Wednesday, April 24
Carbondale, Ill.
5:00 p.m.
Missouri State University
at
Southern Illinois
Softball Begins Four-Game Valley Road Trip
April 23, 2024 | Softball
| Missouri State Bears (13-28, 9-11 MVC) at Southern Illinois Salukis (33-8, 17-3 MVC) | |
| Dates | Wednesday, April 24 | 5:00 p.m. |
| Location & Site | Charlotte West Stadium | Carbondale, Ill. |
| Watch | ESPN+ | Watch |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Missouri State | Game Notes (PDF) | Softball Home Page |
| Southern Illinois | Softball Home Page |
| Bears Mobile App | App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices) |
| Up Next | April 26-28 at Evansville | Evansville, Ind. |
The Starting Lineup
- Missouri State softball begins a four-game Missouri Valley Conference road trip with a Wednesday night (5:00 p.m.) matchup against first-place Southern Illinois. The Salukis defeated the Bears twice earlier this season by scores of 2-1 and 7-1 on March 12 and 13 in Springfield.Â
- The Bears are coming off of their first series sweep of the season over Valparaiso, which included two run-rule victories. In the series, Missouri State batted .394 as a team and outscored the Beacons, 27-5. Annie Mueller and Olivia Krehbiel accounted for all five of MSU's home runs and 18 of the Bears' 26 RBI over the three-game stretch. Â
- Prior to the start of the season, head coach Holly Hesse announced her plan to retire following the 2024 season. Hesse owns a 916-885-2 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 (916) and conference (409) victories. She ranks 19th among active Division I coaches in career victories.Â
- In MVC games, the Bears lead the league with 23 home runs and a .469 slugging percentage, while ranking third in RBI (88), runs (97) and batting average (.291). MSU has six players batting over .300 in conference action, including four starters.Â
- Olivia Krehbiel (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA D1 Player of the Week on Tuesday afternoon. Last week, she slashed .636/. 692/1.364, which included 7 RBI, 6 runs scored, 2 doubles, 2 home runs and 2 walks across a 3-1 week for MSU. With her first of two home runs on the weekend, she became MSU's career home run leader, surpassing the previous record of 27 set by Jessie Smith from 2006-09. She also became the career leader for runs scored at MSU with 124, passing Jessie Smith and Kate Madden (1993-96) for the top spot. She is the second Bear to receive the national weekly honor, joining Mary Stephens (2017).Â
- Annie Mueller (Sr., Pacific, Mo.) has been Missouri State's biggest power threat this season. Nineteen of her 33 hits this season have gone for extra bases and she leads the team with 13 home runs, 40 RBI and a .693 slugging percentage. Her 13 homers this season rank 2nd in the MVC and is just one off the league lead. Against MVC competition, her slugging percentage rises to .877 as 10 of her 19 hits in league action have been home runs. Last weekend in the series against Valpo, Mueller knocked three homers and drove in 11 runs, while tying the MSU single-game record with 8 RBI in Saturday's win with an RBI single, grand slam and three-run homer. She is also one home run shy of tying the MSU single-season record.Â
- Gracie Johnston (Sr., Augusta, Kan.) ranks 18th nationally and first in the MVC with five saves on the season. She also ranks 17th nationally with 33 appearances in the circle this season.Â
- MSU is 10-1 this season when scoring six or more runs and 10-0 when out-hitting opponents.
   Missouri State trails the all-time series against Southern Illinois, 54-64, including a 17-36 record on the road in Carbondale. MSU's last win in Carbondale came on April 27, 2022 with the Bears earning a 1-0 victory behind the arm of Steffany Dickerson and a solo homer by Madison Hunsaker.Â
   The Bears make the single game return trip to SIU after the two squads faced off twice earlier this season in Springfield. The Salukis took both games to open the 2024 conference slate, defeating MSU 2-1 and 7-1. Game one saw a pitcher's duel as the Bears cut the deficit in half in the bottom of teh seventh, but couldn't pull off the comeback effort. In game two, a four-run fifth inning for SIU was the turning point in a ballgamet that was tied at 1-1 to that point.Â
   Last season, the Bears dropped the series to SIU with two losses to begin the conference slate by scores of 5-2 and 7-5. But, MSU's home finale last season against the Salukis was a historic one as the Bears defeated SIU, 4-3. With the win, head coach Holly Hesse captured career victory No. 900 and Missouri State secured its first-ever undefeated season at home.Â
Players Mentioned
Wednesday, June 17
Wednesday, June 17
Wednesday, June 17
Monday, June 15
