Softball Closes Regular Season at Home

Thursday, April 30

Springfield

6:00 p.m.

Missouri State University

New Mexico State

Softball Closes Regular Season at Home

April 29, 2026 | Softball

Game Notes (PDF)

Missouri State Bears (20-27, 8-16 CUSA) vs. New Mexico State Aggies (25-23, 15-9 CUSA)
Dates	April 30 - May 2, 2026
Location & Site	Killian Stadium \| Springfield, Mo.
Game 1	Thursday, April 30 \| 6:00 p.m. \| Watch (ESPN+) \| Live Stats
Game 2	Friday, May 1 \| 3:00 p.m. \| Watch (ESPN+) \| Live Stats
Game 3	Saturday, May 2 \| 12:00 p.m. \| Live Stats
Missouri State	Bears Game Notes \| Softball Home Page \| Mo State Media Guide
Opponent	New Mexico State Softball Home Page
Follow Us	Twitter \| Instagram \| Facebook \| #WeAreMoState \| #Team58
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) \| Google Play Store (Android Devices)

The Starting Lineup

Missouri State softball closes out its season at home with a three-game Conference USA series against New Mexico State (April 30-May 2). Saturday will serve as Senior Day for the Bears as Mo State will honor Emily Chadwick, Sidney McLaughlin and Makenzi Swick.
The Bears and Aggies have met just one time in the programs' histories. That meeting was back on Feb. 15, 2004 at the New Mexico State Kickoff Invitational. Mo State won that matchup 5-1 in Las Cruces.
The Bears rank 43rd nationally and 1st in CUSA in double plays (21). Riley Baber (1st - 18) and Emily Gerardy (4th - 11) rank inside the top four in CUSA in fielding double plays. Likewise, Mo State's .968 fielding percentage ranks 76th in the nation.
The Missouri State pitching staff has racked up 8 shutouts this season, which ranks 32nd nationally. The Bears' staff is tied for the CUSA lead with 7 saves on the season and has given up the third-fewest homers (36) in the league. Paityn Engemann (Jr., Troy, Kan.) ranks 40th 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 (2.97). The freshman hurler has the most strikeouts (95) in a single season by a Bears pitcher since Steffany Dickerson (178) in 2022, and the most strikeouts by a Mo State freshman since Erin Struemph in 2014 (155). She ranks 69th nationally with 3 shutouts. Her 11 wins on the season are 6th in CUSA and she is 8th in the league in strikeouts.
1B Riley Baber (So, Overland Park, Kan.) is leading the way for Missouri State offensively this season with a .349 batting average and 15 doubles (53rd nationally, 4th in CUSA). Baber is one of five Bear batters with at least 20 RBI this season and leads the team in extra-base hits (19).
Catcher Alexis Perales (Jr., Grapevine, Texas) is tied for 3rd in CUSA and ranks 80th nationally with nine runners caught stealing this season. She owns a .989 fielding percentage behind the plate.
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.