Softball Closes Regular Season at Drake

Saturday, May 3

Des Moines, Iowa

12:00 p.m.

Missouri State University

Drake

Softball Closes Regular Season at Drake

April 30, 2025 | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)

Missouri State Bears (16-32, 13-11 MVC) at Drake Bulldogs (21-28, 12-12 MVC)
Dates	Friday-Sunday \| May 2-4
Location & Site	Buel Field \| Des Moines, 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
Drake	Softball Home Page
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) \| Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Up Next	May 7-10 at MVC Tournament \| Des Moines, Iowa

The Starting Lineup

Missouri State softball closes out the 2025 regular season with a trip to Drake (May 2-4) for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series. The Bears are 56-58-1 all-time against the Bulldogs, which includes a 24-26 record on the road in Des Moines. MoState currently sits in sixth in the MVC standings, immediately followed by Drake in seventh as the season enters its final weekend.
Head coach Kasey Griffith makes her return to Drake for the first time as the leader of the Bears. She spent 10 seasons at Drake from 2013-2022, including eight years as a full-time assistant coach beginning in 2015, before joining the Missouri State staff in 2023.
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.
McKenzie Vaughan (Sr., Bella Vista, Ark.) knocked two home runs in the series against Belmont to become Missouri State softball's career home run leader. She knocked a solo homer in the first inning against the Bruins on April 26, the 32nd long ball of her career, to take over the top spot. She surpassed her former teammate Olivia Krehbiel (31) who previously set the record last season. Vaughan's team-leading 13 home runs this year rank third and her 39 RBI rank sixth in a single season in program history.
Chloe Merced (Sr., Springfield, Mo.) is following up last season's second-team all-MVC nod with another great performance in conference action. She is batting .300 against Valley foes and is second on the team in home runs (3), RBI (12) and hits (21) in league play.
Defensively, the Bears are second in the MVC this season and rank 60th nationally with 18 double plays. MoState also ranks third in The Valley in caught stealing by, throwing out 13 runners on the year. Individually, Emily Gerardy (So., Omaha, Neb.) has committed one error in MVC play in 90 total chances for a .989 fielding percentage.
The Bears are 11-0 this season when holding opponents to two runs or less and are 11-1 when out-hitting opponents. MoState has had 16 games decided by two runs or less this season and owns a 5-11 record in those games. They have also had seven extra-inning games and are 2-5 in those contests.
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.
Road Warriors - With three games at Drake this weekend, the Bears will finish the regular season having played 17 of their last 22 games on the road.

Series History
   Missouri State leads the all-time series against Drake, 56-58-1, which includes a 24-26 record on the road in Des Moines. The Bears and Bulldogs did not face each other last season.
   The last time the squads faced off was in Springfield in 2023 with the Bears sweeping the series. MoState won the first two games in run-rule fashion by scores of 11-0 and 10-1 in five innings, before a 3-0 victory in the finale secured the sweep.
   The two teams last met in Des Moines in 2022 as Drake won the series. The Bulldogs opened the series with a 2-0 win before the Bears evened the series in game two of a doubleheder with a 13-4 win in five innings. In the rubber match, Drake defeated MoState 8-0 in five innings.