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Missouri State

Alexis Perales

Softball

Softball Heads West to Face UTEP

Missouri State Bears (18-26, 6-15 CUSA) at UTEP Miners (11-32, 3-18 CUSA)
Dates April 24-26, 2026
Location & Site Helen of Troy Softball Complex | El Paso, Texas
Game 1 Friday, April 24 | 7:00 p.m. CT | Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats
Game 2 Saturday, April 25 | 5:00 p.m. CT | Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats
Game 3 Sunday, April 26 | 12:00 p.m. CT | Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats
Missouri State Game Notes (PDF) | Media Guide |  Softball Home Page
UTEP UTEP Softball Home Page 
Bears Mobile App App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices)

The Starting Lineup
  • Missouri State softball heads out on its last road trip of the regular season with a three-game Conference USA series at UTEP (April 24-26). Mo State will look to put an end to a five-game losing streak as the Bears travel to El Paso. 
  • With two weekends left in the regular season, the Bears sit in 9th in the CUSA standings, while UTEP is currently 11th (top 8 teams make the CUSA Tournament). The Bears were picked to finish T-10th in the 2026 CUSA Softball Preseason Poll.
  • This weekend's series will mark the first-ever meeting between the Bears and Miners. 
  • The Bears rank 37th nationally and 1st in CUSA in double plays (20). Riley Baber (1st - 17) and Emily Gerardy (4th - 11) rank inside the top four in CUSA in fielding double plays. Likewise, Mo State's .967 fielding percentage ranks 86th in the nation. 
  • The Missouri State pitching staff has racked up 7 shutouts this season, which ranks 35th nationally. The Bears' staff leads CUSA with 7 saves on the season and has given up the third-fewest homers (35) in the league. Paityn Engemann (Jr., Troy, Kan.) ranks 36th nationally with 3 saves. 
  • Right-hander Emily Koranda (Fr., Marion, Iowa) continues to lead the way in the circle for the Bears this season. She ranks 6th in CUSA in ERA (2.89). The freshman hurler ranks 58th nationally with 3 shutouts. Her 10 wins on the season are 8th in CUSA and she is 8th in the league with 89 strikeouts. She has the most strikeouts in a single season by a Bears pitcher since Steffany Dickerson (178) in 2022. 
  • 1B Riley Baber (So, Overland Park, Kan.) is leading the way for Missouri State offensively this season with a .345 batting average and 12 doubles (T-4th in CUSA). Baber is one of four Bear batters with at least 20 RBI this season and is tied for the team lead in extra-base hits (16).
  • Mo State is 12-1 this season when scoring 6 or more runs this season and is 15-2 when allowing two runs or less. 
  • The 2026 MoState roster includes 15 returners, six newcomers (four freshmen and two transfers) and features 12 underclassmen.. 
  • Coach Kasey Griffith is in her second season at the helm of the Bears after going 20-33 overall in her head coaching debut. She is in her fourth season overall at Mo State and took over as head coach on June 5, 2024.
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Players Mentioned

Riley Baber

#22 Riley Baber

IF
5' 10"
Sophomore
Emily Gerardy

#20 Emily Gerardy

IF
5' 2"
Junior
Emily Koranda

#27 Emily Koranda

P/UTL
5' 7"
Freshman
Paityn Engemann

#11 Paityn Engemann

P
5' 3"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Riley Baber

#22 Riley Baber

5' 10"
Sophomore
IF
Emily Gerardy

#20 Emily Gerardy

5' 2"
Junior
IF
Emily Koranda

#27 Emily Koranda

5' 7"
Freshman
P/UTL
Paityn Engemann

#11 Paityn Engemann

5' 3"
Junior
P

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