WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State hosts Illinois State for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series, April 28-29, at Eck Stadium. Friday's doubleheader gets started at 2 p.m.
 

WICHITA STATE BASEBALL

Wichita, Kan.

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GAME 41

Wichita State (18-22, 3-6 MVC)   Illinois State (11-28, 1-8 MVC)

Friday, April 28

2 P.M. CDT

COX Channel Kansas (2022 HD)

WatchESPN (Subject to Blackout)

KNSS 1330 AM/98.7 FM

Listen

Live Stats

GAME 42

Wichita State (18-22, 3-6 MVC)   Illinois State (11-28, 1-8 MVC)

Friday, April 28

5:30 P.M. CDT

COX Channel Kansas (2022 HD)

WatchESPN (Subject to Blackout)

KNSS 1330 AM/98.7 FM

Listen

Live Stats

GAME 43

Wichita State (18-22, 3-6 MVC)   Illinois State (11-28, 1-8 MVC)

Saturday, April 29

2 P.M. CDT

The Valley on ESPN3

WatchESPN

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. Both of Friday's games will also be televised on COX Channel Kansas with Shane Dennis and Nate Robertson, while Saturday's game will be on ESPN3.
• Wichita State leads the overall series with Illinois State 93-28. The Shockers also lead the series in Wichita 53-12.
• WSU is 139th in the April 27 NCAA RPI, while Illinois State is 273rd. The Shockers are 1-13 against the top-50 and 2-15 against the top-100.
• Alec Bohm is currently on a career-best 13-game hitting streak.
• Junior pitcher Ben Hecht played for the Redbirds in 2014.
• WSU turned a triple play against Valpo on April 2. It was the first one since 2002.
• Willie Schwanke had his first at bat of the season on April 5 against Oklahoma State and his first since March 10, 2015.
• WSU is 15-6 this season at home.
• In those 21 home games, WSU is hitting .284 with a 2.79 ERA and .977 fielding percentage.
• At home this season, Willie Schwanke is hitting .389, Jordan Boyer is hitting .352, Greyson Jenista is hitting .351, Noah Croft is hitting .321, Alex Jackson is hitting .317, and Trey Vickers is hitting .300.
• WSU is 3-7 in the last 10 games.
• In those 10 games, WSU is hitting .292 with a 7.24 ERA and .961 fielding percentage.
• In the last 10 games, Alec Bohm is hitting .442, Alex Jackson is hitting .381, Trey Vickers is hitting .375, Noah Croft is hitting .323 and Greyson Jenista is hitting .308.
• The Shockers are just one of eight teams (Alabama, George Washington, College of Charleston, UNC Asheville, Cincinnati, St. John's, Boston College) to turn a triple play this season.
• WSU collected a season-high 16 strikeouts on March 22 against Sacramento State. It was the most by the pitching staff since 2009.
• 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 12 more appearances to move into a tie for fifth in the Shocker record book for career appearances.
• Four Shockers have double-digit errorless streaks including Travis Young at 71, Alex Jackson at 30, Gunnar Troutwine at 27, and Jacob Katzfey at 16.
• 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 is 658-280 overall in the month of April.
• Since 1978, the Shockers are 22-9 on April 28, 22-9 on April 29 and 22-10 on April 30.
• 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.
• The Shocks 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 Illinois State
The Redbirds are 11-28 overall and 1-8 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Wins this season have come against Indiana State, Youngstown State, Western Kentucky twice, Tennessee Tech, Xavier, Saint Louis, Dayton twice, Illinois Wesleyan and Bradley. Losses have come against Austin Peay, Memphis three times, Miami (Ohio) three times, Western Kentucky, Tennessee Tech, Lipscomb three times, Illinois twice, Xavier twice, Dallas Baptist three times, Valparaiso, Dayton, Evansville three times, Notre Dame, Bradley twice and Western Illinois. As a team, ILS is hitting .258 with 5.98 ERA and .967 fielding percentage. They are led offensively by Owen Miller who is hitting .329 with 14 doubles, three tri8ples, five home runs and 34 RBI. The Redbirds are led by head coach Bo Durkac.

Series History vs. the Redbirds
Wichita State leads the overall series with Illinois State, 93-28. The Shockers also lead the series in Wichita, 53-12.

Last Meeting vs. ILS
The last meeting between the two teams was a three-game series, May 13-15, 2016, in Normal, Ill. The Redibrds won the first game 6-4, the Shockers took game two 15-12 and ILS took game three 8-6. Travis Young went 4-for-9 in the series with a home run and six RBI. Cody Tyler and Codi Heuer each took a loss, while Tyler Jones earned the win.
 
Bohm's Streak
Sophomore third baseman Alec Bohm had a hit on Wednesday at Creighton to push his hitting streak to a career-best 13 games. During the streak, he is 23-for-55 (.418) with nine runs, three doubles, one triple, four home runs, 16 RBI, five walks and two stolen bases.

Shutout of the Jayhawks
Wichita State beat in-state rival Kansas 8-0 on Wednesday night in Wichita. It was the first shutout of the Jayhawks by WSU since April 5, 2006 in Wichita. In that game, the Shockers won 4-0.

Home Run for Schwanke
Senior designated hitter Willie Schwanke hit his first home run of the season on Saturday at Missouri State. It was his first home run as a Shocker and the second of his career. He had 118 at bats between his two home runs and a little more than four years and two months. He hit his other home run on Feb. 19, 2013 against New Orleans when he was a freshman at Arkansas.

Back-to-Back
Wichita State hit back-to-back home runs in the April 15 game at Bradley. It was the first time the Shockers went back-to-back since April 17, 2015 at Bradley when Ryan Tinkham and Sam Hilliard did it. This time around, it was Dayton Dugas and Noah Croft.
 
Croft's Big Day
Redshirt freshman catcher Noah Croft hit the first home run of his career in the second inning at Bradley on April 15. He finished the game with another home run in the seventh inning, a three-run shot that tied the game. He ended up going 3-for-4 in the game with a career-high five RBI and a double.

Triple Play
In the ninth inning of the April 2 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 the March 31 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 April 2 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.
 
Lewis Sets Career-High
Senior pitcher Zach Lewis put together a career performance on March 25 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 season-high 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 Arkansas-Pine 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.
 
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 Fri., April 28, all alumni that are present will be introduced on the field in between the doubleheader.
On Sat., April 29, there will be a College World Series pennant giveaway to the first 2,000 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.