Courtesy of Wichita State Athletics
Houston at #20/23 Wichita State
Friday, April 14 | 6 PM
Saturday, April 15 | 2 PM
Sunday, April 16 | 12 PM
Wichita, Kan. | Wilkins Stadium
ESPN+ | StatBroadcast.com
Weekend Promotions
Friday
Fireworks Friday (Weather Permitting)
Health Care Appreciation - All healthcare workers receive FREE admission
Sunday
Wichita Eagle Family Day Ticket Bundle - Purchase 4 or more adult tickets and receive vouchers for 4 hot dogs, 4 sodas, 4 bags of popcorn for only $32.
QUICK HITS
• Wichita State is ranked in all four polls: NFCA (#20), Softball America (#20), D1 Softball (#21) and USA Softball (#23).
• Wichita State's 34-7 record is the best start through 41 games in school history.
• Wichita State is 10-0 in its last 10 games.
• Wichita State has two Top 10 wins this season - #9 Arkansas and #2 Oklahoma State.
• Wichita State's win over #2 Oklahoma State was the highest ranked win in school history.
• Wichita State hasn't committed an error in six straight games.
• Wichita State has nine shutouts through 41 games. The 2022 Shockers had five all season.
• After playing just 11 home games in 2022, Wichita State has 27 games at Wilkins Stadium in 2023.
• Wichita State received three first place votes in the AAC Preseason Poll and was picked to finish 2nd, just one point behind UCF.
• Sydney McKinney has been awarded AAC Player of the Week honors three times in 2023 (Feb. 20, April 3, April 10).
• Zoe Jones was American Player of the Week on March 27.
• Alex Aguilar is a 2-time AAC Pitcher of the Week (Mar. 20, Apr. 10).
• Lauren Howell has been named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week twice (Feb. 20, March 6).
• McKinney was named the Softball America Player of the Month for February.
• McKinney was also named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week on Feb. 21.
• McKinney leads the country in hits, batting average, runs per game, total bases and triples.
• McKinney led the nation in hits and batting average in 2022.
• McKinney is the NCAA DI active leader in hits and at bats.
• McKinney became the first Shocker with 300 career hits on Feb. 19 vs. FDU.
• McKinney is the program's all-time hits, batting average, runs and total bases leader, while also owning single season records for those categories.
• Lauren Lucas was named AAC Player of the Week on Feb. 13.
• Addison Barnard has 67 career home runs, the most all time at Wichita State and in American Athletic Conference history.
• Barnard finished the 2022 season leading the nation in home runs per game and RBI per game, and ranked second in home runs, RBI and slugging percentage.
• Barnard's 33 home runs broke her own single season record.
• Barnard became the first known player in NCAA history with 30+ home runs and 25+ stolen bases.
• Barnard is the only active DI player with 60+ HR and 50+ SB.
• Barnard ranks 2nd among NCAA DI active players in career home runs.
• McKinney and Barnard were named to the USA Softball Top 50 Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.
SERIES HISTORY VS. HOUSTON
All but two of the 15 meetings between Wichita State and Houston have come since the Shockers joined the American in 2018. Wichita State enters the matchup having won the last seven meetings, including a sweep last season in Houston. Wichita State is 11-4 all time vs. Houston and 5-2 vs. the Cougars in Wichita.
LAST MEETING WITH THE COUGARS
Wichita State swept the regular season series with Houston in 2022, defeating the Cougars in Houston by scores of 10-1 (6), 7-3 and 7-6. In the finale, Wichita State trailed by one entering the fifth inning, but the Shockers proceeded to hit back-to-back-to-back home runs off the bats of Addison Barnard, Lauren Lucas and Zoe Jones.
MCKINNEY, AGUILAR SWEEP AAC WEEKLY HONORS
Sydney McKinney and Alex Aguilar swept the American Athletic Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week honors on April 10. The nation's leading hitter, McKinney, went 9-for-13 over four games, slashing .692/.722/1.077. She was responsible for 18 runs (9 RBI, 9 runs scored) behind a triple, home run, four walks and a pair of stolen bases. Aguilar notched her second Pitcher of the Week honor after tossing 11.0 scoreless innings in two appearances over the weekend. Aguilar was 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and eight strikeouts.
TOP 10 WINS
Wichita State owns a pair of Top 10 wins in 2023 after taking down No. 2 Oklahoma State on April 4. The win over the Cowgirls marked the highest ranked win in program history, having never beaten a Top 5 team before the matchup. Wichita State's resume now includes wins over No. 2 Oklahoma State and No. 9 Arkansas (March 14), making it the first season in school history with multiple Top 10 victories. Wichita State has three Top 10 wins under head coach Kristi Bredbenner, all three coming in the last three seasons.
DON'T LET ADDIE GET HOT
One of the nation's premiere home run hitters got off to a slow start in 2023, but seems to be getting into a groove. In her first 17 games of the season, Addison Barnard had just two home runs. She has 10 in her last 20 games, including her first multi-home run game of 2023 vs. Northern Colorado. On March 17 vs. Northern Colorado, Barnard became the school's all-time home run leader with her 59th career round-tripper, passing Madison Perrigan's previous mark of 58. She also sits at the top of the list in American Athletic Conference history.
RPI - WEEK SIX
Wichita State checked in at No. 24 in the sixth RPI rankings on April 10. The Shockers have already faced 10 teams in the Top 75, including No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Stanford, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 28 Minnesota, No. 33 UCF, No. 36 Boise State, No. 39 Texas State, No. 40 Nebraska, No. 45 South Dakota State, No. 48 San Diego State, No. 57 South Florida and No. 59 Kansas. Wichita State still has games against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Oklahoma State and No. 59 Kansas.
SHOCKER SLUGGERS RETURN
Wichita State returns 100 of the 121 home runs hit from the 2022 team. Led by Addison Barnard (33), Wichita State brings back one of the nation's best offenses in 2023. Lauren Mills (16), Zoe Jones (15), Sydney McKinney (13), Lauren Lucas (10), Jessica Garcia (5), Lainee Brown (4), Bailey Urban (3) and Krystin Nelson (1) combined to hit the century mark in homers.
PITCHERS BEWARE
Wichita State obliterated the single season home run record for the second straight season in 2022. The Shockers crushed 103 in 2021, only to see the 2022 team set a new mark of 121. It only took 42 games for the 2022 team to match that number of 103. Wichita State has finished second nationally in home runs each of the last two seasons, behind only Oklahoma.
ALL HAIL THE HIT QUEEN
• Sydney McKinney is Wichita State's all-time hits leader with 354 in her career. She passed Britnee Barnett on April 29, 2022 vs. ECU with No. 251.
• McKinney is the NCAA DI active career leader in hits (354) and at bats (782). She ranks 2nd in runs scored (231), third in batting average (.453) and total bases (512) and 5th in triples (16).
• McKinney became the first Shocker with 300 career hits on Feb. 19 vs. FDU.
• McKinney's 231 career runs scored are the most in school history.
• McKinney shattered her own single season record for batting average. She set it at .439 in 2021 and hit a nation-leading .522 in 2022.
• With a career OBP of .503, McKinney currently holds the top spot in that category as well at Wichita State.
• She ranks second with 16 career triples.
• Her 42 career doubles place her in 5th on the school's all-time list.
ONE OF THREE
Wichita State is one of only three schools in the country, joining Oklahoma and Arkansas, to return multiple NFCA All-Americans from a season ago. The Shockers of course bring back NFCA Second Team All-Americans Addison Barnard and Sydney McKinney.
THE AMERICAN STANDARD
Since Wichita State entered the American Athletic Conference in 2018, the Shockers have been the league's top offensive team in the league. Not counting the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, Wichita State has led the American in batting average (2021, 2022), slugging percentage (2018-22), on base percentage (2019-22), runs (2019-22), hits (2022), RBI (2019-22), doubles (2018, 2021-22), home runs (2018-22), total bases (2018-22) and walks (2019, 2021).
HOME SWEET HOME
Just a season ago Wichita State took on the role of road warrior. The Shockers have 27 home games at Wilkins Stadium compared to only 11 in 2022. During the month of March Wichita State only leaves Wichita once. Seventeen of those 27 home games take place in the month of March, including matchups against 2022 NCAA Regional teams: Stanford, Nebraska, Missouri State, Arkansas, Minnesota and South Florida.
IN THE AMERICAN RECORD BOOKS
Wichita State is well-represented in the American Athletic Conference record books. Currently Sydney McKinney holds the single-season record for batting average, hits, on base percentage and runs. Addison Barnard is the single-season record holder for home runs, RBI, slugging percentage and total bases. On the career charts, McKinney already enters her final season holding the top spot in batting average, on base percentage, runs, total bases and hits. Barnard is the all-time home run leader and needs 27 RBI to surpass Wichita State's own Madison Perrigan for the most all-time in American history.
UP NEXT
Wichita State and Oklahoma State meet in Stillwater for Round 2 on Tuesday, April 18 at 6 p.m.