MSU

The must-have guide to the MSU Baseball Bears

Jim Connell
JCONNELL@NEWS-LEADER.COM
Missouri State’s baseball team celebrates with the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament trophy at Eck Stadium.

So you've got a dilemma … you want to get in on the fun as Missouri State hosts an NCAA Tournament regional this weekend at Hammons Field, but you need to get up to speed on the Bears and everything going on.

Missouri State's 16-game winning streak is the second-longest in program history – behind the 18-game streak of the 1989 team that played in the Mid-Continent Conference.

Stand down, we've got you covered. Here's your primer on the Springfield Regional ...

Missouri State (45-10) comes in as the No. 8 seed nationally, and has won 16 consecutive games. The Bears' last loss was April 25 at Illinois State, and they are 16-3 at Hammons Field. The 45 victories are the most since the 1986 team won 47.

Iowa (39-16)

is part of a Big Ten Conference baseball resurgence, making the tournament for the first time since 1990 – and fourth time in school history. The Hawkeyes beat Missouri State on Feb. 21, claiming a 6-5 victory in a game played in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Oregon (37-23) is one of six Pac-12 Tournament teams in the field, and has won nine of its last 10 games. The Ducks won two of three games against UCLA – the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA field - last weekend, to cement its place in the field. Oregon was listed as one of the final four teams in the field.

Canisius (34-28) got into the NCAAs for winning the MAAC Tournament title, coming back from losing the first game of the league tournament to win the final five and get the automatic bid. The Golden Griffins (it's a bird) have won nine of their last 10 games.

The double-elimination tournament will have two games each day. Friday will have Iowa vs. Oregon at 1 p.m. and Missouri State vs. Canisius at 6 p.m. The losers play at 1 p.m. Saturday, with the winners meeting at 6 p.m. Play continues with games at 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday, and an "if-necessary" game at 1 p.m. Monday.

The winner from the Springfield Regional goes on to the Super Regional, against the winner of the Stillwater (Oklahoma) Regional, for a best-of-3 series on June 5-7 or June 6-8, and the chance to advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, starting June 13.

Hammons Field cannot host the Super Regional, as the Springfield Cardinals are back in town that week.

Hammons Field figures to be a popular place this weekend, when Missouri State hosts an NCAA regional tournament.

All session tickets range from $75 for Sections G, H and I (behind the plate), to $60 for Sections D, E, F, J, K and L (along the first- and third-base lines), and $50 for Sections A, B, C, M and N (down the left-field and right-field lines). For single games, tickets are $15, $12, $10, and $5 for youth and college tickets. Call 863-2143 or visit the Hammons Field box office to secure your seats.

The aces

The Bears are set up perfectly for a double-elimination tournament like this, with two overpowering pitching aces — Jon Harris and Matt Hall. Harris is 7-1 with a 1.91 earned-run average, with Hall 10-2 and a 2.17 ERA.

Baseball America's latest mock draft has the right-hander Harris going No. 9 overall in the first round of the June draft, to the Chicago Cubs. That spot in the draft carries with it a $3.351 million signing bonus. And the left-hander Hall leads all of Division I in strikeouts, with 152.

The hot bats

It's not all pitching for these Bears.

Eric Cheray, who was sidelined with a broken ankle early in the season and missed eight weeks, has been playing in mostly a designated hitter role since his return and is hitting .436. Parkview High grad Spencer Johnson is hitting .316 with 41 RBIs, with Jake Burger (.333, 40 RBIs), Dylan Becker (.318) and Justin Paulsen (7 homers, 42 RBIs) other big threats.

Tate Matheny is one of the bigger names to watch. The son of St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, Tate is widely regarded as the second-best pro prospect (behind Harris) and is hitting .294 with 37 RBIs, and covers a ton of ground in center field.

The coaches

Missouri State head coach Keith Guttin is in his 33rd season leading the Bears, and with 1,134 career victories, ranks among the top 15 nationally for active coaches.

Pitching coach Paul Evans is in his 27th season with the Bears, and he has had four of his pitchers drafted in the first round in the last 13 seasons. Hitting coach and recruiting coordinator Nate Thompson is in his first season with the Bears.

University of Northern Iowa Panthers manager Rick Heller, right, expresses his frustration with an umpire after his team is called for obstruction on a pick-off attempt which allows an MSU baserunner to advance one base during the bottom of the second inning of their baseball game at Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri, Saturday, May 2, 2009.

Photo by Jerome T. Nakagawa/Springfield News-Leader

Iowa will be led by a familiar face to some Missouri State fans. Coach Rick Heller was at Northern Iowa for 11 seasons, until the program was shut down at the school. He moved on to Indiana State, where he coached four seasons and led the Sycamores to the NCAAs in 2012. He is in second season at Iowa, and has 759 career victories.

The history

The Bears are making their ninth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and will be hosting a D-I regional for the first time in school history. Missouri State was last in the NCAAs in 2012, and reached the College World Series in 2003. That was the only time the Bears made it to the Super Regionals.