Courtesy of Wichita State Athletics
WICHITA, Kan. -- Payton Tolle allowed just one run on five hits over seven excellent innings, and the Wichita State offense roughed up Memphis ace Dalton Fowler in an 8-1 win on Saturday afternoon at Eck Stadium.
The Shockers (26-16, 10-4) have now won seven consecutive conference games and have moved into sole possession of first place in the American Athletic Conference standings.
Tolle (8-1) put together yet another quality start, striking out nine while issuing just one walk. He allowed a run on three hits in the second inning, but bounced back with five scoreless frames while the Shocker offense took control. Trailing 1-0 into the third, Wichita State struck for a pair of runs to take a lead they did not relinquish. Jack Little continued his recent hot stretch with an RBI single, and Chuck Ingram gave WSU the lead with a fielder's choice ground out to third.
Kyte McDonald added another run in the fourth with an RBI double, one of three doubles on the day for McDonald to establish a new individual single-game high for the Shockers in 2023. The two-out, two-bagger scored David Herring all the way from first for a 4-1 advantage.
Wichita State got a gift run in the fifth with Memphis second baseman Austin Baskin dropped a high pop up from Garrett Pennington, allowing Ingram to score and increase the lead to 5-1.
The Shockers continued to tack on in the seventh with three runs, highlighted by run-scoring singles from Brock Rodden and Sawyre Thornhill. Little produced the final run of the afternoon in the eighth with a sacrifice fly.
Seven of the eight runs were charged to Fowler (5-4), who had not allowed more than five hits in any start this season before the Shockers touched him up for seven. The southpaw entered the start sixth nationally with 84 strikeouts, but punched out a season-low four over 6.1 innings.
Nate Snead closed out the victory for the Shockers with two scoreless innings in relief, striking out two.
Wichita State and Memphis conclude the series on Sunday afternoon. First pitch from Eck Stadium is scheduled for 12:00 pm.