96.9 The Jock ESPN Radio Springfield Missouri
| Missouri State Bears at MVC Tournament | |
| MVC Tournament Central | MVC-Sports.com |
| Location | Springfield, Mo. |
| Site | Hammons Field |
| Game 1 | Tuesday, 1:30 p.m. vs. (7) Illinois State Radio – KBFL-FM 96.9/AM 1060 Watch | Listen | Live Stats |
| Game 2 | Updates will be made as MSU advances through tournament |
| Roster Card | Roster Card |
| Missouri State | Game Notes Baseball Home Page |
Starting 9
1) The Missouri State Bears (25-26, 8-13 MVC) will host the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament for the fifth time this week, taking the No. 6 seed into the event and playing No. 7 Illinois State in the opening game on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. The winner of Tuesday’s single elimination round advances to either No. 1 Southern Illinois or second-seeded Evansville Wednesday in the six-team double elimination portion of the bracket.
2) MSU is 56-50 all-time in the MVC Tournament with titles in 1996, 1997, 2015 and 2018.
3) The Bears have collected 193 extra base hits in 51 games and rank in the top 45 nationally in slugging percentage (41st – .487), home runs (39th – 79), homers/game (26th – 1.55) and doubles/game (45th – 2.10).
4) MSU’s slugging figure is the program’s second-best over the last 22 seasons (.500 in 2016), and it’s the third time since 2000 that Missouri State has 100 doubles and 70 home runs in a season (2016 and 2017). With two more homers this season, the Bears will have the program’s highest total since leading the nation with 144 dingers in 1999.
5) Missouri State has hit five or more home runs in four games this season, has six different players with a multi-homer game, and has hit back-to-back long balls on five occasions. Missouri State has scored 10-plus runs in a game 15 times and five or more runs in an inning 20 times this season.
6) Senior Dakota Kotowski ranks 13th nationally with 21 home runs and 9th at 0.42 homers per game. He hit his 10th home run on March 20 in MSU’s 18th game of the season. Only Jason Hart has reached double figures in fewer games, hitting his 10th in game 16 of the 1998 campaign. Kotowski was named the MVC and Collegiate Baseball Player of the Week on April 25.
7) Missouri State has turned 41 double plays on the year to rank 64th nationally in total DPs and 50th in per game average at 0.80. The Bears are fielding .980 with 14 total errors in the last 20 games.
8) Opposing bullpens have a combined 8.93 ERA against Missouri State this season. The Bears are hitting .308 and average 4.2 runs per game against opposing relievers. Missouri State has scored more runs than games played in the fifth and seventh innings this season.
9) Head coach Keith Guttin ranks third among active coaches and 16th overall with 1,334 career wins.
