Missouri State at #24 Arkansas
Game Info	April 21, 6 p.m. Baum-Walker Stadium Fayetteville, Ark. SECN+ | Live Stats | Listen Radio: KBFL 96.9FM/1060 AM
Missouri State	Game Notes Baseball Home Page
Opponent	Arkansas
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Starting 9
1) Missouri State (26-11, 14-4 Conference USA) begins a five-game road trip Tuesday at No. 24 Arkansas (26-15, 9-9 SEC) in a rematch of a dramatic 15-14 Bears victory on March 31 in Springfield on a Caden Bogenpohl walk-off home run.

2) Missouri State is ranked 16th in the NCAA RPI through April 19 and remained in the Perfect Game Top 25 this week at No. 23. The Bears have played the 47th-toughest schedule in Division I, with opponents combining for a .562 winning percentage, and are projected to finish 42nd in that metric as remaining opponents have a combined .573 winning percentage.

3) The Bears have homered in 188 of the last 223 games, including 33 of 37 this season, and rank 8th nationally with 497 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 75 homers, while leading the league in average (.311), slugging (.556) and OBP (.420) and sitting in the top 25 in the NCAA in all three slash categories. The current roster has combined for 177 round-trippers in their time at Mo State.

4) According to TruMedia, Missouri State leads the nation in barrel percentage at 25.5%, defined as batted balls at an exit velocity of 95+ mph and launch angle between 10 and 35 degrees. The also rank 9th with 47.5% of batted balls at 95+ mph, and 10th with an average exit velocity on batted balls of 90.5 mph. 

5) Junior Caden Bogenpohl ranks 10th nationally with 40 walks this season after drawing 53 and 55 (season record) his first two years. His 148 career free passes are 2nd in school history, 6 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 15th with 168 runs scored.

6) Senior Taeg Gollert ranks 2nd among active NCAA players (all divisions) with a Missouri State-record 70 career doubles. His 109 career extra-base hits place him 3rd at Mo State behind Steve Hacker (110) and Jason Hart (116). Gollert also ranks 10th among active Division I players with 416 total bases, 12th with 232 hits, 21st with 169 RBIs and 8th with 777 at bats.

7) Missouri State is 36-8 at home under Joey Hawkins and boasts a .338 batting average and .637 slugging percentage with 106 total home runs and a 10.4 scoring average in those 44 games. The Bears are 17-1 at Hammons Field in 2026 after starting the season with a school-record 17-game home winning streak.

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 21 homers and 76 RBIs as a Bear while going 10-2 with 6 saves and 99 strikeouts in 77 innings. Sutherland owns career totals of 24 homers and 79 RBIs while throwing 22.2 innings with 39 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 7 regular season championship and 5 tournament titles in the MVC from 1991-2025.