Missouri State Bears (4-21, 3-2 MVC) vs. Evansville Purple Aces (14-14, 0-3 MVC)
Dates	Friday-Saturday | March 21-22
Location & Site	Meador Park | Springfield, Mo.
Game 1	Friday, 5:00 p.m. | Live Stats
Game 2	Saturday, 2:00 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats
Game 3	Saturday, 4:30 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats
Missouri State	Game Notes (PDF) | Softball Home Page | Media Guide
Evansville	Softball Home Page
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Up Next	March 26 vs. Kansas City | 5:00 p.m.

The Starting Lineup

• Missouri State softball returns home as the Bears welcome Evansville for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series (March 21-22). MoState is off to a 3-2 start in conference play, sweeping UIC to open Valley play before suffering two losses at preseason MVC favorite Southern Illinois earlier this week.
• 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. 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. Three of MoState's freshmen have started at least 20 games so far this season (Baber, Romine, Studer).
• McKenzie Vaughan (Sr., Bella Vista, Ark.) was named MVC Player of the Week on Monday for her performance last week. The two-way star batted .571 (8-14) and slugged 1.143 across a 3-1 week for the Bears. She led the team with 10 RBI, two home runs and two doubles, and five runs scored. She also went 2-0 in the circle with a 2.33 ERA as she allowed just three earned runs over 9.0 innings of work.
• In MoState's two-game series with the Salukis earlier this week, Chloe Merced led the way offensively with a .571 average (4-for-7), while driving in two runs and knocking a double and triple. Merced was a second-team all-MVC team selection a season ago.
• Alexis Perales (So., Grapevine, Texas) ranks 35th nationally and 3rd in the MVC in caught stealing by, as she has thrown out seven runners on the basepaths this season.
• Missouri State ranks 14th in NCAA Division I in non-conference Strength of Schedule. The Bears have faced seven power conference opponents accounting for nine games on their schedule, as well as four games against top mid-major competition in FAU and Texas State.
• The MoState defense ranks 42nd nationally and 2nd in the MVC with 11 double plays on the season. 

Series History
    Missouri State leads the all-time series against Evansville, 56-30, including a 26-13 record in Springfield. The Bears won the series on the road last season, bouncing back to win two straight games after dropping the series opener. 
    MoState has won 10 of the last 11 meetings against the Purple Aces. The Bears' last series loss to Evansville was in 2019, in which the Purple Aces swept the Bears in Springfield.