Courtesy of Wichita State Athletics
Kansas (19-21, 5-10 Big 12) vs. #25 Wichita State (24-15, 8-4 American)
Wednesday, April 26 | 6:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Hunter Cashero (2-0, 5.63) vs. RHP Matt Boyer (1-0, 7.71)
SCENE SETTER: Fresh off a three-game sweep of #7-ranked East Carolina, Wichita State puts their six-game winning streak on the line against in-state foe Kansas on Wednesday evening at Eck Stadium. The Shockers were scheduled to play Tuesday night at Oklahoma State, but the game was canceled due to rain and will not be rescheduled. Monday's edition of the Collegiate Baseball poll ranked the Shockers #25, the first time Wichita State has been nationally ranked by a major publication since April of 2018. With 16 games still to play, WSU has already bested their win total from a season ago when the Shockers went 21-36. Wichita State is hunting their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since the 2013 season, a regional bid that was later vacated by the NCAA.
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 Jayhawks. The game will will also be streamed live on ESPN+ ($), with former Shocker pitcher (1991-94) and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Shane Dennis on the call. 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 Jayhawks have met 86 times, with Wichita State holding 51-35 lead in the all-time series. From 2013-2016, Kansas won seven consecutive games in the series, and recently Wichita State put together a six-game winning streak from 2017-2022. The Shockers have claimed the last five meetings at Eck Stadium, including a 7-5 win in 10 innings last season that ended with a walk-off, two-run homer from Garrett Kocis. Kansas took the return game in Lawrence and also won at Hoglund Ballpark this season, a 4-0 victory on March 8. Four Jayhawks pitchers combined to hold Wichita State to five hits in the shutout win.
SCOUTING KANSAS: The Jayhawks bring an overall record of 19-21 into play on Wednesday, including a 5-10 mark in Big 12 play. Kansas has won six consecutive midweek games (Creighton, Missouri State, Texas Southern 2x, Air Force 2x) but have dropped seven straight conference contests after taking the first two games of a series at West Virginia. As a team, the Jayhawks are slashing .280/.376/.472, a slugging percentage that is buoyed by 87 doubles, a top-30 mark in the country. Kansas is one of the least-aggressive base-stealing teams in the country, totaling just 23 steals. The pitching staff has logged a 6.14 ERA, and much like the Shockers deploy a closer-by-committee bullpen, with seven saves from four different relievers. Kansas boasts a roster loaded with Division I transfers, including Luke Leto and Collier Cranford (LSU), Sam Ireland (Minnesota), Cole Elvis (Cal), Michael Brooks (UCF) and Collin Baumgartner (SIU Edwardsville). Head coach Dan Fitzgerald is in his first season with the Jayhawks after one season as the recruiting coordinator at LSU. The Shockers are familiar with Fitzgerald, who previously spent nine seasons in the same capacity at Dallas Baptist, a former Missouri Valley Conference foe. Former Wichita State volunteer assistant coach Jon Coyne is a member of Fitzgerald's staff.
BREAKING OUT THE BROOMS: It was a historic weekend at Eck Stadium for Wichita State, who garnered their first sweep against a top-10 opponent since the 1991 season with three dominant wins against #7-ranked East Carolina. The Shockers outscored the Pirates 23-3, out-hit them 41-14, and got two complete game shutouts from Payton Tolle and Grant Adler to bookend the series. East Carolina only produced one inning the entire series in which more than five batters came to the plate (first inning of game two), and managed just one runner to third base in 18 innings against Tolle and Adler. The three victories catapulted Wichita State into a tie atop the American Athletic Conference standings with Houston.
QUIET IN THE BULLPEN: Thanks in large part to shutouts from Tolle and Adler, plus some stellar long relief work, the Wichita State pitching staff has not had to reach deep into the bullpen as of late. In the last six games, the Shockers have used a total of 12 pitchers (four of whom made multiple appearances), meaning just eight individual arms have seen game action in that stretch. The WSU bullpen has yielded four relief outings of at least 2.1 innings over the last six games.
NO MINER ACCOMPLISHMENT: Left-hander Jace Miner continues to cement his status as a versatile weapon out of the Wichita State bullpen. The sophomore southpaw turned in two brilliant outings over the last week, earning the win at Kansas State with 4.1 hitless, scoreless innings, before blanking East Carolina over 3.1 frames to nail down his second save of the season. Opponents are hitting just .147 against Miner in 28.0 innings this season.
SHOCKERS IN THE RPI: Wichita State heads into the week ranked 88 in the latest edition of the RPI, good for second in the American Athletic Conference behind East Carolina (15). The Shockers jumped a staggering 59 points last week, comfortably the largest increase in the country (next closest: Georgetown, +40 to 119). Oklahoma State checks in at 25, the highest-ranking opponent remaining on the regular season schedule for WSU. Only Houston (100) joins the Shockers in the top-100 among AAC teams.
INGRAM IN A GROOVE: Junior outfielder Chuck Ingram had a ridiculous stretch of six games dating back to the end of the series at Tulane. In that time frame, Ingram went 17-for-28 (.607), which would be impressive enough in its own right. But among the 17 hits, the righty slugger rammed five doubles and four homers, including big flies in both games of Saturday's doubleheader sweep of East Carolina. Oddly enough, in the series finale against the Pirates every Shocker in the lineup had a hit except Ingram.
STARTING WITH A BANG: Ingram grabbed national headlines on April 14 at Tulane with a leadoff home run that traveled a Trackman-confirmed 501 feet, easily the longest by any Shocker this season. Ingram's homer was the first leadoff round-tripper for the Shockers since David VanVooren opened a game against Texas Tech with a solo shot on March 9, 2019.
DOUBLE UP: Head coach Loren Hibbs made no secret of his desire for the Shockers to hit more doubles in 2023, believing the stat represents a good offensive approach and aggressive baserunning. The Shockers have lived up to that expectation this season, leading the American Athletic Conference and ranking 27th nationally with 88 team two-baggers. WSU has eight players with five or more doubles for the season.
HISTORIC HOMERS: Wichita State powered up last Tuesday night at Kansas State, blasting a season-high six home runs in a 10-4 midweek victory. Garrett Pennington and Brock Rodden each hit two, while David Herring and Payton Tolle contributed one apiece. The six round-trippers are the most for the Shockers in one game since April 26, 1998 against Indiana State, and Pennington and Rodden became the first Shockers with two multi-homer games in the same contest since future major leaguers Andy Dirks and Dusty Coleman accomplished the feat against Harvard on March 8, 2008.
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. Catcher Mauricio Millan has caught all but two games this season.