Courtesy of Wichita State Athletics
WICHITA, Kan. — Addison Barnard homered for the first of three times in the first inning and No. 4 seed Wichita State never looked back in a 13-0 rout of No. 9 UTSA in the opening round of the American Athletic Conference Championship Wednesday night at Wilkins Stadium.
Wichita State (26-21) advances to Thursday's second round where they will face No. 5 seed Tulsa at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
The Shockers homered four times, three of those belonging to Barnard, in front of their home crowd. Wichita State finished the night with 10 hits, seven of those being extra base hits. Barnard's big bat supplied the most damage, going 4-for-4 with a double, three home runs and five RBI. Her four hits and three home runs both tied career highs, bringing her season home run total to 21 and career total to 90. She has now had 20 or more home runs in three of her four seasons at Wichita State. Her 90 career homers move her into a tie for 8th on the NCAA all-time home run list.
Barnard set American Athletic Conference Championship records in home runs and total bases (14).
Lainee Brown was a perfect 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Her three hits and three RBI tied career highs. Taylor Sedlacek scored three times to go with a three-run home run, moving her season total to 14. Sami Hood had a pair of hits, including a double. CC Wong was held hitless, but scored three times thanks to three walks.
Lauren Howell got the start, but never looked completely comfortable. She went just 1.2 innings, allowing one hit and two walks, while striking out a pair. Alison Cooper (6-8) came in with the bases loaded in the second inning and promptly got the Shockers out of the jam with a strikeout. She struck out three in 3.1 innings of relief, allowing just one hit and one walk.
Two batters into the bottom of the first, UTSA got a taste of how the night was going to go. After Wong walked, Barnard unloaded a mammoth two-run home run into the wind. After a pair of UTSA errors and a wild pitch moved two more into scoring position, Brown dropped down a perfect bunt, allowing Sedlacek to slide in before the tag to make it 3-0.
The bottom of the second started the exact same way as the first. Wong drew a leadoff walk, setting the stage for Barnard. On the 11th pitch of the at bat, Barnard drilled a full count pitch over the wall in left-center to make it 5-0. Following a Sedlacek walk and Hood ground-rule double, Brown added a double of her own to drive in two more. Another UTSA error made it a five-run inning and the lead, 8-0.
In the third, Barnard followed up yet another Wong walk with a lousy double (sarcasm), paving the way for a Sedlacek three-run blast. Singles from Hood and Brown and a Caroline Tallent hit by pitch loaded the bases for Jessica Garcia. A deep drive to left would stay in the yard, but plenty deep enough for a sac fly to put the Shockers up 12-0.
The icing on the cake came in the bottom of the fourth with you know who coming to the plate for a fourth time. She promptly sent the first pitch she saw on a missile to center, again clearing the wall easily to cap off her three home run night.