Bears set to open home slate against Oklahoma State Tuesday

MSU returns to Hammons Field in search of fifth consecutive victory

March 06, 2012|By Eric Doennig, MSU Sports Information | cerwin@ky3.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Off to their best start through 12 games since the 1999 season, the Missouri State Bears will open up the home portion of the schedule Tuesday afternoon when they welcome the Oklahoma State Cowboysto Hammons Field. The Bears, who knocked off OSU by a 7-1 score in Stillwater last Wednesday, will be gunning for their fifth-consecutive win, both in the OSU series and overall. MSU will also be looking for its second-straight win in a home opener and its fifth opening-day victory in nine years at Hammons Field.

Prime 9
♦ Missouri State ranked 48th in this week's Perfect Game Top 50 Poll and received five votes in last week's USA Today Coaches Poll
♦ The Bears outscored the opposition 27-7 in claiming victory in all four of their contests last week
♦ MSU's 9-3 start is its best since 1999, when the Bears won 10 of their first 13 games
♦ The Bears' three wins at Northwestern State marked their first three-game road sweep since the 2008 season
♦ MSU has gone 8-3 versus the Big 12 Conference over the last two seasons and has won its last three home games and its last four overall in its series with Oklahoma State
♦ Keith Guttin became the 46th Division I head coach to reach the 1,000 win plateau with Saturday's 3-2 at NSU
♦ Senior third baseman Brent Seifert was named MVC Player of the Week Monday
♦ With last Wednesday's 7-1 victory in Stillwater, Clay Murphy improved to 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in four career outings vs. OSU and has not given up an earned run to a Big 12 foe in 23.1 innings spanning five outings
♦ Pierce Johnson struck-out a career-high 12 batters to earn his first victory of the season in Saturday's 3-2 win at NSU

Oklahoma State Series
Oklahoma State leads the overall series by a 6-5 margin, but the Bears have taken four straight from the Cowboys dating back to the 2010 season. Since the two clubs began playing home-and-home series in 2009, MSU has registered the only season sweep. The Bears knocked off OSU, 3-2, in Stillwater on March 1, 2011, then topped the 22nd ranked Cowboys, 4-3, in Springfield May 17. MSU has also won three straight at Hammons Field in the series.

About the Bears
Following a disappointing end to an otherwise memorable bounceback 2011 season, Missouri State entered the new year as the preseason choice to capture the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title for the fourth time in the last 12 seasons. After a rough start to opening weekend in Lubbock, Texas, the Bears have rebounded to win nine of their last 10 games and bring a 9-3 overall mark into this week's action. Senior outfielder Spiker Helms (.471, 3-HR, 15-RBI) ranks among the MVC's top 10 performers in 10 different offensive categories, including league-best totals for runs scored (18), hits (24), doubles (8) and total bases (41). Fellow senior Brock Chaffin (.362, 11-RBI) has come on strong as of late, going 12-for-27 (.444) with 10 RBIs over the Bears' last six games, while junior catcher Luke Voit (.235, 2-HR, 14-RBI) has three game-winning RBIs on the season to lead the club. Senior second baseman Kevin Medrano (.333, 5-2B) returned from a three-game hiatus last weekend with a vengeance. Medrano recorded hits in six straight trips to the plate (Feb. 26-29) to break into the Bears' top 10 for career hits. Additionally, senior third baseman Brent Seifert (.256, 2-HR, 15-RBI) shares the team lead for RBIs and has reached base safely in all 12 games and a career-high 17-straight contests dating back to last season.

The Bears' regular weekend rotation has been strong through the first three weeks, combining to strike-out 55 batters through 59.2 innings of work. Nick Petree (2-1, 2.57), who went 9-2 with a 2.81 ERA to garner Freshman All-America honors last spring, picked up his first second-straight victory last Friday at Northwestern State, limiting the Demons to just three hits through seven innings. Junior right-hander Pierce Johnson (1-1, 3.27) has shown stretches of dominance in each of his three outings this season. On Feb. 25, he held UTA hitless through five innings before leaving after seven innings with a no-decision. He was even better last Saturday, fanning a career-high 12 NSU hitters over eight innings to earn his first win of 2012. Junior right-hander Cody Schumacher (2-0, 4.86) rebounded from a rough first start to post back-to-back quality start victories, including a seven-inning blanking of NSU on Sunday. Junior righty Clay Murphy (1-0, 0.00, 1 save) extended his streak of dominance over Big 12 schools with 6.2 innings without giving up an earned run in the Bears' 7-1 win at Oklahoma State (Feb. 29). Finally, freshman lefty Tyler Burgess (3-0, 0.00, 2 saves) has been sensational in his MSU debut, notching a victory or a save in each of his five appearances without allowing a run.

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