Baseball Hosts WKU This Weekend; Friday Moved to 3 p.m. Start

Friday, April 17

Springfield

3:00 p.m.

Missouri State University

Western Kentucky

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Baseball defeated ORU at their home opener on Feb. 24, 2026. Jesse Scheve/Missouri State University

Baseball Hosts WKU This Weekend; Friday Moved to 3 p.m. Start

April 16, 2026 | Baseball

ESPN+ (Fri.)ESPN+ (Sat.)Live Stats Listen Tickets Roster Card Game Notes

By: MSU Athletics Communications

Missouri State vs. Western Kentucky
Game 1	April 17, 3 p.m. Hammons Field Springfield, Mo. ESPN+ \| Live Stats \| Listen \| Tickets Radio: KBFL 96.9FM/1060 AM Promotion: 417 Day, Sunglasses giveaway, Bingo, Ice Bears Night
Game 2	April 18, 2 p.m. Hammons Field Springfield, Mo. ESPN+ \| Live Stats \| Listen \| Tickets Radio: KBFL 96.9FM/1060 AM Promotion: Spring Family Day
Game 3	April 19, 1 p.m. Hammons Field Springfield, Mo. ESPN+ \| Live Stats \| Listen \| Tickets Radio: KBFL 96.9FM/1060 AM Promotion: Future Bears Day/Postgame Egg Hunt
Tickets	Purchase Tickets Online Box Office Hours MSU Students Free Hammons Field box office opens one hour before first pitch
Program	Roster Card
Promotions	2026 Promotional Calendar
Missouri State	Game Notes Baseball Home Page Media Guide
Opponent	Sam Houston
Follow the Bears	Twitter \| Instagram \| Facebook #GoBears \| #WeAreMoState
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) Google Play Store (Android Devices)

Starting 9
1) Missouri State (24-10, 12-3 Conference USA) returns to league play this weekend by hosting Western Kentucky (19-18, 6-9) at Hammons Field. Game times are 3 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

2) Missouri State is ranked 15th in the NCAA RPI through April 14 and appeared in the Perfect Game Top 25 this week at No. 23. The Bears have played the 53rd-toughest schedule in Division I, with opponents combining for a .560 winning percentage, and are projected to finish 54th in that metric as remaining opponents have a combined .569 winning percentage.

3) The Bears have homered in 185 of the last 220 games, including 30 of 34 this season, and rank 8th nationally with 492 long balls since the beginning of the 2022 season, when head coach Joey Hawkins took over as hitting coach. Mo State ranks 2nd in Conference USA and 11th nationally this year with 70 homers, while leading the league in average (.308), slugging (.558) and OBP (.421) and sitting in the top 23 in the NCAA in all three slash categories. The current roster has combined for 172 round-trippers in their time at Mo State.

4) According to TruMedia, Missouri State hitters rank 8th nationally in hard hit % with 48.1 percent of batted balls at 95 mph or better, and 11th with an average exit velocity on batted balls of 90.6 mph. The Bears are one of the two highest-rated non-Power Four school in both categories.

5) Junior Caden Bogenpohl ranks 6th nationally with 39 walks this season after drawing 53 and 55 (season record) his first two years. His 147 career free passes are 2nd in school history, 7 behind Bill Mueller's mark of 154. Bogenpohl also ranks tied for 12th at Mo State with 38 career home runs. Bogenpohl ranks 5th among active Division I players in career walks and 33rd in home runs.

6) Senior Taeg Gollert ranks 2nd among active NCAA players (all divisions) with 67 career doubles and has a pair of Missouri State program records in his sights. He tied Brayden Drake's doubles record of 67 on March 31, and his 105 career extra-base hits currently place him 3rd, which is 11 behind Jason Hart's record of 116. Gollert also ranks 11th among active Division I players with 405 total bases, 13th with 227 hits and 23rd with 164 RBIs.

7) Missouri State is 34-7 at home under Joey Hawkins and boasts a .338 batting average and .646 slugging percentage with 101 total home runs and a 10.5 scoring average in those 41 games. The Bears are 15-0 at Hammons Field this year, own the nation's longest active home winning streak, and are one of two teams unbeaten at home in 2026.

8) Max Knight and Curry Sutherland headline Missouri State's two-way threats this season. Knight has made starts at 1B, LF, RF, DH and P this year, and has 20 homers and 71 RBIs as a Bear while going 10-2 with 6 saves and 94 strikeouts in 72.1 innings. Sutherland owns career totals of 22 homers and 74 RBIs while throwing 29.2 innings with 36 Ks.

9) Missouri State is in its first season in Conference USA in 2026 after a 35-year run in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears went 488-347 (.584) with seven regular season championship and five tournament titles in The Valley from 1991-2025.