Bears Softball Set to Face Northern Iowa

The Starting Lineup

• Missouri State continues an eight-game road stretch as the Bears travel to Northern Iowa for a three-game conference series. This weekend marks the first meeting between the two teams since the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game, in which the Bears won 10-4 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. 
• Last week, Missouri State secured a series victory over Murray State in Springfield. After dropping the first game by one run, the Bears bounced back to take the next two games by scores of 8-2 and 2-0. 
• 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 911-879-2 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 (911) and conference (404) 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.) was named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week on Tuesday. Last week, she slashed .538/.923/.571 with two RBI, two doubles and a home run and a run scored across four games which included a midweek matchup at No. 8 Oklahoma State and three games against Murray State. She owned a team-leading 12 total bases and was perfect in the field on the week.
• 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 18 runs scored, and is second on the team with 9 RBI. Her 20 walks rank fourth in the MVC. On Wednesday at Tulsa, she knocked her 25th career home run.
• Gracie Johnston (Sr., Augusta, Kan.) ranks 4th nationally and first in the MVC with five saves on the season. 
• Annie Mueller (Sr., Pacific, Mo.) is one of Missouri State’s big power threats. Eleven of her 22 hits this season have gone for extra bases and she leads the team with 6 home runs, 21 RBI and a .554 slugging percentage. Her six homers this season rank 3rd in the MVC. Against MVC competition, her slugging percentage rises to .688. 
• Ellie McCoy (Sr., Hastings, Neb.) leads the MVC in hit by pitches with 10 and she ranks 6th nationally in hit by pitch per game at 0.38. 
• The MSU pitching staff ranks 22nd nationally in hit batters this season, having put just eight runners on via hit by pitch. 

Series History
    Missouri State trails the all-time series against Northern Iowa, 52-53, including a 15-23 record on the road in Cedar Falls. The two teams did not meet last season, so the last time the Bears and Panthers faced off was in the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game.
    In the title game, the Bears trailed 3-2 with three innings in the books after a sloppy defensive start that included three errors in the first inning. Then, a lightning delay in the fourth inning seemed to provide a spark and gave the Bears new life. Missouri State exploded offensively, scoring three runs in the fifth, one in the sixth and four in the seventh, while Steffany Dickerson showed her dominance in the circle, allowing just two hits and one run over the final four innings as MSU earned a 10-4 victory and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. 
    The 2022 season also marked the last time the teams met in Cedar Falls. Due to inclement weather, the teams were only about to play one of a scheduled three games. That game was a pitcher’s duel as Northern Iowa walked it off in the eighth inning to win 1-0.