Oklahoma State (20-8, 5-1 Big 12) vs. Wichita State (12-15, 1-2 American)
Tuesday, April 5 | 6:00 pm | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN Plus | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
TBA vs. LHP Jace Miner (0-1, 14.14)
SCENE SETTER: The Shockers return home for a midweek contest against nationally ranked Oklahoma State on Tuesday night at Eck Stadium, the first of three matchups against the Cowboys in 2022. Wichita State enters the matchup with a 12-15 overall record after going 1-2 in the first American Athletic Conference series of the season this past weekend in Houston. The Shockers blanked the Cougars on Friday night behind a brilliant pitching performance from Jace Kaminska, but Houston bounced back to claim the next two games, including a come-from-behind 4-3 win on Sunday. Prior to the two defeats, Wichita State had beaten the Cougars in nine straight games, the longest winning streak for WSU in the all-time series. Wichita State opened the season dropping their first six games, the worst start to a campaign since the 1953 season. The Shockers are coming off a 31-23 season a year ago, including an 18-13 mark in the American Athletic Conference that produced a third-place finish, WSU's best since joining the AAC in 2017. Wichita State is seeking 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 all Wichita State baseball broadcasts in 2022. "The Voice of the Shockers" and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kennedy will have the call on Wednesday, with the pregame show beginning approximately 20 minutes prior to first pitch. All WSU home games at Eck Stadium in 2022 will air live on ESPN Plus (WatchESPN.com) with former Shocker All-American pitcher Shane Dennis handling the broadcasting duties. 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 Cowboys will be meeting for the 100th time on Wednesday, with Oklahoma State holding a 62-37 lead in the all-time series. The Cowboys have won eight of the last ten matchups, including a pair of victories at Eck Stadium to open the 2021. Wichita State last triumped in 2018, when the Shockers swept the season series with a 7-5 win in Wichita and a 10-7 victory in Stillwater. Prior to the WSU program's rebirth in 1978, the Shockers were just 2-25 against the Cowboys. The two programs have battled 15 times in postseason play, including a pair of matchups in the College World Series. Wichita State beat the Cowboys in 1982 and 1993.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE: The Cowboys enter the weekend with an overall record of 20-8, including 5-1 in Big 12 play. They suffered their first conference defeat on Sunday at the hands of the Kansas State Wildcats, but have still won 13 of their last 15 games since a 7-6 start. Oklahoma State is a consensus top-10 in this week's polls, checking in at No. 5 according to Perfect Game, No. 6 by D1Baseball, No. 7 by both the NCBWA and USA Today coaches poll, and No. 10 by Collegiate Baseball. The Cowboys are led by strong pitching and defense, with a nation-leading .989 fielding percentage entering play on Wednesday. Opponents are hitting just .222 against Oklahoma State pitching, best in the Big 12, while the Cowboys rank second in the conference in both strikeouts (304) and ERA (3.90). Offensively, Oklahoma State is htting .264 as a team, led by a pair of transfers in Jake Thompson (South Dakota State/Palomar CC/Kentucky) and David Mendham (South Carolina/Connors State CC). The Cowboys are led by head coach Josh Holliday, a former Oklahoma State player who has led OSU to three Super Regionals and one College World Series appearance (2016) in his eight seasons in Stillwater. Josh is the older brother of former MLB All-Star Matt Holliday, who now serves as a volunteer assistant on the Cowboys staff. Oklahoma State was picked second in the Big 12 preseason poll, following a 36-19-1 season in 2021 that ended with a pair of defeats to UC Santa Barbara in the Tuscon regional.
STAR TURN: One of the most promising developments for Wichita State's lineup is the improvement of sophomore outfielder Chuck Ingram. After hitting .225 with 34 strikeouts in 89 at-bats a season ago, Ingram has established himself as the Shockers best hitter in 2022, slashing .320/.363/.621. The Kansas City native has an extra-base hit in nine of the last ten games, including all three games of the series in Houston. His two-out, three-run home run in the ninth inning on Friday proved the decisive blow in Wichita State's 4-0 win.
CAGING COUGARS: Wichita State Friday night starter Jace Kaminska continued his incredible dominance of Houston over the weekend, fanning a career-best 12 hitters over the course of eight shutout innings. With the win, Kaminska improved to 4-0 in four career starts against the Cougars, and has allowed just two runs in 32.1 total innings (0.56 ERA). He was named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week for his efforts.
PRESS THE CLUTCH: Wichita State's recent offensive struggles have been exacerbated by a lack of success in high-leverage situations. The Shockers are hitting just .235 with runners in scoring position, and only .218 with two outs. Meanwhile, opponents are hitting .259 and .242, respectively, in those same two categories.
STILL STREAKING: Junior Sawyre Thornhill already has a 19-game hitting streak to his credit during the 2022 season, and has reached base successfully in all 26 games played. He extended the on-base streak with a walk Friday, two doubles Saturday, and both a single and walk in Sunday's series finale.
BRILLIANT BYE:Cameron Bye began the season operating out of the Wichita State bullpen due to an injury in the early spring. He has since worked his way into the weekend rotation as the Sunday starter and put together one of the most dominant stretches for a Shocker pitcher in recent memory. The sophomore right-hander has allowed just a single earned run over 29.0 innings, good for a 0.31 ERA that ranks second in the country. Perhaps just as impressively, Bye has only surrendered 12 hits for an opponent batting average of .122.
RUNNING MAN: Outfielder Couper Cornblum has established himself as Wichita State's primary baserunning threat. On a team that has stolen just 21 bases in 29 attempts, Cornblum is now 7-for-7 after setting a new career high on Sunday with three swipes against Creighton. For his career, the sophomore has been successful on 26 of 31 stolen base attempts.
LINEUP JUGGLING:Eric Wedge continues to tinker with the starting lineup in search of consistent production. Through 27 games, the Shockers have not used the same starters and batting order in consecutive games. Couper Cornblum and Chuck Ingram have already started at seven different spots in the batting order, while two others players (Xavier Casserilla and Ross Cadena) have starts at six different spots.
SHOCKERS IN THE RPI: Wichita State stands at 117 in the latest RPI rankings following the series loss against Houston, a 20-spot jump after entering the weekend at 137. Upcoming opponent Oklahoma State enters play on Wednesday at 29. Wichita State has played Oklahoma (20), Louisiana Tech (31), Texas State (36), Texas A&M (61) and Creighton (90) and in the non-conference portion of the schedule.
NO MINER ACCOMPLISHMENT: Tuesday starter Jace Miner became the eighth different Shocker pitcher to start a game in 2022, six of whom had never started a game at the Division-I level before this season. Entering the game with just 3.0 innings pitched, Miner went 4.0 innings against the Jayhawks, highlighted by a stretch where he retired 10 of 11 hitters from the end of the first inning through the fourth.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: Eck Stadium, home of Tyler Field, has consistently been one of the toughest places for opponents to win in its storied history. The Shockers own an all-time home record of 1,272-381-2, including an 862-278-2 mark at Tyler Field (first season 1988). Since taking over as head coach in 2020, Eric Wedge has put together a 36-13 record at Eck, highlighted by a spotless 10-0 mark during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY: Shocker coaches Eric Wedge, Mike Pelfrey, Mike Sirianni and Director of Operations Loren Hibbs all have ties to the WSU baseball program. Wedge powered the Shockers to a national championship as the starting catcher in 1989, earning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors along the way. Pelfrey was an All-American starter who ranks second in program history in ERA (2.18) and strikeouts (366). Sirianni was a volunteer assistant coach for the Shockers in 2015 and 2016 before taking the head coaching position at Regis University. Hibbs helped WSU to the program's first-ever CWS appearance in 1982, and still holds the NCAA record for single-season runs scored with 125.
ON DECK: The Shockers head back on the road to resume conference play with three games in Greenville against East Carolina.
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