Softball Begins Four-Game Home Stand

Monday, March 9

Springfield

5:00 p.m.

Missouri State University

#7 Arkansas

Softball Begins Four-Game Home Stand

March 09, 2026 | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)

Missouri State Bears (11-11, 0-3 CUSA) vs. #7 Arkansas & Kennesaw State
Dates	March 9 vs. #7 Arkansas \| March 13-15 vs. Kennesaw State
Location & Site	Killian Stadium \| Springfield, Mo.
Game 1	Monday, March 9 vs. #7 Arkansas \| 5:00 p.m. \| Watch (ESPN+) \| Live Stats
Game 2	Friday, March 13 vs. Kennesaw State \| 6:00 p.m. \| Watch (ESPN+) \| Live Stats
Game 3	Saturday, March 14 vs. Kennesaw State \| 3:00 p.m. \| Watch (ESPN+) \| Live Stats
Game 4	Sunday, March 15 vs. Kennesaw State \| 12:00 p.m. \| Watch (ESPN+) \| Live Stats
Missouri State	Game Notes \| Softball Home Page \| Media Guide
Opponents	Arkansas \| Kennesaw State
Follow Us	Twitter \| Instagram \| Facebook \| #GoBears \| #Team58
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) \| Google Play Store (Android Devices)

The Starting Lineup

After 22 games on the road to start the season, Missouri State will open up a four-game home stand. The Bears welcome Arkansas on Monday (5:00 p.m.), before they host Kennesaw State in their first home CUSA series (March 13-15). MoState is coming off three losses at WKU to start conference play.
Last season, the Bears played at Meador Park in Springfield due to renovations at Killian Stadium, so Monday's game will mark the first game at Killian since May 4, 2024.
Riley Baber (So, Overland Park, Kan.) is leading the way for Missouri State offensively this season with a .411 batting average, 16 RBI and 9 doubles. With 4 home runs this season, Baber is just one longball shy of matching her home run total from a season ago.
Emily Koranda (Fr., Marion, Iowa) is leading the way for Missouri State in the circle. The freshman owns a 2.23 ERA with a 5-5 record and two saves on the year. She has fanned 52 batters in 69.0 innings of work, and opposing batters are hitting .220 against her.
Youth Movement - Missouri State has nine underclassmen that have played in at least 15 games this season. Six of MoState's top seven hitters based on average are sophomores. The Bears' top two pitchers in terms of innings are both freshmen.
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.
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.
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.