Bears Softball Returns Home to Face Murray State

The Starting Lineup

• Missouri State softball is back home for a three-game conference series against the Murray State Racers (March 29-30). This weekend will mark the first-ever meetings between the two teams in Springfield, while the all-time series is tied at 3-3. 
• Missouri State is coming off a midweek matchup at No. 8 Oklahoma State in which the Bears created alot of traffic on the basepaths and played the Cowgirls closely for the majority of the game. The Bears racked up eight hits, four of which went for extra bases. MSU ultimately left 12 runners on base and a couple of late OSU home runs were the difference in the 9-3 loss. 
• The Bears have faced six NCAA Tournament teams from last season in 2024, highlighted by contests against 2023 Women’s College World Series participants Tennessee and Oklahoma State. Missouri State has faced three top 10 teams this season in Clemson, Tennessee and Oklahoma State and one top 15 opponent in Oregon.  
• Prior to the start of the season, head coach Holly Hesse announced her plan to retire following the 2024 season. Hesse owns a 909-877-2 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 .328 batting average, is second on the team with 11 walks and a .466 slugging percentage and is tied for third with 7 RBI. 
• 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 20 walks and 15 runs scored, and is second on the team with 8 RBI. Her 20 walks rank third in the MVC, she ranks 25th nationally in walks per game (0.77) and she has reached base safely in 12 straight games. 
• Gracie Johnston (Sr., Augusta, Kan.) ranks 9th 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. Ten of her 17 hits this season have gone for extra bases and she leads the team with 5 home runs, 16 RBI and a .528 slugging percentage. Her five homers this season rank 3rd in the MVC. Against MVC competition, her slugging percentage rises to .636. 
• 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. 
• Ellie McCoy (Sr., Hastings, Neb.) is tied for 1st in the MVC in hit by pitches with 8 and she ranks 12th nationally in hit by pitch per game at 0.36. She was plunked three times on Tuesday at Oklahoma State. 

Series History
    The all-time series between Missouri State and Murray State is tied 3-3. This weekend’s series will mark the first-ever meetings between the two teams in Springfield. Prior to Murray State joining the Missouri Valley Conference, the squads had met on three occasions – all at neutral site locations – with the Racers owning a 2-1 record against Missouri State. 
    Last season, the teams met for the first time as conference opponents with a three-game series in Murray, Ky. The Bears took two out of three to clinch the series in the final weekend of the 2023 regular season. Missouri State fell behind in the series, dropping game one of a Saturday doubleheader, 3-0. But the Bears bounced back in game two with a 2-1 victory. Missouri State tied the game with a Tess Weakly homer in the fifth before scoring the winning run on an error in the seventh. The Bears then secured the series win the next day, pushing across the winning run in the top of the sixth on a Tess Weakly RBI single as MSU won 3-2.