Softball Heads to SIUE Tuesday, Returns Home for MVC Opener Thursday

Tuesday, March 11

Edwardsville, Ill.

5:00 p.m.

Missouri State University

SIUE

Softball Heads to SIUE Tuesday, Returns Home for MVC Opener Thursday

March 10, 2025 | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)

Missouri State Bears (1-18, 0-0 MVC) vs. SIUE & UIC
Dates	March 11 at SIUE \| March 13-15 vs. UIC
Location & Site	Cougar Field - Edwardsville, Ill. \| Meador Park - Springfield, Mo.
Game 1	Tuesday, 5:00 p.m. at SIUE \| Listen \| Live Stats
Game 2	Thursday, 3:00 p.m. vs. UIC \| Live Stats
Game 3	Friday, 12:00 p.m. vs. UIC \| Watch \| Live Stats (TIME REVISED)
Game 4	Saturday, 11:00 a.m. vs. UIC \| Live Stats
Missouri State	Game Notes (PDF) \| Softball Home Page \| Media Guide
Opponents	SIUE \| UIC
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) \| Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Up Next	March 18-19 at Southern Illinois \| Carbondale, Ill.

The Starting Lineup

Missouri State softball will play a midweek road game at SIUE on March 11 (5:00 p.m.), before returning to Springfield for its home and Missouri Valley Conference opener from March 13-15. MoState spent its first 20 games of the season away from home. The Bears will play their home games at Meador Park this season as Killian Softball Complex undergoes renovations.
Kasey Griffith is in her first season at the helm of the Bears program, and she collected her first career win with a 6-0 victory against Tulsa on Feb. 14 in the I-10 Border 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 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 as the leader of the Missouri State softball program.
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.
The 2025 MoState roster includes 12 returners, nine newcomers (seven freshmen, two transfers) and features 12 underclassmen. From last year's squad, the Bears had eight departures which included seven seniors.
McKenzie Vaughan (Sr., Bella Vista, Ark.) is getting back into the swing of things after missing the entire 2024 season due to an arm injury. She leads the team with eight RBI, seven walks, two home runs and a .473 slugging percentage. Vaughan owns 21 career home runs, which puts her in a tie for fifth in program history. She was a 2023 first-team All-MVC selection and NFCA All-Region third team selection as a sophomore.
The MoState pitching staff is led by the trio of McKenzie Vaughan, Makenzi Swick and Mackenzie Chacon. Swick leads the way with 20 strikeouts on the season, while Vaughan tops the group in ERA with a 4.67 mark.Rounding out the group is freshman Aubrey Johansen who has tossed 17.1 innings.
Alexis Perales (So., Grapevine, Texas) ranks 62nd nationally and 3rd in the MVC in caught stealing by, as she has thrown out five runners on the basepaths this season.
Missouri State has been in a lot of close games to begin the season. Seven of the Bears' 18 losses on the year have come by two runs or less.
MoState enters the week ranked 20th in NCAA Division I in Strength of Schedule, which is the highest in the MVC. The Bears have faced seven power conference opponents accounting for nine games on their schedule, as well as four games featuring No. 24 FAU and mid-major No. 13 Texas State.

Series History
Missouri State is 3-7 all time against SIUE, including an 0-3 record on the road. The teams last met on Feb. 16, 2019 at the Southeastern Louisiana Lion Classic II, a matchup that the Cougars won 3-1. MoState's last trip to Edwardsville was on March 25, 2015.
Missouri State leads the all-time series against UIC, 4-1, including a 3-0 record at home in Springfield. The two teams did not meet a season ago in the unbalanced Missouri Valley Conference schedule, so the most recent series between the Bears and Flames was in 2023. MoState swept the series at home by scores of 4-2, 4-3 (9 innings) and 9-4. Prior to UIC joining the MVC in 2023, Missouri State and UIC hadn't met since the 1986 season.