Griffith Era Begins at Paradise Classic

Friday, February 7

Boca Raton, Fla.

10:15 a.m.

Missouri State University

Ole Miss

Griffith Era Begins at Paradise Classic

February 06, 2025 | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)Watch Live Stats Tickets

Missouri State Bears (0-0) at Paradise Classic
Dates	Friday-Sunday, February 7-9, 2025
Location & Site	FAU Softball Stadium \| Boca Raton, Fla.
Paradise Classic	Tournament Central \| Tickets
Game 1	Friday, 10:15 a.m. vs. Ole Miss \| Watch \| Live Stats
Game 2	Friday, 2:45 p.m. vs. Kansas \| Watch \| Live Stats
Game 3	Saturday, 2:45 p.m. vs. Wisconsin \| Watch \| Live Stats
Game 4	Saturday, 5:00 p.m. at Florida Atlantic \| Watch \| Live Stats
Game 5	Sunday, 10:30 a.m. vs. Clemson \| Watch \| Live Stats
Missouri State	Game Notes (PDF) \| Softball Home Page
Opponents	Ole Miss \| Kansas \| Wisconsin \| FAU \| Clemson
Follow Us	Twitter \| Instagram \| Facebook \| #GoBears \| #Team57
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) \| Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Up Next	Feb. 14-16 at I-10 Border Classic Beaumont, Texas & Lake Charles, La.

The Starting Lineup - Storylines for the Paradise Classic

Missouri State opens the 2025 season at the Paradise Classic hosted by Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, Fla. The Bears will open with a Friday doubleheader featuring Ole Miss and Kansas, before taking on Wisconsin and host FAU on Saturday. The squad will wrap the tournament with a single matchup against Clemson 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 begins at the Paradise Classic. 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 steps 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.
Ulrich (So., Sullivan, Mo.) turned in a stellar freshman campaign in 2024, earning her a spot on the All-MVC first team in her first collegiate season. She led Missouri State with a .361 batting average, which was also tops in the Missouri Valley Conference. Against MVC opponents, she elevated her game as she batted an impressive .408. Ulrich also posted a .477 on-base percentage in 2024, which paced the Bears and ranked fourth in the MVC.
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.

Series Histories
   Missouri State trails the all-time series against Ole Miss, 3-6, but the Bears are 2-1 against the Rebels in neutral site games. Ole Miss has won the last three meetings in the series. The squads last met in 2023 in the Ole Miss Classic hosted in Oxford, Miss. with the Rebels securing two victories by scores of 5-2 and 8-0 (5 innings).
   The Bears trail the all-time series against Kansas, 19-77. KU has won the last seven meetings against Missouri State. The Bears and Jayhawks faced off in Springfield last season in a midweek matchup with KU shutting out MoState, 9-0, in six innings. Kayla Ulrich had a single and a walk in the ballgame.
   Missouri State and Wisconsin have met twice in the programs' histories, each owning one win. The only two meetings between the squads were back in 2011 at the Texas Invitational. In the doubleheader, the Badgers won the first game by a score of 9-2, before Missouri State bounced back with a 6-2 victory.
   The Bears trail 1-2 in the all-time series against host Florida Atlantic, which includes a 1-1 record on the road in Boca Raton. The last meeting between the Bears and Owls was on Feb. 16, 2008 in a tournament hosted by FAU, which Missouri State won by a score of 3-2. MSU owned a 4-1 record during that 2008 tournament.
   MoState and Clemson have met just once and that meeting was in last season's NFCA Leadoff Classic opener in Clearwater, Fla. Ranked No. 5 at the time, the Tigers earned a 12-0 victory over the Bears in five innings. Despite the run-rule defeat, the Bears turned in consecutive 1-2-3 innings to end the game.