Missouri State

At Missouri State: After serving as one of the Bears[apos] primary bats off the bench in 2009, Delayna Gary will compete for playing time behind the plate in her second year in the Missouri State program.

2009: Gary played in 19 games off the Missouri State bench as a freshman, batting .250 with an on-base percentage of .333 ... recorded three hits in pinch-hit appearances ... hit .286 at Killian Softball Stadium ... registered her first hit as a Bear on March 15 vs. UNI.

Background: Gary joined the Bears from Western Heights High School in Oklahoma City, Okla., where she started three years as a pitcher and infielder ... named team MVP her junior year and was Western Heights[apos] defensive player of the year her sophomore and junior seasons ... tabbed All-Suburban Conference three times ... along with fellow MSU freshman Natalie Rose, helped lead her club team, Oklahoma Dynamite Badside, to an AFA 16U national championship in 2007.

Personal: Delayna Renee Gary is the daughter of Dann and Deana Gary ... born April 24, 1990, in Oklahoma City, Okla. ... plans to major in the education of deaf and hard of hearing.