Bears Host Racers as Weather Shifts Series to Friday-Saturday

Friday, May 3

Springfield, Mo.

3 p.m.

Missouri State University

Murray State

Bears Host Racers as Weather Shifts Series to Friday-Saturday

May 02, 2024 | Baseball

ESPN+ (Friday Game 1)ESPN+ (Friday Game 2)Live Stats Listen Game Notes Roster Card

By: MSU Athletics Communications

Missouri State vs. Murray State
Location	Springfield, Mo.
Site	Hammons Field
Game 1	Friday, May 3, 3 p.m. ESPN+ \| Live Stats \| Listen White Out \| Rally Towel Giveaway
Game 2	Friday, May 3, 6:30 p.m. ESPN+ \| Live Stats \| Listen White Out \| Rally Towel Giveaway
Game 3	Saturday, May 4, 2 p.m. Live Stats \| Listen Lebanon Day Kids Free \| $3 Adult Tickets
Program	Roster Card
Missouri State	Game Notes Baseball Home Page
Murray State	Baseball Home Page

Starting 9
1) The Missouri State Bears (18-26, 7-11 Missouri Valley Conference) return to Hammons Field this weekend for a three-game conference series with Murray State (28-17, 9-9). After playing 32 of their first 44 games on the road, the Bears will play seven of 11 at home to close the regular season.

2) The Bears have homered in 36 of 44 games this season and 98 of the last 118, including streaks of 29 and 21 games, and rank 14th nationally with 281 long balls since the beginning of the 2022 season. The Bears lead the MVC and rank 19th nationally with 82 homers this year, which is the No. 8 season total in school history. Zack Stewart (18 - 1st), Caden Bogenpohl (14 - 7th) and Dylan Leach (12 - 10th) 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 .322 while leading the MVC in home runs (18) and ranking in total bases (121) and 4th in slugging (.684). Stewart has 30 career homers in 97 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 .333 and slugging .682 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI since March 1. For the year, Leach ranks 10th in the MVC with 12 homers and 11th with a .613 slugging percentage.

6) Freshman Caden Bogenpohl ranks second nationally among freshmen with 40 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, while only Spencer Nivens (44 in 2022) has drawn more walks.

7) The Bears have a 3.27 ERA in the first inning this season, allowing only 20 runs (16 earned) in 44 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 14-18 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
The Bears are 8-3 all-time against Murray State, with five of those games taking place last season as MoState won the series in Murray and split two games in the conference tournament.
Missouri State won the only game between the teams in Springfield, 5-4 in 2018, which resumed the series after a 27-year break.