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Missouri State baseball begins its Missouri Valley Conference Tournament run on Wednesday

wyatt d. wheeler, springfield news-leader
·4 min read

Missouri State baseball begins its run in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Wednesday night as the league's No. 2 seed in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The Bears didn't know their opponent before the News-Leader's print deadline. The 6:30 p.m. opponent will be the highest seed to win on Tuesday — No. 5 Murray State, No. 6 Illinois Chicago or No. 7 Belmont. The Bears were a combined 8-1 against the three during the regular season.

Missouri State will need to win the tournament to secure a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year. An at-large bid is out of the picture this season.

Here's what you need to know heading into the tournament:

Missouri State's path to a title won't be easy

Missouri State baseball players celebrate at the plate after Zack Stewart hit a home run on the Belmont Bruins at Hammons Field on Thursday, April 20, 2023.
Missouri State baseball players celebrate at the plate after Zack Stewart hit a home run on the Belmont Bruins at Hammons Field on Thursday, April 20, 2023.

The Bears weren't very impressive to end the regular season after being swept by league-champion Indiana State. The Sycamores are considered one of the top teams in the country and could host a regional, which could come down to whether they win the conference tournament.

MSU could meet Indiana State as early as Friday in an 11:30 a.m. elimination game if both were to lose Wednesday, which would seem unlikely. If both were to win their first two games, they would play Friday at 1:30 p.m. with the winner getting a spot in the championship.

That would be the ideal scenario for the Bears but a tough 6:30 p.m. winner's bracket game could come Thursday which would be against No. 3 Southern Illinois or No. 4 Evansville. The Bears went 2-1 and needed a thrilling comeback in a game to win a recent series against the Salukis. Against Evansville? The Bears were swept in the first MVC series of the season.

Both would be formidable foes when the race for the league title appears to be Indiana State in a tier by itself at the top with Missouri State, SIU and Evansville being those who could challenge. The remainder of the field has had its struggles this season and the Bears would have to like their chances against any of them.

Missouri State was well-represented in postseason MVC awards

Missouri State's Spencer Nivens as the Bears took on the Belmont Bruins at Hammons Field on Thursday, April 20, 2023.
Missouri State's Spencer Nivens as the Bears took on the Belmont Bruins at Hammons Field on Thursday, April 20, 2023.

Multiple Bears heard their names called during Monday night's pre-tournament banquet which saw six players be named to all-conference teams.

Spencer Nivens took home the night's biggest honor by being named the Joe Carter Player of the Year. The star centerfielder is MSU's first MVC Player of the Year since Jake Burger in 2017. He finished the year batting .357 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI.

Former Lebanon standout Zack Stewart was also named the MVC Freshman of the Year after leading the league with 18 doubles and 58 RBI. He finished only behind Ryan Howard in RBI by a true freshman. His 31 extra-base hits as a freshman only trailed Jason Hart and Howard.

Nivens, designated hitter Cam Cratic and pitchers Brandt Thompson and Garrett Ferguson were all named first-teamers. Stewart was named to the second team while pitcher Hayden Minton was given an honorable mention.

Missouri State's six all-conference performers are the program's most since having nine on its NCAA Tournament team in 2018.

Who the Bears are counting on this week

Head coach Keith Guttin, of Missouri State, during the Bears 11-8 win over Nevada at Hammons Field on Saturday, March 26, 2022.
Head coach Keith Guttin, of Missouri State, during the Bears 11-8 win over Nevada at Hammons Field on Saturday, March 26, 2022.

Bears head coach Keith Guttin said following the Bears' Saturday double-header sweep to Indiana State that Thompson is likely who will be on the mound for MSU on Wednesday and then he'll play it out from there.

Minton and Jake Eddington both threw on Saturday so both will have equal rest. Guttin will be able to use whoever he thinks matches up best with whoever their Thursday opponent will be.

The Bears like where they are with their bullpen with Trey Ziegenbein and Reed Metz both getting healthier late in the year. Scott Youngbrandt continues to be someone the Bears have counted on while Ferguson has been a great closer after earning All-MVC first-team nods.

After that, it's all hands on deck for the Bears who have experienced pitchers who stepped up for the team at this time last year when the season was on the line. Tyler Tsherter has been a midweek starter while someone the likes of Forrest Barnes has had their great moments in the past.

How to watch and listen

All games of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament will be streamed on ESPN+.

Missouri State's radio feed can only be streamed via the Varsity Network whether it's on the app or listened to on the web.

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 Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State begins Missouri Valley Conference Tournament run