will then take on Western Kentucky and Army on Friday, before closing the tournament with matchups against NC State and #15/13 Oregon on Saturday.
- In 2024, the Bears are set to face six NCAA Tournament teams from last season, highlighted by contests against 2023 Women's College World Series participants Tennessee and Oklahoma State. Missouri State will face two top-15 opponents on opening weekend in Clemson and Oregon, both of which made it to Super Regionals in 2023.
- Missouri State returns 14 players from last year's squad, including all five pitchers on staff. The group of returners is also highlighted by the Bears' top two hitters and NFCA All-Region selections from a year ago in McKenzie Vaughan (Jr., Bella Vista, Ark.) and Olivia Krehbiel (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.). MSU's group of newcomers consists of five freshmen and one transfer.
- Prior to the start of the season, head coach Holly Hesse announced her plan to retire following the 2024 season. Hesse owns a 903-857-2 career record as she enters her 36th season at the helm of the Missouri State softball program. She is the second-winningest coach in MVC history in both overall (903) and conference (400) victories. She collected career victory No. 900 last season with a 4-3 victory over Southern Illinois on April 26.
- Missouri State was picked to finish third in the MVC Preseason Poll, while Krehbiel and Vaughan were named to the All-MVC preseason team.
- Krehbiel is a three-time All-MVC selection, earning first-team honors in 2021 and second-team honors in both 2022 and 2023. Last season, Krehbiel batted .315 and led the Bears in runs (31), hits (45), RBI (34), walks (26) and doubles (12) en route to earning third-team NFCA all-region recognition. Entering her fifth season at Missouri State, she sits just five homers shy of breaking MSU's career record (27) set by Jessie Smith from 2006-09. Krehbiel also ranks inside the top five in program history in RBI (103), doubles (36) and walks (78).
- Vaughan is coming off an impressive sophomore campaign that saw her earn first-team all-MVC and third-team NFCA all-region honors. She led the way for MSU offensively last season in average (.318), home runs (14), slugging percentage (.748) and on-base percentage (.452). Her 14 homers a season ago broke Missouri State's single-season record and she is already tied for seventh on MSU's career home run list (19).
- Missouri State went undefeated at home for the first time in program history with a 15-0 record in Springfield last season. The Bears enter 2024 with the second-longest home win streak in NCAA Division I (18), trailing only Oklahoma (60).
- MSU showed off its speed in 2023 as it ranked 23rd nationally and first in the MVC with 99 stolen bases, the most in a single season by the Bears in their NCAA Division I era. Abby Ford led the way with 26 stolen bases.
Series Histories
Missouri State and Clemson have never met.
Missouri State and Western Kentucky have met four times previously with the series tied at two games apiece, including a 1-1 series record at neutral site locations. MSU won the first two matchups, but the Hilltoppers are currently on a two-game win streak against the Bears.The last meeting between the squads came on Feb. 8, 2019 with MSU falling 8-0 in five innings at the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Missouri State and Army have never met.
MSU and North Carolina State have met once in the programs' histories, which also came at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. NC State captured a 7-5 victory over the Bears on Feb. 8, 2020. After trailing by four heading into the seventh, the Bears hit a two-run homer to make things interesting late, but the Wolfpack held on for the win.
MSU and Oregon also have just one meeting in series history, taking place on May 23, 1980. The Bears suffered a narrow, 2-1, loss to the Ducks in the AIAW College World Series.
