Courtesy of Wichita State Athletics
#22 Wichita State at Memphis
Thursday, April 6 | 6 PM
Friday, April 7 | 2 PM
Saturday, April 8 | 12 PM
Memphis, Tenn. | Tigers Softball Complex
ESPN+ (Friday and Saturday) | StatBroadcast.com
QUICK HITS
• Wichita State is ranked in all four polls: NFCA (#22), D1 Softball (#23), Softball America (#23) and USA Softball (#25).
• Wichita State's 31-7 record is the best 38-game start since 2021 when the Shockers started 32-5-1, which was the best in school history.
• Wichita State is 9-1 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 has eight shutouts through 37 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 twice in 2023 (April 3 & Feb. 20).
• Zoe Jones was American Player of the Week on March 27.
• Alex Aguilar recorded her first career weekly honor on March 20 as the American Pitcher of the Week.
• 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 and batting average.
• 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 leads the nation in doubles.
• Lucas was named AAC Player of the Week on Feb. 13.
• Addison Barnard has 65 career home runs, the most all time on the Wichita State home run list.
• 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 ranks 4th 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. MEMPHIS
Fourteen of the 16 meetings between Wichita State and Memphis have come since the Shockers joined the American Athletic Conference in 2018. Wichita State has won 13 of the 16 meetings all time, including the last 11 in a row. Wichita State is 8-1 against the Tigers in Memphis.
LAST MEETING WITH THE TIGERS
Wichita State swept the regular season series with Memphis in 2022, and then eliminated the TIgers from the American Athletic Conference Championship in the quarterfinals. The Shockers needed only 5.0 innings to put up 22 runs in a 22-0 run-rule. Addison Barnard and Lauren Mills homered twice apiece and combined for 13 RBI. Mills hit two grand slams, finishing with a career-high eight RBI. Erin McDonald tossed 3.0 innings to record the win, while Caitlin Bingham and Kenzie Schopfer threw an inning each.
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.
MCKINNEY RACKS UP SECOND PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Sydney McKinney was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week for a second time this season on April 3. The Norborne, Mo., native hit .571 in four games, racking up a home run, two doubles, four RBI and nine runs scored. McKinney had back-to-back games with three hits, and recorded her first career grand slam in Wichita State's 14-0 win vs. South Florida on Saturday.
JONES COLLECTS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS AFTER BIG WEEKEND
Zoe Jones picked up her first career Player of the Week honors on March 27. Jones was 6-for-11 at the plate in Orlando vs. UCF, including a double, two home runs, five runs scored and seven RBI. She smashed her first career grand slam in the finale on Sunday.
AAC NAMES AGUILAR PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Alex Aguilar was named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week on March 20, her first career accolade. Aguilar appeared in two games, making one start and didn't allow an earned run in 9.0 innings. Opponents recorded just three hits against her and struck out seven times. She threw 3.0 innings of hitless, shutout relief against Northern Colorado on March 17 to go with five strikeouts. In the start against the Bears on Sunday, Aguilar threw a complete game and surrendered just one unearned run on three hits.
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 eight in her last 17 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.
HIT STREAK
Sydney McKinney saw her incredible hit streak come to an end on March 4 vs. Bradley. McKinney hit safely in 34 straight games after finishing the 2022 season with hits in her final 18 games. The streak started on April 14, 2022 at Houston. The 34-game hit streak is the 6th longest in NCAA history. McKinney became just the 11th player ever to record a hit in 30 straight games.
No.Player, TeamDates43Sara Graziano, Coastal CarolinaApril 8, 1993-March 24, 199442Cathy Frohnheiser, FurmanMarch 4-April 17, 199336Stephanie Tofft, NIUMarch 4-May 1, 201135Kelly Kretschman, AlabamaFeb. 27-April 4, 199835Robyn Yorke, Fresno StateFeb. 12-April 1, 199534Sydney McKinney, Wichita StateApril 14, 2022-March 4, 2023
RPI - WEEK FIVE
Wichita State checked in at No. 21 in the fifth RPI rankings on April 3. The Shockers have already faced 12 teams in the Top 75, including No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Stanford, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 34 Minnesota, No. 35 UCF, No. 39 Boise State, No. 40 San Diego State, No. 41 Texas State, No. 42 Nebraska, No. 54 South Dakota State, No. 57 South Florida and No. 68 Kansas. Wichita State still has games against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 68 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 347 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 (347) and at bat (773). She ranks 2nd in batting average (.449), runs scored (223), 3rd in total bases (500) and 5th in triples (15).
• McKinney became the first Shocker with 300 career hits on Feb. 19 vs. FDU.
• McKinney's 223 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 .498, McKinney currently holds the top spot in that category as well at Wichita State.
• She ranks second with 15 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 hosts Houston for a three-game series at Wilkins Stadium, April 14-16.