March 21-23 - Wichita State (12-7, 0-0) vs. Missouri State (8-10, 0-0), 5:30, 2, 1 p.m.

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Date: March 21-23
First Pitch: 5:30, 2, 1 p.m. CST
Location: Wichita, Kan.
Stadium: Eck Stadium
TV (Fri.): ESPNU - Mike Morgan & Mike Rooney; Radio: KNSS 1330 AM (Friday - Internet only)
Talent: Shane Dennis
Series: Wichita State leads the series 62-35

Probable Pitching Matchups
March 21 — A.J. Ladwig (RHP, 1-2, 1.10) vs. Cody Schumacher (RHP, 4-0, 0.58)
March 22 — Cale Elam (RHP, 3-0, 1.42) vs. Jon Harris (RHP, 1-2, 1.75)
March 23 — Sam Tewes (RHP, 3-1, 2.42) vs. Matt Hall (LHP, 1-3, 4.13)


Quick Hits
• Friday's game will be televised on ESPNU and will be internet only at www.shockerradio.com.  Saturday's and Sunday's games will be on KNSS 1330 AM and on www.shockerradio.com.
• Wichita State leads the overall series with Missouri State 62-35.
• Dayne Parker is the Valley Player of the Week and is on a seven-game hitting streak.
• The Shockers are 7-2 at home this season.
• The Shockers are 12-1 when leading after seven innings.
• WSU is 40th nationally in batting average and 22nd in ERA.
• Junior Casey Gillaspie leads the Shockers with 10 multiple-hit games and seven multiple-RBI games.
• In nine home games, the Shockers are hitting .319 with a 2.22 ERA.
• At Eck Stadium, Garrett Bayliff is hitting .406 and Micah Green is hitting .344.
• WSU is 5-5 in its last 10 games. In those games, the Shocks are hitting .277 with a 3.19 ERA and a .970 fielding percentage.
• In the last 10 games, Dayne Parker is hitting .382, Tyler Baker is hitting .375 and Garrett Bayliff is hitting .350.
• The weekend rotation of A.J. Ladwig, Cale Elam and Sam Tewes has combined to go 7-3 with a 1.61 ERA in 84 innings.
• 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 102-90 overall.
• Assistant Coach Brian Walker is the third base coach and Volunteer Assistant Coach Jon Coyne is the first base coach.

Scouting Missouri State
Missouri State is 8-10 overall and coming off of a loss to Oklahoma State on Tuesday. Wins this season have come against Central Arkansas twice, Northern Illinois twice, New Mexico, Oral Roberts, and Abilene Christian twice. Losses have come against Central Arkansas, New Mexico, Kansas State, UT Arlington, Utah, SEMO, Dallas Baptist three times and Oklahoma State. As a team, the Bears are hitting .259 with a team ERA of 3.11. They are led offensively by Eric Cheray who is hitting .338 with three doubles, two triples, two home runs and 14 RBI. The Bears are led by 32nd-year head coach Keith Guttin.

Series History vs. the Bears
Wichita State leads the overall series with Missouri State 62-35. The Shockers also lead the series in Wichita 38-12. The two teams have split the last 10 meetings overall.

Last Meeting vs. MSU
The last meeting between the two teams was a three-game series May 4-5, 2013, in Springfield, Mo. The Shockers swept the series by scores of 3-2, 11-9 and 3-0. Taylor Doggett went 5-for-10 with four RBI, while Casey Gillaspie went 4-for-10 with an RBI. Aaron LaBrie, Albert Minnis and Garrett Brummett each earned a win.

Opening Weekend of Valley Play
The Shockers open Valley play this weekend with Missouri State.  Since 1979, Wichita State is 90-27 during the first series of Valley play.  In 35 seasons, WSU 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 Missouri State for their first Valley series two times. The Shocks went 1-1 against the Bears in Springfield in 1991 and 1-2 against the Bears in Springfield in 2011.

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.
 
Baker Heating Up
Junior catcher Tyler Baker has started heating up. In his last 10 games, he is 12-for-32 (.375) with six runs, three doubles, one home run and four RBI.

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 102-90 in his career.

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.