Softball Bears Head South for I-10 Border Classic

Friday, February 14

Beaumont, Texas

3:30 p.m.

Missouri State University

Tulsa

Softball Bears Head South for I-10 Border Classic

February 13, 2025 | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)

Missouri State Bears (0-5) at I-10 Border Classic
Dates	Friday-Sunday, February 14-16, 2025
Location & Site	LU Softball Complex \| Beaumont, Texas Joe Miller Field at Cowgirl Diamond \| Lake Charles, La.
Tickets	Lamar \| McNeese State
Game 1	Friday, 3:30 p.m. vs. Tulsa \| Live Stats
Game 2	Friday, 6:00 p.m. at Lamar \| Watch \| Live Stats
Game 3	Saturday, 10:00 a.m. at McNeese State \| Live Stats
Game 4	Saturday, 12:30 p.m. vs. Nicholls \| Live Stats
Game 5	Sunday, 1:00 p.m. at Lamar \| Watch \| Live Stats
Missouri State	Game Notes (PDF) \| Softball Home Page
Opponents	Tulsa \| Lamar \| Nicholls \| McNeese State
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) \| Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Up Next	Feb. 28-March 2 at Woo Pig Classic \| Fayetteville, Ark.

The Starting Lineup - Storylines for the I-10 Border Classic

Missouri State heads to the I-10 Border Classic co-hosted by Lamar and McNeese State for five more games across the weekend. MoState begins the season with 20 games away from its home in Springfield. The Bears' stay at the I-10 Border Classic features matchups with Tulsa and Lamar on Friday, Nicholls and McNeese on Saturday and one final game at Lamar on Sunday.
MoState finished the 2024 season with a 19-32 overall record and finished sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 13-14 conference ledger. MSU's season came to an end in the semifinals of the MVC Tournament after falling 2-1 to second-seeded Northern Iowa.
The Kasey Griffith era of Missouri State Softball officially began last weekend at the Paradise Classic in Boca Raton, Fla. Griffith was named the seventh head coach in the history of the program on June 5, 2024, and this marks her first time serving as a head coach. The Dallas Center, Iowa, native has been on the MoState staff for the last two seasons, including serving as associate head coach in 2024.
Griffith stepped into the lead role following the retirement of longtime head coach Holly Hesse at the conclusion of the 2024 season. Hesse owned a 922-889-2 career record in 36 seasons at the helm of the Missouri State softball program. At the time of her retirement, Hesse ranked 47th in NCAA Division I history in career victories, and she is the second-winningest coach in MVC history in both overall and conference (413) victories.
The Bears were picked to finish sixth in the MVC Preseason Poll, while Kayla Ulrich was a Preseason All-Valley Team selection at first base.
After turning in a stellar freshman campaign in 2024, in which she led Missouri State and the MVC with a .361 batting average, Ulrich (So., Sullivan, Mo.) picked up right where she left off to start 2025. In last weekend's Paradise Classic at FAU, Ulrich posted a .467 batting average (7-15) with a double and a walk to lead the Bears.
In addition to Ulrich, the Bears also return All-MVC second-team performer Chloe Merced and they hope to get a boost from two-way player McKenzie Vaughan, who missed the entire 2024 season with an arm injury. MoState also brings back two members of its 2024 pitching staff in Mackenzie Chacon and Makenzi Swick.
Vaughan (Sr., Bella Vista, Ark.) was a 2023 first-team All-MVC selection and NFCA All-Region third team selection as a sophomore. In her sophomore campaign, Vaughan batted .318 and set the MSU single-season HR record (14) while also posting a 4.09 ERA in the circle with 68 strikeouts.
The 2025 MoState roster includes 12 returners, nine newcomers and features 12 underclassmen. From last year's squad, the Bears had eight departures which included seven seniors.
In the opening weekend tournament, the Bears had four players record their first career hits.

Series Histories
   Missouri State leads the all-time series against Tulsa, 27-24, which includes a 3-4 record at neutral site locations. The Bears and Golden Hurricane met last season in Tulsa, with TU earning a 13-2 run-rule victory in five innings.
   MoState and Lamar have only met one time in the programs' histories. That matchup came on Feb. 16, 2018 in the UTSA Softball Classic. The Bears earned a 1-0 victory behind the arm of a freshman Steffany Dickerson, who earned the first victory of her Missouri State career and struck out nine in seven innings of work. A two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth sparked the Bears as a Darian Frost single up the middle served as the game-winner.
   The series between Missouri State and Nicholls is tied at 4-4, with all meetings coming at neutral site locations. The most recent meeting between the teams was on Feb. 10, 2023 at the Lion Classic hosted by Southeastern Louisiana. MoState jumped on the board first with a solo homer from then-sophomore McKenzie Vaughan, but a couple of three-run frames for Nicholls were too much for the Bears to overcome.
   Missouri State trails the all-time series against McNeese State, 3-2, which includes an 0-2 record in Lake Charles, La. The two squads have not met since the 2015 season as part of the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational.