How Joey Hawkins has used Missouri State baseball's struggles as a learning opportunity
Capping off a 6-2 loss to in-state rival Mizzou, the Hammons Field sprinklers turned on and drenched the Bears in their postgame huddle for a brief moment.
It was almost fitting for a Missouri State team that showed promise early only to struggle over the last month.
Missouri State dropped to 15-20 with its third straight defeat. The Bears head into a critical three-game series at last-place Valparaiso in desperate need of wins to get their season on the right track — and maybe more importantly, avoid any fear of not qualifying for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at the end of the regular season.
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For associate head coach Joey Hawkins, the last month has served as a learning experience. Despite the struggles, the 31-year-old sees a locker room that's together and capable of turning it around.
They may be needed lessons for a young coach who many believe is the heir apparent to legendary head coach Keith Guttin when he retires at the end of the season.
"I've realized these guys look at us coaches every day and they're looking for us to set the tone," Hawkins said. "I'm a firm believer that leaders set the pace. For me, it doesn't matter what our record is. We have to keep coaching these guys and keep preparing them at a high level."
Signs of growth have been aplenty for Hawkins. He overlooks an offense that's as powerful as ever, led by the big bat of Zack Stewart and the emergence of freshmen Caden Bogenpohl and Curry Sutherland.
Relief pitching has been the biggest of the problems for the Bears with a pair of late-game collapses against Illinois Chicago this past weekend. Five of their 15 losses since its 9-5 start have seen MSU hold late leads only to lose in the end, including in two of its three losses to Illinois State.
The bullpen wasn't the problem in the Bears' loss to Mizzou on Tuesday night. After the starter was relieved after two innings and four earned runs allowed, MSU only allowed one earned the remainder of the night. A lack of situational hitting, which has also plagued the Bears, made an appearance with 12 left on base including two times with the bases loaded.
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"The beautiful thing about college baseball is that you always have new opportunities," Hawkins, who played shortstop for the Bears from 2012-15, said. "We had a really tough non-conference schedule but that's not an excuse for why we lost games. I think it prepared us to go into the league and you get to start fresh. We've given some games away. Where we're at now, it's about playing your best baseball down the stretch and we're still trying to find that."
Missouri State's best hope at injecting life into the season is by attempting to do what it did in 2022 when the Bears played out of a play-in game and won the MVC Tournament. It had similar problems to the 2024 team throughout the regular season with situational hitting and some bullpen troubles but found a groove at the right time.
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Hawkins and the Bears have yet to lose the belief that they can do something similar.
"It's a lot easier when you're winning," Hawkins said. "We're gonna take these shots on the chin and we're gonna grow as a program. I don't doubt that for one second."
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Joey Hawkins sees Missouri State baseball struggles as chance to learn
