Softball Bears Entertain Bruins in Key MVC Series

The Starting Lineup – Storylines for the Belmont Series

• Missouri State is coming off another undefeated week at home with wins against Kansas City and a series sweep of UIC last week. MSU welcomes new MVC member Belmont to Springfield this weekend as the Bears continue their eight-game home stand. 
• MSU is off to a 14-3 start in MVC play and has won its last five consecutive conference series (four sweeps) as the Bears sit in second in the conference standings behind Northern Iowa. 
• The Bears enter the weekend with a 16-1 record in their last 17 games. Over that span, MSU is outscoring its opponents, 97-31, and are 42-of-48 in stolen base attempts compared to their oppoents who are 16-of-20 in stolen bases.MSU has nearly doubled its opponents in walks with a 67-36 advantage over the last 17 games. 
• MSU also heads into the weekend with a perfect 11-0 record at home this season, as they are on a Killian Stadium record 14-game home win streak dating back to last season. In those 11 matchups, MSU is outscoring its opponents, 56-16, and have allowed 0 home runs and just 9 extra-base hits.The Bear pitching staff owns a 0.99 ERA at home this season with 55 strikeouts and a .190 opposing batting average.
• Missouri State is 22-2 this season when scoring three or more runs and the Bears improve to 8-0 when scoring six or more runs. MSU is also 20-1 on the season when holding opponents to fewer than three runs.
• McKenzie Vaughan (So., Bella Vista, Ark.) and Olivia Krehbiel (Sr., Lee’s Summit, Mo.) are leading the way offensively for MSU this season, both owning batting averages of .300 or better. Krehbiel, who led MSU last week with a .462 average (6-13, 6 RBI) leads the team in multiple categories including: average (.321), hits (36), doubles (11), triples (3) and walks (19). Meanwhile, Vaughan leads MSU with 8 home runs, a .686 slugging percentage and a .484 on-base percentage. In MVC games, Vaughan’s average jumps to a team-leading .417 (15-for-36) and her SLG% rises to .861 with 5 home runs and 16 RBI against Valley foes. 
• MSU is led by a trio of arms in the circle in Gracie Johnston (Sr., Augusta, Kan.), Mackenzie Chacon (So., Oologah, Okla.) and Vaughan. Chacon leads the staff with a 1.67 ERA, while Johnston owns the most victories with an 11-6 record and Vaughan leads the team with 59 strikeouts. Freshman Makenzi Swick has also pitched crucial innings in the last two MVC series, allowing 1 earned run and four hits in 8.0 IP against Illinois State and UIC.
• The Bears continue to show off their speed as they rank 19th nationally and first in the MVC with 87 stolen bases, which is the most stolen bases by the Bears since 1996 (96). MSU is led by freshman Abby Ford who owns a MVC-leading 23 stolen bases. Her 23 swipes also rank 25th nationally. Ellie McCoy is second on the team and tied for 4th in the Valley as she is 14-for-14 in stolen base attempts this season. 
• Head coach Holly Hesse is in her 35th season at the helm of the Bears program and she is just 4 wins shy of 900 career victories. She ranks second in the MVC in overall career victories with 896 and second in MVC career victories with 393 league wins. Hesse entered the season ranked 17th among all active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories and is currently 896-853-2. 

Series History
    Missouri State trails the all-time series against Belmont, 0-1. The only meeting between the two teams took place on March 12, 2017 at the Ohio Valley Tournament held in Oxford, Ala. The Bears dropped the contest 3-2 with a Bruin three-run homer in the fifth-inning serving as the difference-maker. 
    MSU faces a new member of the Missouri Valley Conference for the second consecutive week as they welcome the Bruins to Springfield for a three-game series.