Starting 9
1) The Missouri State Bears (18-24, 7-11 Missouri Valley Conference) wrap up a nine-game road swing with a midweek series at No. 2 Arkansas (37-7, 16-5 SEC). Game times in Fayetteville are 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and 4 p.m. Wednesday. The Bears have beaten the Razorbacks in each of the last two seasons, and Arkansas' No. 2 ranking makes them the highest-ranked team the Bears have played since No. 1 Rice in the 2003 CWS.
2) The Bears have homered in 34 of 42 games this season and 96 of the last 116, including streaks of 29 and 21 games, and rank 13th nationally with 278 long balls since the beginning of the 2022 season. The Bears lead the MVC and rank 18th nationally with 79 homers this year, which ties the No. 10 season total in school history.
Zack Stewart (18 - 1st),
Caden Bogenpohl (14 - 3rd) and
Dylan Leach (12 - 9th) all rank in the top 10 in the MVC.
3) Sophomore outfielder
Zack Stewart is a two-time MVC Player of the Week award winner this season and is hitting .331 while leading the MVC in home runs (18) and ranking 2nd in slugging (.710) and total bases (120). Stewart has 30 career homers in 95 games as a Bear, making him the 20th player in MSU history to reach 30.
4) Senior
Brandt Thompson leads the MVC with a 5.17 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 1.33 WHIP and 1.85 BB/9 ratio, ranks second with a 2.62 ERA, and sits 5th with 62 strikeouts. He sits 5th in MSU history (100 inning minimum) with a career 3.74 K/BB ratio and 16th with a 3.11 ERA, while his 5.17 K/BB this season trails only the 5.84 MSU record set by pitching coach
Nick Petree in 2013. In MVC games, Thompson is 3-1 with a 2.41 ERA and .197 opponent average.
5) Senior catcher
Dylan Leach is hitting .339 and slugging .693 with 11 home runs and 31 RBI since March 1. For the year, Leach ranks 9th in the MVC with 12 homers and 11th with a .621 slugging percentage.
6) Freshman
Caden Bogenpohl ranks second nationally among freshmen with 38 walks and fifth with 14 home runs. Georgia Tech's Drew Burress holds the home lead with 18, and Prairie View's Michael Smith is the walk lead at 43. 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 2.57 ERA in the first inning this season, allowing only 16 runs (12 earned) in 42 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 14-16 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 1,391 career wins. Among active skippers, Guttin trails only Danny Hall of Georgia Tech (1,405). 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 30-57 all-time against Arkansas with a 15-35 record in Fayetteville. The Bears won 6-4 in their last visit to Baum-Walker Stadium in 2022, and are 6-4 against the Hogs in Fayetteville since the beginning of the 2015 season.
