Friday, April 4
Cedar Falls, Iowa
5:00 p.m.
Missouri State University
at
Northern Iowa
Softball Continues Road Swing at UNI
April 03, 2025 | Softball
| Missouri State Bears (10-23, 8-3 MVC) at Northern Iowa Panthers (19-10, 7-2 MVC) | |
| Dates | Friday-Sunday, April 4-6, 2025 |
| Location & Site | Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex | Cedar Falls, Iowa |
| Game 1 | Friday, 5:00 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats |
| Game 2 | Saturday, 2:00 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats |
| Game 3 | Sunday, 12:00 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats |
| Missouri State | Game Notes (PDF) | Softball Home Page | Media Guide |
| Northern Iowa | Softball Home Page |
| Bears Mobile App | App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices) |
| Up Next | Tuesday, April 8 vs. Southern Illinois | 5:00 p.m. | Springfield, Mo. |
The Starting Lineup
- Missouri State will now hit the road for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series at Northern Iowa (April 4-6). The series was relocated to Cedar Falls due to inclement weather in Springfield throughout the weekend. MoState trails the all-time series, 53-56, which includes a 16-25 record on the road. The squads met four times last season, including in the semifinals of the MVC Tournament.Â
- With the schedule change, Missouri State is now in the midst of a stretch that features 14 road contests and just one home game.Â
- 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 25 games this season (Baber, Romine, Studer).
- Chloe Merced (Sr., Springfield, Mo.) was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week on Monday. Across a 3-1 week for the Bears, Merced batted .500 (5-for-10) with six RBI, four runs scored, two home runs, a double and a walk. She also slugged 1.200 with a .545 on-base percentage, and was perfect in the field. Merced tied her career high with two different three-RBI performances on the week.
- McKenzie Vaughan (Sr., Bella Vista, Ark.) continues to lead Missouri State on both sides of the ball. The two-way star leads the Bears with seven home runs, 26 RBI, and 13 walks. In the circle, she owns a team-best 3.73 ERA and has recorded six of MSU's 10 wins on the season. Vaughan currently sits in third in program history in career homers with 26, trailing only Olivia Krehbiel (31) and Jessie Smith (27).Â
- In MVC games, Missouri State ranks second in the league in both batting average (.307) and fielding percentage (.978). Against league foes, MoState owns an 8-3 record and is outscoring its opponents 66-33 with three run-rule victories, while the pitching staff owns a 2.62 combined ERA. Sidney McLaughlin leads the Bears and ranks third in the MVC with a .450 batting average in conference play. MVC opponents have committed 25 errors against MoState, while the Bears have committed just seven errors since the start of league play.Â
- The MoState defense ranks 60th nationally and 2nd in the MVC with 13 double plays on the season.Â
- The Bears are 7-0 this season when holding opponents to two runs or less and are 7-1 when out-hitting opponents.
- 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.
   Missouri State trails the all-time series against Northern Iowa, 53-56, which includes a 16-25 record on the road in Cedar Falls. The most recent meeting between the two teams was in the MVC Tournament semifinals a year ago. It was a pitcher's duel as UNI defeated the Bears 2-1 in a game that featured six combined hits and all three runs came off of solo homers.Â
   Prior to that, the Bears traveled to Cedar Falls during the regular season last season, dropping the series to the Panthers. UNI won game one 12-3 in five innings before MoState responded with an 11-5 victory to tie the series. In the rubber match, the Panthers took the series with a 6-2 win.Â
Players Mentioned
3B
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
1B/OF
/ Softball
P/1B
/ SoftballMonday, June 15
Monday, June 08
Saturday, May 30
Saturday, May 30
