Courtesy of Wichita State Athletics
#7 East Carolina (29-8, 7-2 American) vs. Wichita State (21-15, 5-4 American)
Friday, April 21 | 6:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Trey Yesavage (6-0, 2.83) vs. RHP Clark Candiotti (5-2, 3.83)
Saturday, April 22 | 2:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Carter Spivey (4-1, 3.05) vs. LHP Payton Tolle (6-1, 4.26)
Sunday, April 23 | 1:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Josh Grosz (4-0, 2.32) vs. RHP Grant Adler (3-2, 3.02)
SCENE SETTER: Wichita State returns to the friendly confines of Eck Stadium for a three-game American Athletic Conference series against #7-ranked East Carolina, with games Friday at 6:00 pm, Saturday at 2:00 and Sunday at 1:00. This will be the second consecutive series in which the Pirates have come to Wichita as a top-10 team; ECU was ranked #8 during a four-game set at Eck in 2021 that resulted in a 2-2 split. The Shockers are looking for their first series win against the Pirates, going 0-3-1 in four previous attempts. Wichita State is coming off a 10-4 win at Kansas State on Tuesday, the Shockers first win in Manhattan since 2012. The victory also matched Wichita State's 2022 win total with 19 games still to play.
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 Pirates. All three games 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 Pirates have met 16 times in the all-time series, with the series record even at 8-8. East Carolina took two of three games in Greenville last season, and have won or split each of the four regular season series between the clubs. In 2019, the Shockers knocked the top-seeded Pirates out of the American Athletic Conference tournament, defeating them twice in the span of three days down in Clearwater. The only matchup prior to 2018 came in the 1991 Midwest Regional in Wichita, when the Shockers opened the regional with a 10-5 victory over the Pirates.
SCOUTING EAST CAROLINA: The Pirates roll into Wichita with a 29-8 overall record and 7-2 mark in American Athletic Conference play, winners of nine consecutive games entering action on Friday. After dropping their opening AAC series on the road at Houston, East Carolina swept UCF and Cincinnati the past two weekends, including three run-rule victories. The Pirates are one of the nation's most well-rounded teams, but the strength of the club is a pitching staff that ranks among college baseball's elite in several major categories. ECU checks in at #4 in WHIP (1.18), #6 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.34), #7 in earned run average (3.50), and #8 in hits allowed per nine innings (7.42). Friday night starter Trey Yesavage ranks fourth in the country with 82 strikeouts, and Sunday starter Josh Grosz has allowed the third-fewest hits per nine innings in the nation at 4.83. A balanced offensive lineup has eight regulars hitting .299 or better, led by a resurgent season from first baseman Josh Moylan (.323/.435/.614, 8 home runs). The Pirates played the entirety of their pre-conference schedule in the state of North Carolina, opening with 25 consecutive games in the Tar Heel State. Head coach Cliff Godwin (333-159-1) is now in his ninth season at the helm of the Pirates, returning to his alma mater after a stellar playing career as a catcher at ECU.
HISTORIC HOMERS: Wichita State powered up on 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.
NO MINER ACCOMPLISHMENT: The Shockers got arguably their best relief performance of the season on Tuesday, as left-hander Jace Miner entered a high-scoring game in the fourth inning and went on to retire the first 13 Kansas State hitters he faced. The sophomore ultimately earned the win with 4.1 scoreless innings, the longest relief appearance of his career, allowing just one baserunner on a walk.
SHOCKERS IN THE RPI: Wichita State heads into the weekend ranked 129 in the last edition of the RPI, good for fifth in the American Athletic Conference behind East Carolina (9), Houston (108), UCF (118), and South Florida (123). Cincinnati (177), Tulane (185) and Memphis (193) round out the conference standings.
INGRAM IN A GROOVE: Junior outfielder Chuck Ingram had perhaps the best the best three-game stretch of his collegiate career last weekend against Tulane. The native of Kansas City went 10-for-14 (.714) against the Green Wave with six extra-base hits, including his first career multi-homer game in the nightcap of Friday's doubleheader and a career-high three doubles in Sunday's series finale win. With a leadoff double on Tuesday against Kansas State, seven of Ingram's last eight hits have gone for extra bases.
STARTING WITH A BANG: Ingram also grabbed national headlines last Friday with a leadoff home run that traveled a Trackman-confirmed 501 feet, easily the longest by any Shocker this season. Video of the prodigious blast was shared on the NCAA Baseball Instagram account, and as of Thursday night had accumulated more than 150,000 views. 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 26th nationally with 81 team two-baggers. WSU banged out a season-high seven doubles in last Sunday's series finale, and have seven players with five or more for the season.
REVERSAL OF FORTUNE: The Wichita State weekend rotation of Clark Candiotti, Payton Tolle and Grant Adler has been a hallmark of consistency this season, but the trio was largely roughed up over the course of three days in New Orleans. Candiotti and Tolle were each tagged for a career-high seven runs, while Adler gave up four (albeit just one earned). The three arms combined for just eight strikeouts in a combined 15.2 innings.
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 56-for-76 in stolen base attempts through 36 games (1.6 per game), and have improved their success rate from 63.1% to 73.7%. The Shockers have stolen 36 bases over the last 16 games, highlighted by a season-high six against Cincinnati on April 2.
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.