WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State takes to the road this weekend for its first Missouri Valley Conference road series of 2017 when the Shockers visit Peoria, Ill., and the Bradley Braves.
 

WICHITA STATE BASEBALL

Peoria, Ill.

Dozer Park

Game Notes

GAME 33

Wichita State (16-16, 2-1 MVC)   at Bradley (13-17, 0-3 MVC)

Friday, April 14

6 P.M. CDT

The Valley on ESPN3

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KNSS 1330 AM/98.7 FM

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Live Stats

GAME 34

Wichita State (16-16, 2-1 MVC)   at Bradley (13-17, 0-3 MVC)

Saturday, April 15

2 P.M. CDT

The Valley on ESPN3

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KNSS 1330 AM/98.7 FM

Listen

Live Stats

GAME 35

Wichita State (16-16, 2-1 MVC)   at Bradley (13-17, 0-3 MVC)

Sunday, April 16

1 P.M. CDT

The Valley on ESPN3

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KNSS 1330 AM/98.7 FM

Listen

Live Stats

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Quick Hits
• All three games will be broadcast on KNSS 1330 AM and on goshockers.com with Mike Kennedy and Shane Dennis calling the action. The games will also be televised on The Valley on ESPN3.
• Wichita State leads the overall series with Bradley, 93-28 The Shockers also lead the series in in Peoria, 33-17.
• WSU is 135th in the April 13 NCAA RPI, while Bradley is 71st. The Shockers are 1-6 against the top-50 and 1-12 against the top-100.
• WSU turned a triple play against Valpo on April 2. It was the first one since 2002.
• Senior utility player Willie Schwanke will celebrate his 23rd birthday on April 7.
• Schwanke had his first at bat of the season on April 5 against Oklahoma State and his first since March 10, 2015.
• WSU is 2-10 this season on the road.
• In those 12 road games, WSU is hitting .204 with a 6.49 ERA and .971 fielding percentage.
• On the road this season, Alec Bohm is hitting .267, Alex Jackson is hitting .258 and Luke Ritter is hitting .241.
• WSU is 5-5 in the last 10 games.
• In those 10 games, WSU is hitting .265 with a 3.62 ERA and .976 fielding percentage.
• In the last 10 games, Alex Jackson is hitting .375, Trey Vickers is hitting .333, Travis Young is hitting .320, Willie Schwanke is hitting .278, Jordan Boyer is hitting .276, Alec Bohm is hitting .270 and Greyson Jenista is hitting .265.
• The Shockers are just one of seven teams (Alabama, George Washington, College of Charleston, UNC Asheville, Cincinnati, St. John's) to turn a triple play this season.
• WSU collected back-to-back shutouts on Feb. 25 of Grand Canyon. The last time WSU had two-straight was in 2013.
• WSU had a scoreless innings streak of 24.1 from Feb. 19-26. The streak ranks as the eighth longest in WSU history.
• Senior pitcher Reagan Biechler needs 17 more appearances to move into a tie for fifth in the Shocker record book for career appearances.
• WSU collected back-to-back shutouts on Feb. 25 of Grand Canyon. The last time WSU had two-straight was in 2013.
• WSU had a scoreless innings streak of 24.1 from Feb. 19-26. The streak ranks as the eighth longest in WSU history.
• Senior pitcher Reagan Biechler needs four more appearances to move into a tie for 24th in the Shocker record book for career appearances.
• Six Shockers have double-digit errorless streaks including Travis Young at 65, Gunnar Troutwine at 25, Alex Jackson at 22, Noah Croft and Greyson Jenista at 20 and Jacob Katzfey at 13.
• WSU struck out seven-straight batters in the season opener against Utah Valley. It was the first time with six or more consecutive strikeouts since 2010.
• WSU plays 24 games in 2017 against teams that were in the top-100 in the RPI in 2016. Fifteen of those are games against teams in the top-50.
• WSU is 656-274 overall in the month of April.
• Since 1978, the Shockers are 19-10 on April 14, 19-10 on April 15 and 22-9 on April 16.
• The Shockers were picked tied for fourth in the MVC Preseason Poll.
• Sophomore designated hitter Alec Bohm and sophomore utility player Luke Ritter were named to the preseason all-Valley team.
• In 2016, Greyson Jenista was the first freshman to lead the Shockers in hitting since Pat Magness in 1997 and was just the fifth freshman overall.
• The Shockers welcome 13 newcomers in 2017.
• WSU returns seven starters and 15 letterwinners from the 2016 team.
• The Shocker pitching staff returns four starters including Willie Schwanke, Cody Tyler, Zach Lewis and Connor Lungwitz.
• Last season, Travis Young tied the freshman record for sacrifice hits in a season with seven and it was also the 12th most in the single season record books.
• Last season, Gunnar Troutwine had the fifth most assists by a catcher with 59.
• Head Coach Todd Butler is in his fourth season as coach of the Shockers.
• Assistant Coach Brian Walker is the third base coach and Volunteer Assistant Coach Codey McElroy is the first base coach.

Scouting Bradley
The Braves are 13-17 overall and 0-3 in the Missouri Valley Conferences. Wins this season have come against A&M-Corpus Christi twice, Tennessee Tech, Mercer, Cornell, North Florida, RMU-Peoria, RMU-Springfield, Eureka College, Illinois, Milwaukee twice and SIUE. Losses have come against A&M-Corpus Christi, Tennessee Tech twice, Sam Houston State three times, Mercer twice, UCF, North Florida twice, Iowa, Missouri State three times, Milwaukee and Northwestern. As a team, they are hitting .267 with a 6.93 ERA and .965 fielding percentage. They are led offensively by Luke Mangieri who is hitting .322 with eight doubles, two triples, one home run and 24 RBI. The Braves are led by head coach Elvis Dominguez.

Series History vs. the Braves
Wichita State leads the overall series with Bradley 93-28. The Shockers also lead the series in Peoria, Ill., 33-17. The Shockers last won a series in Peoria in 2013.

Last Meeting vs. BU
The last meeting between the two teams was May 25, 2016, in Terre Haute, Ind., in the MVC Tournament. The Braves won the game 5-2. Alec Bohm went 1-for-4 with two RBI and a home run. Starter Zach Lewis took the loss.

Schwanke's New Role
Senior utility player Willie Schwanke appeared in the Shocker lineup for the first time this season on April 5 against Oklahoma State. He was the starting designated hitter in all four games last week and went 5-for-14 (.357) with three runs, a RBI and four walks. He last had an at bat on March 10, 2015 against Central Arkansas. His career-best four-game hitting streak was snapped on Tuesday at Kansas.

Lewis' Streak
Senior pitcher Zach Lewis has made four straight quality starts for the Shockers. In his last four starts, he has pitched 28 innings and is 2-1 with a 0.96 ERA. He has allowed just three runs on 16 hits with seven walks and 24 strikeouts. He currently has a 16.1 scoreless innings streak.

Bats Ready for MVC Play
The Shocker bats came alive in the three-game series against Southern Illinois. In the three games, the Shockers hit .343 and averaged 10.7 runs per game. Trey Vickers and Alec Bohm hit .462, while Willie Schwanke and Noah Croft hit .400, Greyson Jenista hit .364, Alex Jackson and Travis Young hit .333 and Dayton Dugas hit .300.

Triple Play
In the ninth inning of Sunday's game against Valparaiso with runners on first and second, the Shockers turned a 5-6-3 triple play to keep the game tied. It was the first triple play turned by the Shockers since April 16, 2002 against Kansas.

Walk-Offs for Young
Sophomore outfielder Travis Young collected the first walk-off hit of the season for the Shockers in Friday's 4-3 win over Valparaiso. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, he singled to left field to drive in Alex Jackson for the game-winning run. He followed that up with another walk-off on Sunday in another 4-3 win. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, he singled to right field to drive in Noah Croft for the game-winning run. They were the first two walk-off hits of his career.

Legends Weekend Scheduled for April 28-29
The Wichita State baseball program will be hosting Legends Weekend April 28-29 vs. Illinois State.

All Shocker Baseball alumni will be celebrated, honored and recognized at the first Legends Weekend.

On Friday, April 28, all alumni that are present will be introduced on the field before the game. On Saturday, April 29, there will be a College World Series pennant giveaway to the first 1,500 fans in attendance. Fans will also be able to take their photo for the first time with the 1989
National Championship trophy. There will also be postgame autographs on Saturday with all Shocker legends and alumni in attendance.

Memorable Shocker Baseball moments will be highlighted on the video board all weekend long.

Lewis Sets Career-High
Senior pitcher Zach Lewis put together a career performance on Saturday against No. 3 Texas Tech. He tied his career-best with seven innings pitched and struck out a career-high 10 in the game.

Season-High K's
The Shocker pitching staff collected a seasonhigh 16 strikeouts on March 22 against Sacramento State. It was the most strikeouts by the WSU pitching staff since March 18, 2009 when the Shockers struck out 16 against ArkansasPine Bluff. Boyer's Grand Slam Sophomore infielder Jordan Boyer hit his first career home run on March 15 against Northern Colorado. The home run was a grand slam, which was the Shockers first of the season. 

Boyer's Grand Slam
Sophomore infielder Jordan Boyer hit his first career home run on March 15 against Northern Colorado. The home run was a grand slam, which was the Shockers first of the season.

Home Winning Streak
Wichita State has won 10-straight home games, dating back to last season. It is the longest home winning streak since 2015 when WSU won 10-straight from April 24-May 20. The Shockers current streak is tied for the sixthlongest in the nation.

Win in Norman
Wichita State collected a 4-2 win at No. 13 Oklahoma on March 7. It was the Shockers first win over a ranked team this season and snapped the Sooners nation-leading 12-game winning streak. It was just the third time in school history that the Shockers defeated Oklahoma in Norman. The other two times were 1992 and 2006.

Four-Headed Monster
Shocker pitchers Adam Keller, Reagan Biechler, Landon Holifield and Ben Hecht each made two appearances for Wichita State last week. The four of them combined to throw nine shutout innings in the four games, all against ranked teams. They allowed just two singles and struck out 13 in those nine innings.

Freshman Firsts
Two Shocker freshmen earned firsts last week. Freshman pitcher Tommy Barnhouse earned his first career win on March 7 at No. 13 Oklahoma. He pitched two innings in relief and allowed
one unearned run with three strikeouts. Freshman outfielder Jacob Katzfey collected his first career-hit on March 11 at No. 6 LSU.

Combined Shutout
Wichita State collected its third shutout of the year on March 1 against Omaha. The Shockers used 10 pitchers to combine on the three-hit shutout. The 10 pitchers who combined on the shutout were juniors Chandler Sanburn, Tyler Jones and Adam Keller, sophomores Codi Heuer, Matt Whalen, Connor Lungwitz and Robby Evans and freshmen Keylan Killgore, Tommy Barnhouse and Preston Snavely.

K's for Days
The Shockers pitching staff collected 15 strikeouts in the 4-0 win over Grand Canyon on Feb. 25. It was the first time the Shockers had 15 or more strikeouts in a game since March 12, 2013 against North Dakota.

Back-to-Back Shutouts
On Feb. 25, the Shockers had back-to-back shutouts of Grand Canyon by scores of 1-0 and 4-0. It was the first time the Shockers had back-to-back shutouts since 2013 when they beat Southern Illinois (15-0) and Indiana State (5-0) in the MVC Tournament. The 1-0 win in game one against GCU was the first 1-0 win for the Shockers since beating Bradley 1-0 in 10 innings on May 12, 2012.
 
Undefeated Start
Wichita State is off to a 7-0 start this season after three-game sweeps of Utah Valley and Grand Canyon and a win over Omaha. It is the best start by a Shocker team since 2011 when they also started 7-0.
 
Sweeps
The Shockers collected back-to-back three-game sweeps over Utah Valley and Grand Canyon. It is the first time the Shockers have done that since sweeping Niagara and North Dakota in February of 2011.
 
Bombs for Bohm
Sophomore third baseman Alec Bohm collected his first multi-home run game of his career in the 5-3 win over Grand Canyon on Feb. 26. He went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs and two home runs. It is the first multi-home run game by a Shocker since Ryan Tinkham hit two against Kansas State on  April 14, 2015.

Seven-Straight K's
In the season opener against Utah Valley on Feb. 17, the Shocker bullpen struck out seven-straight batters. Landon Holifield struck out the first three, Ben Hecht struck out the next three and Reagan Biechler struck out the seventh. It was the first time the Shocker pitching staff struck out six or more consecutive batters since May 14, 2010 when they struck out six-straight against Missouri State.

Newcomers Make Debut
Nine Shocker newcomers made their debut against Utah Valley. Position players Noah Croft, Sam Goodwin, Jacob Katzfey and Bryant Klusener along with pitchers Adam Keller, Landon Holifield, Ben Hecht, Tommy Barnhouse and Preston Snavely all played for the Shockers in the season opening three-game sweep of Utah Valley. Freshman infielder Alex Jackson made his debut the following weekend against Grand Canyon and redshirt sophomore pitcher Matt Whalen and redshirt freshman pitcher Keylan Killgore made their debut against Omaha.