Bears knock off Bruins to advance to MVC Tourney Semifinals

NORMAL, ILL–Olivia Krehbiel swatted a 3-run home run in the top of the 3rd to give the Missouri State softball team the lead for good, as the 6-seeded Bears knocked off 3-seeded Belmont in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Quarterfinals, 7-4.

The no-doubt homer to right center was Krehbiel’s eighth of the season and 31st of her career.

The 3-run victory sets up a showdown in the semifinals against 2-seeded Northern Iowa on Friday at 4pm.

The last time these two clashed in the MVC Tournament was 2022, when MSU defeated UNI, 10-4, to claim its seventh conference tournament title and secure its seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Missouri State went on to compete in the Columbia Regional where the Bears collected a 2-0 victory over Illinois, while dropping two close contests to No. 15 national seed Missouri.

A win Friday, would put the Bears back in the tournament’s championship game for the first time since they won the title two years ago.

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