Tuesday, April 15
Lawrence, Kan.
5:00 p.m.
Missouri State University
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Kansas
Softball Set for Midweek Contest at Kansas
April 14, 2025 | Softball
| Missouri State Bears (13-27) at Kansas Jayhawks (17-20) | |
| Dates | Tuesday, April 15 | 5:00 p.m. |
| Location & Site | Arrocha Ballpark | Lawrence, Kan. |
| Watch | ESPN+ (Cacy Williams, Leif Lisec) | Watch |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Missouri State | Game Notes (PDF) | Softball Home Page | Media Guide |
| Kansas | Softball Home Page |
| Bears Mobile App | App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices) |
| Up Next | April 17-19 at Illinois State | Normal, Ill. |
The Starting Lineup
- Missouri State continues its seven-game road stretch with a midweek matchup at Kansas on Tuesday evening (5:00 p.m., ESPN+). MoState trails the all-time series against Kansas, 19-78, including a 9-33 record on the road. KU has won the last eight meetings in the series. The Bears and Jayhawks met once earlier this season at the Paradise Classic hosted by FAU in Boca Raton, Fla. In just their second game of the season, the Bears fell 8-0 to the Jayhawks.Â
- The Bears are in the midst of a 15-game span running from March 27-April 19 that features 14 road games. As the schedule stands currently, MoState is set to finish the regular season with 17 of its last 22 games played on the road.Â
- Across the last two weeks, Makenzi Swick (Jr., Stillwater, Okla.) has made seven appearances in the circle for the Bears, owning a 0.28 ERA with a 1-2 record and one save. In that span, she has tossed a team-high 25.0 innings and allowed just one earned run (eight total runs) while striking out 16 batters.Â
- In 22 non-conference games this season, McKenzie Vaughan (Sr., Bella Vista, Ark.) is MoState's offensive leader among active and qualifying players with a .266 batting average. Against non-conference opponents, she has logged 17 hits (eight XBH), three home runs, 11 RBI and nine walks.Â
- Vaughan knocked her 28th career home run in the series finale at Indiana State to move into second place in program history in career homers. She trails only her former teammate Olivia Krehbiel, who broke the record last season with 31 career home runs. Vaughan also leads the team this season with 33 RBI and nine home runs.
- Missouri State currently sits in fourth place in the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season standings with an 11-7 league record. The Bears have an important conference series this weekend at Illinois State, as the Redbirds currently sit right behind MoState in fifth place with a 9-7 record in league play. In MVC games this season, MoState ranks first in fielding percentage (.971), third in team ERA (2.53) and fifth in team batting average (.296).Â
- The Bears are 8-0 this season when holding opponents to two runs or less and are 9-1 when out-hitting opponents. MoState has had 14 games decided by two runs or less this season. MoState owns a 4-10 record in those games.Â
- Kasey Griffith is in her first season at the helm of the Bears program. She stepped into the lead role following the retirement of longtime head coach Holly Hesse. Griffith was named the seventh head coach in the history of the program on June 5, 2024, and this marks her first stint 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.
- 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 35 games this season (Baber, Romine, Studer).
   Missouri State trails the all-time series against Kansas, 19-78, including a 9-33 record on the road. The Jayhawks have won the last eight meetings in the series.Â
   MoState and Kansas met once earlier this season at the Paradise Classic hosted by FAU in Boca Raton, Fla. In just their second game of the season, the Bears fell 8-0 to the Jayhawks. Missouri State's three hits for the game came at the top of the lineup from Kayla Ulrich, McKenzie Vaughan and Riley Baber. The Bears stranded six runners in the matchup, while Vaughan and Makenzi Swick combined to strike out six Jayhawks.Â
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Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
3B
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
P/1B
/ SoftballWednesday, June 17
Wednesday, June 17
Wednesday, June 17
Monday, June 15
