Softball Bears Head to Tennessee Invitational

Friday, March 8

Knoxville, Tenn.

9:00 a.m.

Missouri State University

Ohio State

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Softball Scrimmage on September 9, 2023. Chandler Harris/Missouri State University

Softball Bears Head to Tennessee Invitational

March 06, 2024 | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)Live Stats Tickets

Missouri State Bears (3-9) at Tennessee Invitational
Dates	Friday-Sunday, March 8-10, 2024
Location & Site	Sherri Parker Lee Stadium \| Knoxville, Tenn.
Tickets	Tickets
Game 1	Friday vs. Ohio State, 9:00 a.m. CT \| Live Stats
Game 2	Friday vs. #8 Tennessee, 2:00 p.m. CT \| Watch \| Listen \| Live Stats
Game 3	Saturday vs. South Dakota, 9:00 a.m. CT \| Live Stats
Game 4	Saturday vs. TBD, TBD \| Live Stats
Game 5	Sunday vs. TBD, TBD \| Live Stats
Missouri State	Game Notes (PDF) \| Softball Home Page
Opponents	Tennessee \| Ohio State \| South Dakota
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) \| Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Up Next	Tuesday, March 12 vs. Southern Illinois \| Springfield, Mo.

The Starting Lineup - Storylines for the Tennessee Invitational

Missouri State softball heads to the Tennessee Invitational in Knoxville, Tenn. for a five-game tournament, where the Bears will face #8 Tennessee, Ohio State and South Dakota. This weekend marks MSU's final non-conference tournament before the start of Missouri Valley Conference play next week.
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 faced two top-15 opponents on opening weekend in #5 Clemson and #13 Oregon, both of which made it to Super Regionals in 2023.
Missouri State was picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, while Olivia Krehbiel and McKenzie Vaughan were named to the All-MVC preseason team.
McKenzie Vaughan (Jr., Bella Vista, Ark.) suffered a season-ending arm injury prior to Missouri State's first game of the season in Clearwater, Fla. Vaughan was a first-team All-MVC and NFCA All-Region Third Team selection a season ago, and was named to the all-MVC preseason team for 2024.
Prior to the start of the season, head coach Holly Hesse announced her plan to retire following the 2024 season. Hesse owns a 906-866-2 career record in her 36th season as the leader of the Missouri State softball program. She is the second-winningest coach in MVC history in both overall (906) and conference (400) victories. She collected career victory No. 900 last season with a 4-3 victory over Southern Illinois on April 26. She ranks 19th among active Division I coaches in career victories.
Missouri State currently owns the longest home win streak in NCAA Division I at 18 games. The Bears went undefeated at home for the first time in program history with a 15-0 record in Springfield last season. MSU's last home loss came on April 30, 2022 against Bradley. The Bears will get their first chance this season to extend that streak on Tuesday, March 12 against Southern Illinois.
Olivia Krehbiel (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) is one of MSU's top returning hitters from a season ago. She was named MVC Player of the Week after the first weekend of the season (Feb. 13) for her performance at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. The fifth-year Bear continues to climb up the MSU record books, as she is second on MSU's career home run list with 24 and sits just four homers shy of breaking the record (27, Jessie Smith: 2006-09). She also ranks inside the top five in career RBI (106), doubles (38) and walks (87).
Gracie Johnston (Sr., Augusta, Kan.) ranks 12th nationally and first in the MVC with three saves on the season.
Abby Ford (So., Ozark, Mo.) is leading the way for MSU offensively so far this season. The speedy outfielder is batting a team-best .317 with 13 hits in 12 games. She is also 5-for-6 in steal attempts this year and already owns 31 for her career after swiping 26 bases as a freshman last season.
Missouri State's 2024 roster features 14 players from last year's squad, including its entire pitching staff, now minus Vaughan. MSU's group of newcomers consists of five freshmen and one transfer.

Series Histories
   The all-time series between Missouri State and Ohio State is tied 1-1 with both games occurring at neutral site locations. The last meeting between the two squads was on March 20, 1998 at the USC-Sacramento Capital Classic with Ohio State winning 4-1. The first-ever meeting in the series was on March 19, 1982 at the Oklahoma Invitational with the Bears earning a 2-0 victory.
   Missouri State trails the all-time series against Tennessee, 1-3, including a 1-2 record in Knoxville. MSU won the first-ever meeting between the two teams on March 21, 1996 by a score of 13-3. Tennessee has won the last three meetings, including the most recent meeting on Feb. 14, 2004 at the New Mexico State Kickoff Invitational with UT earning an victory in five innings.
   The Bears and South Dakota have only faced off one time in the programs' histories with Missouri State earning a 13-3 win in five innings on Feb. 23, 2018 at the Louisiana Tech Invitational.