March 29-30 - Wichita State (14-11, 0-0) vs. Illinois State (11-11, 0-0), 6:30, 1, 4 p.m.

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Date: March 29-30
First Pitch: 6:30, 2, 5 p.m. CST
Location: Wichita, Kan.
Stadium: Eck Stadium
Radio: KNSS 1330 AM
Talent: Shane Dennis
Series: WSU leads 90-20

Probable Pitching Matchups
 
March 29 — Cale Elam (RHP, 2-1, 2.70) vs. Chris Razo (RHP, 1-0, 2.03)
March 30 (1) — Kris Gardner (LHP, 1-3, 4.71) vs. Dan Savas (RHP, 2-0, 2.78) or Brad Sorkin (RHP, 4-2, 3.15)
March 30 (2) — A.J. Ladwig (RHP, 2-2, 4.66) vs. Savas or Sorkin

Quick Hits
• All three games are scheduled to be on 1330 KNSS AM. They will also be on www.shockerradio.com.
• Wichita State leads the series with Illinois State, 90-20.
• Casey Gillaspie is sixth nationally in walks and ninth in home runs.
• WSU is 14th nationally in fielding percentage.
• Johnny Coy is currently on an eight-game hitting streak. During the streak, he is hitting .379 with two doubles, one home run and five RBI.
• Casey Gillaspie is currently on a six-game hitting streak.
• Three Shocker pitchers combined for a one-hitter on March 26 against Air Force.
• Gene Stephenson has used the same lineup just twice this season. He used the same one for Nebraska-Omaha and game one against UTPA. He also used the same one for game two against North Dakota and game two against Long Beach State.
• Erik Harbutz leads the Shocks with nine multiple-hit games, while Casey Gillaspie leads the team with six multiple-RBI games.
• Head Coach Gene Stephenson won his 1,800th career game on Feb. 28 at Arkansas-Little Rock.
• Johnny Coy is one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award.
• The Shockers are 69-3 all-time at home (Eck and Lawrence-Dumont) in the month of February.
• WSU is 135-37 all-time overall in the month of February.
• The Shocks were picked second in the MVC Preseason Poll.
• Senior Johnny Coy was named to the preseason all-Valley team at first base.
• WSU tied a school record with a .974 fielding percentage in 2012.  The entire infield returns for 2013.
• The Shocks set the school record for fewest errors in a season with 62 in 2012.
• WSU returns six starters and 20 letterwinners from the 2012 team.
• The Shocker pitching staff returns three starting pitchers including Kris Gardner, A.J. Ladwig and Tobin Mateychick.
• WSU has ranked in the top 20 in attendance since 1999.

Scouting Illinois State
Illinois State is 11-11 overall this season and coming off of  a series loss to Eastern Illinois over the weekend. Wins this season have come against Memphis twice, Belmont, LIU Brooklyn, Fairfield, Miami, Bowling Green three times, SIUE and Eastern Illinois. Losses have come against Memphis, Austin Peay three times, Belmont twice, Miami (Ohio), Miami, Bowling Green and Eastern Illinois twice. As a team, the Redbirds are hitting .280 with a team ERA of 3.90. Eric Aguilera leads ILS offensively as he is hitting .396 with eight doubles and 22 RBI. The Redbirds are led by fourth-year head coach Mark Kingston.

Series History vs. the Redbirds
Wichita State leads the overall series with Illinois State, 90-20. The Shockers also lead the series in Wichita, 52-8.  WSU has won six of the last 10 meetings overall.  Illinois State has won just two series against the Shockers, in 1984 and 2006, both in Normal.  The two teams have also split three series, in 1986, 1988 and 1989.

Last Meeting vs. ILS
The two teams last met in a three-game series in Normal, April 6-8, 2012. The Shockers won game one 4-2 and game three 8-6, while the Redbirds won game two 6-5. Casey Gillaspie went 6-for-12 with a double, a home run and four RBI in the series. Cale Elam earned a win, a loss and a save, while Josh Smith also earned a win.

Schedule Changes for This Weekend
Wichita State has announced changes to the baseball schedule for this weekend against Illinois State.
The two teams will play the opener on Fri., March 29 at 6:30 p.m. and then play a doubleheader at 2 p.m. on Sat., March 30. There will be no game on Sun., March 31.
The changes were made due to a death in the family of the Redbird baseball coaching staff.

Opening Weekend of Valley Play
The Shockers open Valley play this weekend with Illinois State.  Wichita State head coach Gene Stephenson is 88-26 during his team's first series of Valley play.  In his 35 seasons, he has lost just six Valley opening series and has also split three.  The Shockers went 0-2 against Illinois State in 1984, 1-3 against Bradley in both 1986 and 1987, 1-2 against Evansville in 2005, 1-2 against Southern Illinois in 2006 and 1-2 against Missouri State in 2011.  WSU split with Indiana State (2-2) in both 1988 and 1989 and split with Missouri State (1-1) in 1991. The Shockers have met Illinois State for their first Valley series six times. The Shocks went 0-2 against the Redbirds in Normal in 1984, 4-0 in Wichita in 1985, 3-1 in Normal in 1990, 3-0 in Normal in 1996, 4-0 in Wichita in 2003, and 3-0 in Normal in 2008.

Coy On a Streak
Senior Johnny Coy is currently on an eight-game hitting streak.  During the streak, he is 11-for-29 (.379) with two doubles, one home run, five RBI and four walks.

One-Hitter
Three Wichita State pitchers combined on a one-hitter on March 26 against Air Force. A.J. Ladwig, Brandon Peterson and Albert Minnis combined to one-hit the Falcons. The last one-hitter by the Shockers was Feb. 25, 2011 against North Dakota.

Elam With a Career-Best
Junior right-hander Cale Elam earned the win in game three at Hawaii. He pitched a career-high eight innings to pick up his second win of the season. He allowed two runs on four hits against the Rainbows. After allowing two runs in the first inning, Elam allowed just two base hits in his final seven innings of work.