March 18-19 - Wichita State (11-6) at Arizona State (9-8) - 8:30, 8:30 p.m. (Central)

Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes

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Date: March 18-19
First Pitch: 8:30, 8:30 p.m. CST
Location: Tempe, Ariz.
Stadium: Packard Stadium
Radio: KNSS 1330 AM
Talent: Shane Dennis
Series: Arizona State leads 15-7

Probable Pitching Matchups
March 18 — Kris Gardner (LHP, 1-0, 5.06) vs. Seth Martinez (RHP, 0-0, 0.00)
March 19 — Garrett Brummett (RHP, 1-0, 6.00) vs. Zak Miller (RHP, 1-0, 9.35)

Quick Hits
• Both games against Arizona State will be broadcast on KNSS 1330 AM.  The games will also be on www.shockerradio.com.
• Arizona State leads the overall series with Wichita State 15-7.
• Dayne Parker is the Valley Player of the Week.
• The Shockers are 4-2 on the road this season.
• The Shockers are 11-1 when leading after seven innings.
• WSU is 40th nationally in batting average and 22nd in ERA.
• Junior Casey Gillaspie leads the Shockers with nine multiple-hit games and six multiple-RBI games.
• In six road games, the Shockers are hitting .288 with a 2.41 ERA.
• In road games, Dayne Parker is hitting .529, while Casey Gillaspie is hitting .409.
• WSU is 6-4 in its last 10 games. In those games, the Shocks are hitting .272 with a 2.45 ERA and a .981 fielding percentage.
• In 17 starts, WSU's starting pitchers are 9-3 with a 2.03 ERA.
• Head Coach Todd Butler has used the same lineup just twice in 2014 and that was for the first two games of the season and the last two games of the UCSB series.
• The Shocks were picked first in the MVC Preseason Poll.
• Junior first baseman Casey Gillaspie, junior catcher Tyler Baker, senior outfielder Garrett Bayliff and senior relief pitcher Aaron LaBrie were named to the preseason all-Valley team.
• The Shockers are 74-4 all-time at home (Eck and Lawrence-Dumont) in the month of February.
• WSU set a school record with a .977 fielding percentage in 2013.  The entire infield returns for 2014.
• The Shocks set the school record for fewest errors in a season with 61 in 2013.
• WSU returns eight starters and 20 letterwinners from the 2013 team.
• The Shocker pitching staff returns four starting pitchers including Cale Elam, A.J. Ladwig, Kris Gardner and Garrett Brummett.
• WSU has ranked in the top 25 in attendance since 1999.
• Head Coach Todd Butler is in his first season as coach of the Shockers.
• Butler earned his 100th career win as a head coach on March 11 at Oklahma State. He is currently 101-89 overall.
• Assistant Coach Brian Walker is the third base coach and Volunteer Assistant Coach Jon Coyne is the first base coach.

Scouting Arizona State
Arizona State is 9-8 overall and coming off of a series loss to Washington over the weekend. Wins this season have come against Baylor twice, Wright State, Santa Clara, Gonzaga, No. 14 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Tennessee, New Mexico and Washington. Losses have come against Baylor, New Mexico, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, No. 19 Tennessee twice and Washington twice. As a team, the Sun Devils are hitting .290 with a team ERA of 4.06. They are led offensively by Johnny Sewald who is hitting .375 with two doubles, one triple, seven RBI and four stolen bases. The Sun Devils are led by fifth-year head coach Tim Esmay.

Series History vs. the Sun Devils
Arizona State leads the overall series with Wichita State 15-7. The Sun Devils also lead the series in Tempe, Ariz., 6-2. ASU has won the last five meetings overall.

Last Meeting vs. ASU
The last meeting between the two teams was a two-game series in Wichita on April 2-3, 2013. The Sun Devils won by scores of 4-3 and 4-2. Garrett Bayliff went 4-for-9 for the Shockers. Albert Minnis and Zach Beringer each took a loss.

Parker Named Valley Player-of-the-Week
Wichita State baseball student-athlete Dayne Parker has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week for the week of March 10-16.
Parker, a senior infielder from Roff, Okla., led the Shockers to two wins over ranked teams last week. In four games, he went 9-for-17 (.529) with two runs, one double and five RBI. He also had a perfect fielding percentage in 18 total chances.
He had a hit in all four games. On Tuesday in the win at No. 15 Oklahoma State, he went 2-for-5 and in game one at No. 20 UC Santa Barbara he went 1-for-2. In game two against the Gauchos, he went 4-for-6 with two runs, four RBI and a double and in the finale he went 2-for-4 with an RBI. The four hits in game two against UCSB tied his career-high. He is now hitting .393 on the season.

Shocks in the NCAA Stats
Wichita State is ranked in the top-50 in several statistical categories in the third NCAA stats release of the season. The Shockers are 40th in batting average, 36th in doubles per game, 22nd in ERA, 32nd in home runs, 30th in home runs per game, 37th in shutouts, 28th in slugging percentage, 31st in walks allowed per nine innings and 39th in strikeout-to-walk ratio. Individually, Casey Gillaspie is 32nd in walks, 25th in walks per game, 30th in home runs, 40th in home runs per game, 42nd in on base percentage, 38th in runs per game, 19th in slugging percentage and 39th in total bases. Tanner Dearman is 40th in stolen bases and 33rd in stolen bases per game. Micah Green is 11th in sacrifice flies. A.J. Ladwig is 14th in games started, Foster Vielock is 31st in saves and Sam Tewes is 14th in games started.

Pitching Staff Gives Up First Home Run
The Wichita State pitching staff finally surrendered its first home run of the season on Sunday at No. 20 UC Santa Barbara. The Shockers went 151.2 innings this season without allowing a home run.
 
Dominant Starting Pitching
Wichita State's starting pitchers have combined for a 9-3 record so far this season. In 93 innings pitched, the starting pitchers have allowed 21 runs on 75 hits with 21 walks and 69 strikeouts for a 2.03 ERA.
 
Baker Heating Up
Junior catcher Tyler Baker has started heating up. In his last five games, he is 8-for-19 (.421) with three runs, one double, one home run and four RBI. He had multiple-hits in four of the five games and hit his first home run of the season on Saturday at No. 20 UC Santa Barbara.

Kihle Out Indefinitely
Wichita State sophomore outfielder Daniel Kihle is out indefinitely after having surgery on Thursday to remove a broken bone in his left wrist.
“On Thursday, March 13, Daniel Kihle underwent surgery on his hamate bone that was broken on a swing against Stephen F. Austin on Sunday,” head coach Todd Butler said. “This is yet another setback in the outfield depth for the Shockers. We do not know the time period of recovery, but we do hope to have Daniel back for the 2014 season.”
In 11 games this season, Kihle is 17-for-46 (.370) with seven runs, three doubles, two home runs and six RBI.

100 Wins
Head Coach Todd Butler won his 100th career game as a head coach on March 11 at Oklahoma State. Butler is currently 101-89 in his career.

Tough Road Trip
The Shockers will start the toughest road trip of the season with six-straight games against 2013 NCAA Tournament teams. Wichita State beat Oklahoma State on Tuesday and won one of three games at UC Santa Barbara over the weekend. The Shockers close out the road trip with two games at Arizona State on March 18-19.
 
The New Dad Delivers
Senior pitcher Cale Elam earned his second win of the season on March 9 against Stephen F. Austin. He pitched seven innings and allowed one earned run on five hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. He pitched just one day after the birth of his son. He and his wife Kelby welcomed Kaden on Sat., March 8.

ORU Game Rescheduled for March 26
Wichita State's baseball game with Oral Roberts has been rescheduled for Wed., March 26 at 6:30 p.m. in Tulsa, Okla.
The game was originally scheduled for Tue., March 4 at 3 p.m., but was cancelled due to snow.

Weekly Nominees
Pitcher of the Week Nominee - Cale Elam
Senior pitcher Cale Elam earned the win on Saturday at No. 20 UC Santa Barbara. He pitched seven innings and allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts. He did not allow a runner to reach scoring position until the seventh inning and picked off a runner in the second inning. He is now 3-0 on the season with a 1.42 ERA.
Scholar-Athlete of the Week Nominee - Garrett Bayliff
Garrett Bayliff led the Shockers to two wins over ranked opponents last week. In four games, he went 6-for-17 (.353) with four runs, one RBI and two walks. He also had a perfect fielding percentage in 12 total chances. At No. 15 Oklahoma State on Tuesday, he went 4-for-6 with two runs and in game two against No. 20 UC Santa Barbara he went 1-for-5 with two runs, an RBI and a walk. In the finale against the Gauchos, he went 1-for-4.Bayliff has a 3.31 GPA in exercise science.