Softball Visits Oklahoma State on Tuesday

The Starting Lineup

• Missouri State softball hits the road for a midweek matchup at #4/6 Oklahoma State on Tuesday night (6 p.m.). MSU owns an 8-33 record all time against OSU and this will mark the first meeting between the two teams since the 2022 season. 
• In 2024, the Bears’ schedule features six NCAA Tournament teams from last season, highlighted by contests against 2023 Women’s College World Series participants Tennessee and Oklahoma State. Missouri State faced two top-15 opponents on opening weekend in Clemson and Oregon, both of which made it to Super Regionals in 2023. The remaining two teams (SIU and Central Arkansas) made it to Regionals a season ago. 
• Missouri State was picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, while Olivia Krehbiel and McKenzie Vaughan were named to the All-MVC preseason team. However, Vaughan suffered a season-ending arm injury prior to Missouri State’s first game of the season in Clearwater, Fla. 
• Prior to the start of the season, head coach Holly Hesse announced her plan to retire following the 2024 season. Hesse owns a 909-876-2 career record in her 36th season as the leader of the Missouri State softball program. She is the second-winningest coach in MVC history in both overall (909) and conference (402) victories. She collected career victory No. 900 last season with a 4-3 victory over Southern Illinois on April 26. She ranks 19th among active Division I coaches in career victories. 
• Kayla Ulrich (Fr.,Sullivan, Mo.) is putting together an impressive freshman campaign so far this season. She leads MSU with a .333 batting average, is second on the team with 11 walks and a .463 slugging percentage and is tied for third with 7 RBI. Ulrich ranks 10th in the MVC in on-base percentage at .446.
• Olivia Krehbiel (Sr., Lee’s Summit, Mo.) is one of MSU’s top returning hitters from a season ago and in the program’s history. She leads the team this season with 19 walks, 14 runs scored and three doubles. Her 19 free passes rank second in the MVC and she ranks 26th nationally in walks per game (0.76). The sixth-year senior and fifth-year Bear continues to climb up the MSU record books. She is second on MSU’s career home run list with 24 and sits just four homers shy of breaking the record (27, Jessie Smith: 2006-09). She also ranks inside the top three in career RBI (111), doubles (39) and walks (97). 
• Gracie Johnston (Sr., Augusta, Kan.) ranks 8th nationally and first in the MVC with four saves on the season. 
• Annie Mueller (Sr., Pacific, Mo.) is one of Missouri State’s big power threats. Nine of her 16 hits this season have gone for extra bases and she leads the team with 5 home runs, 15 RBI and a .529 slugging percentage. 
• Alexis Perales (Fr., Grapevine, Texas) is off to a hot start in conference play. Appearing in seven of eight games to start the conference slate, Perales is leading MSU with a .429 average (6-for-14) against Valley foes. She has also logged four RBI, four walks and a homer for a .643 slugging percentage and 1.199 OPS in her seven games played.  

Series History
    Missouri State trails in the all-time series against Oklahoma State, 8-33, including a 3-18 record on the road in Stillwater. The Bears have lost the last four meetings in the series heading into Tuesday’s midweek matchup. 
    The last time’s the two teams met was on Feb. 12, 2022 at the Kajikawa Classic hosted by Arizona State. MSU jumped out in front in the top of the first inning, using a couple of walk, single, stolen base and RBI single to take a 1-0 lead on the Cowgirls. Missouri State stayed within one run of OSU, until the Cowgirls broke through with a three-run sixth inning on a couple of solo homers and a wild pitch to defeat MSU, 5-1. 
    Missouri State’s last victory in the series was back on March 16, 2017 in a midweek contest at OSU. Both teams were scoring early and often in the matchup, with MSU getting on the board first and extending its lead to 3-1 early on. Oklahoma State tied the game at 3-3 after three innings, before the Bears broke through, putting up a four-spot in the top of the sixth. Missouri State used three hits, a Cowgirl error and a sacrifice bunt to score four and take home a 7-3 win.