Bears Softball Travels to UAB for Green and Gold Classic

Friday, February 20

Birmingham, Ala.

11:30 a.m.

Missouri State University

SIU

Bears Softball Travels to UAB for Green and Gold Classic

February 19, 2026 | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)

Missouri State Bears (6-3) at Green and Gold Classic
Dates	Friday-Sunday, February 20-22, 2026
Location & Site	Mary Bowers Field \| Birmingham, Ala.
Tournament Central	Tournament Central
Game 1	Friday, 11:30 a.m. vs. Southern Illinois \| Live Stats
Game 2	Friday, 4:30 p.m. vs. Tennessee \| Live Stats
Game 3	Saturday, 3:30 p.m. vs. Ole Miss \| Live Stats
Game 4	Sunday, 9:00 a.m. at UAB \| Live Stats \| Watch (ESPN+)
Game 5	Sunday, 11:30 a.m. vs. Ole Miss \| Live Stats
Missouri State	Game Notes \| Softball Home Page
Opponents	Southern Illinois \| Tennessee \| Ole Miss \| UAB
Follow Us	Twitter \| Instagram \| Facebook \| #GoBears \| #Team58
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) \| Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Up Next	Feb. 27-28 at Northwestern State Tournament \| Natchitoches, La.

The Starting Lineup

Missouri State softball is coming off an undefeated weekend at the Lion Invitational hosted by East Texas A&M. With four wins at the tournament, the Bears sit at 6-3 on the year. Coming into the Green and Gold Classic, the Bears' six-game win streak is tied for the 16th longest in NCAA DI.
The Bears dominated at the Lion Invitational, outscoring their four opponents 28-4. MoState batted .327 as a team, tallying 17 extra-base hits, including seven home runs, and 20 walks. The pitching staff owned a 0.56 ERA at the tournament with a .146 batting average against and 21 strikeouts.
Emily Koranda (Fr., Marion, Iowa) was named Conference USA Freshman of the Week on Monday. At the Lion Invitational, she went 2-0 in the circle and earned her first career save. The right-hander hurled 12.1 innings without allowing an earned run and allowed just four hits while striking out 10 batters. Entering this weekend, Koranda ranks second in CUSA in ERA (1.06) and strikeouts (27) and is the top freshman in those categories.
Halle Studer (So., Wathena, Kan.) is also coming off a strong week at the Lion Invitational. She batted .500 (4-for-8) with four RBI, three runs scored, three walks and two home runs. Her two homers last weekend have already surpassed her season total from a year ago (1).
MoState returns two players that received all-conference recognition last season. Alexis Perales (Jr., Grapevine, Texas) was a second-team All-MVC selection at catcher, and Emily Gerardy (Jr., Omaha, Neb.) represented the Bears on the MVC All-Defensive team at second base. Perales was MoState's top hitter in MVC play last season with a .328 batting average and seven doubles, while Gerardy committed just two errors (.981 FLD%) against league competition in the second-most chances on the team.
Kasey Griffith is in her second season at the helm of the Bears after going 20-33 overall and 16-11 in the MVC in her debut season as a head coach. She is in her fourth overall season at MoState and took over as head coach on June 5, 2024, following the retirement of longtime head coach Holly Hesse.
Missouri State officially joined Conference USA on July 1, 2025 as a full-league member. The Bears are the 12th full-time member of the league and were joined by Delaware as the two newest members beginning with the 2025-26 year.
The Bears were picked to finish T-10th in the 2026 CUSA Softball Preseason Poll.
The 2026 MoState roster includes 15 returners, six newcomers (four freshmen and two transfers) and features 12 underclassmen.This year's squad contains just three seniors.