Courtesy of Wichita State Athletics
Wichita State (18-14, 3-3 American) vs. Tulane (9-24, 3-3 American)
Friday, April 14 | 6:00 pm CT | New Orleans, Louisiana (Greer Field at Turchin Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Clark Candiotti (4-2, 2.86) vs. LHP Dylan Carmouche (2-5, 4.24)
Saturday, April 15 | 6:00 pm CT | New Orleans, Louisiana (Greer Field at Turchin Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Payton Tolle (6-0, 3.28) vs. RHP Ricky Castro (2-4, 4.15)
Sunday, April 16 | 12:30 pm CT | New Orleans, Louisiana (Greer Field at Turchin Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Grant Adler (3-2, 3.25) vs. TBA
SCENE SETTER: Wichita State heads to New Orleans for a three-game American Athletic Conference road series at Tulane. The series is scheduled for night games both Friday and Saturday (6:00 pm) with a Sunday matinee slated for 12:30 pm. WSU is in the midst of five straight road contests, the second-longest stretch of games away for home for Wichita State behind only the season-opening seven-game road swing.The Shockers have dropped three of their last four contests heading into the series, falling in two of three at home against Houston before Oklahoma bested the Shockers on Tuesday in Norman.
SHOCKER BASEBALL ON THE RADIO AND ESPN PLUS: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM will once again serve as the radio home for Wichita State baseball broadcasts in 2023. "The Voice of the Shockers" and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kennedy will handle the play-by-play duties against the Green Wave, with Denning Gerig joining the broadcast as color commentator. All three games of the series will also be streamed live on ESPN+ ($). Live audio, in addition to live statistics, will be available for all games at GoShockers.com/listen and ShockerStats.com.
SERIES HISTORY: The Shockers and Green Wave have met 23 times dating back to the 1993 season, with Tulane holding a 13-8 lead in the all-time series. Two of Wichita State's wins in 2012 were later vacated by the NCAA. WSU swept a three-game set against the Green Wave last season in Wichita, ending a six-game Tulane winning streak in the head-to-head series. The Shockers have struggled in New Orleans, having lost five straight games at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium, including a three-game sweep at the hands of the Green Wave in 2021. Later that season, Tulane knocked the Shockers from the American Athletic Conference tournament with a 12-2 run-rule victory. All told, Wichita State is just 3-9 on the road at Tulane. One of those three wins ranks among the most improbable in the history of Shocker baseball; on April 5, 2019, the Shockers scored six runs with two outs in the ninth inning to erase an 11-5 deficit, then went on to win the game in extra innings, 12-11. The first-ever matchup with Tulane came in Honolulu in 1993, a 5-3 Tulane win.
SCOUTING TULANE: Tulane enters the series on Friday with an overall record of 9-24, the worst start for the program through 33 games since the 1990 club began the year 8-25. The Green Wave are 3-3 in American Athletic Conference play, taking two of three games at home against Memphis before dropping two of three on the road at South Florida. The Green Wave are coming off an 11-5 home loss to #1-ranked LSU on Tuesday in front of a sold-out crowd of 5,000 fans at Turchin Stadium. Tulane has struggled offensively this season, with a .237 team batting average that stands 277th nationally heading into play on Friday. The Green Wave rank in the top-100 in both home runs (38) and stolen bases (43), but are last in the conference with an average of 5.3 runs per game. Simon Baumgardt leads the way offensively with a .967 OPS, coming off a four-hit, four-RBI game on Tuesday vs. LSU. The Tulane pitching staff has totaled a 6.55 ERA, though starters Dylan Carmouche (4.24 ERA) and Ricky Castro (4.15 ERA) have been solid at the front of the weekend rotation and closer Michael Lombardi (2.60 ERA, four saves) provides stability at the back-end of the bullpen.
FEEL THE NEED, THE NEED FOR SNEAD: One of college baseball's most electrifying freshman arms made the most of his opportunity to shine on a big stage Tuesday night. Making his first collegiate start, Nate Snead held defending College World Series runner-up Oklahoma without a hit over three innings, allowing just one baserunner on a walk and one unearned run. The right-hander finished his outing by retiring the last eight Sooners he faced.
GRABBING THE OPPORTUNITY: Freshman outfielder Jaden Gustafson entered the weekend series against Houston without a hit since March 19 against Creighton. Given a chance to start in the second game of the doubleheader on Friday, Gustafson delivered his first career multi-hit game, highlighted by a go-ahead, two-run triple. He later added his first career stolen base, then tacked on two more hits on Tuesday against Oklahoma. After a 3-for-20 start to his college career, Gustafson has gone 5-for-9 since.
WORKING HIS WAY BACK: While Wichita State has largely avoided the injury bug in 2023, the absence of infielder Sawyre Thornhill due to injury over the last month forced the Shockers to do some defensively shuffling. True freshman Jack Little, who was the Shockers opening day second baseman, moved to third base in Thornhill's absence, which lasted exactly one month (March 7-April 7). Thornhill returned to the lineup last Friday versus Houston and also got a pinch-hit plate appearance on Tuesday.
THE CANDY MAN: Wichita State Friday starter Clark Candiotti is in the midst of a dominant stretch headlining the Shocker weekend rotation. Over his last five starts, Candiotti has allowed just five earned runs in 30.2 total innings, good for a 1.47 ERA. The right-hander has struck out at least seven in all five of those appearances, including a career-best 11 this past week against Houston, and has not issued more than two walks in any start this year. The impressive run has earned Candiotti three consecutive selections to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll.
INNING TO FORGET: Last Saturday's series finale against Houston included one of the most bizarre half-innings in the history of Shocker baseball. Wichita State entered the top of the seventh trailing 4-3, and recorded two outs with runners at the corners for Houston. What followed was a stretch of 12 consecutive batters reaching base safely, as Houston ultimately plated 13 runs in the inning with two outs. Three different Shocker relievers were unable to record an out in the inning, which yielded the most runs in one frame in program history.
OFF AND RUNNING: Wichita State stole just 36 bases in 57 attempts last season, an average of 0.6 swipes per contest. First-year head coach Loren Hibbs made it a point of emphasis for the Shockers to be more aggressive on the bases, and the numbers bear out that focus. In 2023, WSU is 49-for-64 in stolen base attempts through 32 games (1.5 per game), and have improved their success rate from 63.1% to 76.6%. The Shockers have stolen 30 bases over the last 12 games, highlighted by a season-high six against Cincinnati on April 2.
CLOSER COMMITTEE: By slamming the door with three scoreless innings in the series opener against Cincinnati, Wichita State reliever Caden Favors joined the growing list of Shocker bullpen arms with a save in 2023. The Shockers now have five saves as a team this season from five different players, all five of which entered the season with no prior saves in their career (Cameron Bye, Robert Cranz, Jace Miner and Nate Snead).
BACK IN THE SADDLE: Interim head coach Loren Hibbs is in his first season leading the Shockers after taking over for Eric Wedge in December of 2022. Hibbs starred as a record-setting outfielder for the Shockers, helping WSU to the program's first-ever CWS appearance in 1982, and still holds the NCAA record for single-season runs scored with 125. He then served as an assistant under legendary Shocker head coach Gene Stephenson before moving on to Charlotte, where Hibbs guided the 49ers for 27 seasons and more than 800 wins. He returned to the Wichita State program following the 2019 season, joining the staff as Director of Baseball Operations.
HIGH PRAISE: The Shockers landed four players on the American Athletic Conference preseason all-conference team, most of any club in the league. Infielder Brock Rodden, outfielder Chuck Ingram, designated hitter Payton Tolle and right-handed pitcher Cameron Bye were all selected, with Rodden tabbed as the conference's Preseason Player of the Year. Despite the league-best four honorees, Wichita State was picked fifth in the eight-team American Athletic Conference preseason poll.
RODDEN RETURN: Infielder Brock Rodden burst on to the scene as one of college baseball's most impactful players in 2022. The Seminole State transfer led the Shockers in batting average (.338), on-base percentage (.441) and slugging percentage (.653) while launching 17 home runs, the most by a Shocker since Drew Moffitt hit 26 long balls in 2004. He was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 10th Round of the 2022 MLB Draft (pick 304 overall) but elected not to sign, one of just three players chosen in the top ten rounds to do so.
JUCO INFLUX: The Wichita State 2023 roster features eight junior college transfers, several of which have stepped in as immediate contributors. Former Mississippi State outfielder Kyte McDonald brings elite speed out in centerfield, and former St. Mary's righty Clark Candiotti has entrenched himself at the front of the weekend rotation. Two members of Cowley College's NJCAA runner-up team play major roles, as infielder David Herring is the everyday starter at shortstop and right-handed pitcher Grant Adler has grabbed the Sunday starter role. Righties Matt Wilkinson, Colton Vercoe and Carter Rost were added to solidify the bullpen, and catcher Mauricio Millan is off to a strong start offensively.