Redbirds

SPRINGFIELD -- Cardinal fans were cheering the redbirds on Monday night, and bars and grills were cheering the green-backs. While people were rooting for the cards, they were filling up on food and drinks. "Usually we only have about 6 or 7 servers on the floor; we've had about 8 or 9 just to make sure everybody is taken care of," explained Jami Kolsky, a manager at Buffalo Wild Wings. It has been great news for the bar's bottom line. "I'm really excited to see once the month is over how well it did for the month because of these games," said Kolsky.

Springfield, MO - The Springfield Cardinals scored four in the fifth inning and took a no-hitter into the sixth to beat the San Antonio Missions 6-1 in the series opener at Hammons Field. After having the first seven batters retired, the Cardinals got on the board first as Adam Melker launched a solo homer in the 3rd to give Springfield a 1-0 lead. The Redbirds plated another in the 4th as Xavier Scruggs delivered a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. In the 5th, Springfield broke the game open scoring four runs with two outs on a bases loaded walk to Jamie Romak, a two-run single by Scruggs and an RBI single by Greg Garcia to grab a 6-0 lead.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Missouri State (28-23) used timely hitting and got another stellar pitching performance from Natalie Rose to keep its Missouri Valley Conference Championship momentum going Friday at Killian Stadium with a 4-2 semifinal-round victory over top-seeded Illinois State. With the win, the Bears will play for their sixth MVC Tournament title Sunday at noon.    The fifth-seeded Bears got on the board first with an RBI sacrifice bunt by Stevie Pierce in the top of the third.

The St. Louis Cardinals announced through their Twitter account that a press conference has been scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday where they will announce Mike Matheny as the new manager. Matheny's a former catcher for the Cardinals from 2000-2004.  Along with winning four Gold Gloves (three with the Cardinals and one with San Francisco) Matheny's very popular with current players and coaches. Most recently, the 40-year-old Matheny has been a minor league instructor with the Cardinals' and has no managing experience on any level.

Springfield, MO - On a gorgeous afternoon at Hammons Field, the lines began to form as 2,500 CoxHealth Pink Fleece 'Sluggies' were given away to celebrate Mother's Day. Starting on the mound for game two of the four-game series against Arkansas, lefty Nick Addition would battle for the Springfield Cardinals against righty Matt Shoemaker with the Travelers. A pitching dual for the first four innings, Additon would step back on the mound in the top of the fifth facing lead-off hitter Alberto Rosario.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - After turning in a third-place finish at the 2010 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championships, the Missouri State cross country team has been picked fourth in the MVC preseason poll released today. For the second-straight year, the Wichita State women have been selected as favorites to win the MVC title, gathering five first-place votes and 93 points. Also voted ahead of the Bears were Illinois State and Bradley. The Redbirds tallied four first-place votes and were just one point shy of Wichita State, while Bradley earned 70 points for third place.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Missouri State women's soccer team (7-3-1, 1-0-0) racked up three more Missouri Valley Conference weekly honors, the league announced today. Senior Jessica Teahan received the inaugural Goalkeeper of the Week award, junior Michelle Sommer was named Offensive Player of the Week and freshman Bethany Smith took home Newcomer of the Week honors. Teahan had strong weekend of performances, registering another pairs of shutouts. On Friday, she turned aside six Sycamore shots and shutout Indiana State for the second straight season.

Springfield, MO - In a preview of the first round of the Texas League North Playoffs, the Cardinals squandered a 6-2 fifth inning lead to fall in game one to Tulsa 9-6. Cardinals starter Scott McGregor looked to get back on track after struggling through August, but the Drillers got to him quickly in the first inning on a two-out, two-run homer by Ben Paulsen. Springfield got one of those runs back in the 2nd as Adam Melker led-off with a double and scored on an RBI single by Travis Tartamella to make it 2-1. The Redbirds then got a single by Neal Pritchard and a sacrifice to move runners to second and third with two out, but stayed put as Greg Garcia bounced to shortstop to end the inning.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Missouri State Lady Bears (11-6, 4-3 Missouri Valley Conference) return home for the first time in nearly three weeks Friday to host Indiana State (10-9, 4-3) at 7:05 p.m. and take on Illinois State (10-8, 5-2) at 2:05 p.m. Sunday to conclude the first time through the MVC schedule.    Friday's game features two of the most prolific three-point shooters in MVC history. MSU's Jaleshia Roberson currently ranks 15th in league history in makes (225) and seventh in attempts (672)

CONWAY, Ark. - The Missouri State softball team (9-6) was on the wrong side of a pitcher's duel at Farris Field in Conway, Ark., on Wednesday afternoon. Central Arkansas (20-8) got a two-hitter to shut out MSU, 2-0. "We held a good hitting team to just two runs today," said head coach Holly Hesse . "Our pitching and defense gave us a chance, but we need to score more runs. You have to give them credit, they kept battling all game. " Ashley Brentz had both hits for the Bears.