By: Wichita State
Box Score OMAHA, Neb. - Wichita State (39-25) scored seven runs in the
first two innings and two pitchers combined on a four hit shutout as the
Shockers cruised to a 9-0 win Friday afternoon over Indiana State (29-28) to
advance to the 2011 State Farm Missouri Valley Championship game.
Zach Beringer started for WSU and tossed six innings and
allowed one hit with three strikeouts to improve his record to 3-3. Albert Minnis relieved Beringer and
went three innings and allowed three hits and struck out five. ISU starter Kurt Kudrecki recorded no
outs and took the loss for the Sycamores to fall to 1-2 on the season. Kudrecki allowed two runs on three hits
and walked one batter.
Number-two seeded Wichita State will face the winner of
tonight's game of number-one seeded Creighton versus number-four seeded
Missouri State. The title game
will be played on Saturday night at 7 p.m. and will be show live on Fox
Sports. Saturday will be the 25th
time in school history that WSU has played in the MVC championship game and the
Shockers will be going for their 18th MVC tournament championship in
school history.
The Shockers bats wasted no time getting on the scoreboard
on Friday afternoon. Tyler Grimes
led off the game with a single and stole second base and Kevin Hall walked to
bring up Chris O'Brien. O'Brien
doubled off the right field wall to extend his career-best hitting streak to 28
games and score Grimes to give the Shockers a 1-0 lead.
Brett Merkley replaced Kudrecki out of the Sycamores bullpen
and he got Preston Springer to pop up to the shortstop. An RBI single by Johnny Coy plated Hall
and Don Lambert followed with an RBI single to plate Coy and give the Shocks a
3-0 lead. Freshman third baseman
Dayne Parker gave the Shockers a 4-0 lead with a double.
Wichita State tacked three runs on the board in the second
inning, the last on a Coy RBI single and Walker Davidson drove home the last
Shockers run in the seventh inning with an RBI single to score Micah Green.
O'Brien finished 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and
two RBI, while Coy was 2-for-4 with one run scored and two RBI. Lambert was 3-for-5 at the plate with
one RBI and one run scored.
During the regular season the Shockers dropped two out of
three to Missouri State in Springfield and won two out of three against
Creighton in Wichita.
Wichita State lost to Illinois State, 17-8 in the 2010 MVC tournament
title game. The Shockers last MVC
tournament title was in 2009 when they defeated Creighton 4-0.
-WICHITA STATE-
