Starting 9
1) The Missouri State Bears (15-19, 4-8 Missouri Valley Conference) close out a four-game home stand Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. when Missouri (16-21, 5-10 SEC) pays a visit to Hammons Field.The Bears then embark on a nine-game road trip that begins with an April 19-21 series at Valparaiso.
2) The Bears have homered in 27 of 34 games this season and 89 of the last 108, including streaks of 29 and 21 games, and rank 16th nationally with 260 long balls since the beginning of the 2022 season. The Bears lead the MVC and rank 21st nationally with 61 homers this year, with
Zack Stewart (14 - 1st),
Caden Bogenpohl (13 - 4th) and
Dylan Leach (11 - 7th) all in the top 10 of the MVC's individual rankings.
3) Sophomore outfielder
Zack Stewart is a two-time MVC Player of the Week award winner this season and is hitting .328 while leading the MVC in home runs (14) and ranking 2nd in slugging (.718) and total bases (94). Stewart has 26 career homers in 87 games as a Bear.
4) Senior
Brandt Thompson leads the MVC with 2.35 ERA, 5-0 record, 5.88 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 1.02 WHIP and 1.57 BB/9 ratio. Thompson also ranks 8th in the league with 47 strikeouts. He sits 5th in MSU history (100 inning minimum) with a career 3.74 K/BB ratio, while his 5.88 K/BB this season is on pace to break the current school record of 5.84 set by pitching coach
Nick Petree in 2013. In MVC games, Thompson is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA and .198 opponent average.
5) Senior catcher
Dylan Leach is hitting .389 (37-for-95) and slugging .800 with 10 home runs and 26 RBI since March 1. For the year, Leach ranks 5th in the MVC with a .692 slugging percentage and 7th with 11 homers.
6) Freshman
Caden Bogenpohl ranks second nationally among freshmen with 13 home runs, trailing only Georgia Tech's Drew Burress (15). Among MSU rookies all time, only Ryan Howard (19 in 1999) and Jason Hart (15 - 1996) have more home runs.
7) The Bears have a 2.38 ERA in the first inning this season, allowing only 13 runs (nine earned) in 34 games.
8) The Bears have 36 road games on the schedule in 2024, which would be a school record. Missouri State's highest total of true road games came in 2003 with 33, which included six in postseason play on the way to the CWS. MoState is currenty 11-12 on the road this year.
9) Head coach
Keith Guttin announced in November his plans to retire after the 2024 season, his 42nd in charge of the Bears. He ranks second among active coaches and 12th overall with 1,388 career wins. Among active skippers, Guttin trails only Danny Hall of Georgia Tech (1,400). Guttin also played for the Bears in 1976 and 1977 and served as an assistant coach from 1979-81, making this his 47th season with the program.
Series History
MoState is 31-32 all-time against Mizzou with a 17-12 home record and 8-9 mark at Hammons Field.
    The Tigers are 3-1 in Springfield since 2018, with MSU's win a 3-2 victory in April 2022. MU won 10-1 at Hammons Field last season.
