April 18-20 - Wichita State (18-18, 3-6) vs. Southern Illinois (20-17, 3-6), 6:30, 2, 1 p.m.

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Date: April 18-20
First Pitch: 6:30, 2, 1 p.m. CST
Location: Wichita, Kan.
Stadium: Eck Stadium
Radio: KNSS 1330 AM
Talent: Mike Kennedy & Shane Dennis
Series: Wichita State leads the series 95-35

Probable Pitching Matchups
April 18 — A.J. Ladwig (RHP, 2-5, 1.47) vs. Sam Coonrod (RHP, 0-4, 3.00)
April 19 — Cale Elam (RHP, 5-1, 2.29) vs. Todd Eaton (RHP, 2-2, 4.42)
April 20 — Sam Tewes (RHP, 5-2, 3.47) vs. Aaron Hauge (LHP, 3-2, 2.92)

Quick Hits
• All three games this weekend will be on KNSS 1330 AM. They will also be on www.shockerradio.com.
• WSU leads the overall series with Southern Illinois 95-35.
• The Shockers are 12-5 at home this season.
• The Shockers are 17-1 when leading after seven innings and 16-0 when leading after eight innings.
• Nine of the Shockers 18 losses are by one run.
• Casey Gillaspie had his 20-game hitting streak snapped on Sunday, but has reached base in all 36 games this season.
• Junior Casey Gillaspie leads the Shockers with 16 multiple-hit games and 11 multiple-RBI games.
• In 17 home games, the Shockers are hitting .300 with a 2.41 ERA.
• At Eck Stadium, Daniel Kihle is hitting .500, Casey Gillaspie is hitting .383, Garrett Bayliff is hitting .327 and Micah Green is hitting .323.
• WSU is 2-8 in its last 10 games. In those games, the Shocks are hitting .245 with a 5.13 ERA and a .976 fielding percentage.
• In the last 10 games, Tyler Baker is hitting .364, Casey Gillaspie is hitting .361, Daniel Kihle is hitting .421 and Tanner Kirk is hitting .267.
• The weekend rotation of A.J. Ladwig, Cale Elam and Sam Tewes has combined to go 12-8 with a 2.32 ERA in 159 innings. The trio ranks 16th nationally in ERA for a weekend rotation.
• Head Coach Todd Butler has used the same lineup just six times in 2014.
• Senior outfielder Garrett Bayliff is one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award.
• 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.
• 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 108-101 overall.
• Assistant Coach Brian Walker is the third base coach and Volunteer Assistant Coach Jon Coyne is the first base coach.

Scouting Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois is 20-17 overall and 3-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Wins this season have come against Western Kentucky, Austin Peay twice, Western Illinois, Nicholls State, Tennessee-Martin twice, Northern Illinois twice, Belmont, Illinois twice, Eastern Illinois, Purdue twice, Missouri State, Missouri, Murray State, Bradley and Indiana State. Losses this season have come against Western Kentucky twice, Northern Illinois, South Alabama three times, No. 19 Mississippi State, Illinois, Purdue, Murray State, Missouri Stte twice, Bradley twice, SEMO and Indiana State twice. As a team, the Salukis are hitting .269 with a team ERA of 3.20. They are led offensively by Ryan Casillas who is hitting .340 with 14 doubles, four home runs and 32 RBI. SIU is led by fourth-year head coach Ken Henderson.

Series History vs. the Salukis
Wichita State leads the overall series with Southern Illinois 95-35.  WSU also leads the series in Wichita 53-19.  The Shockers are 6-4 against the Salukis overall in the last 10 meetings. SIU last won a series in Wichita in 2006.

Last Meeting vs. SIU
The last meeting between the two teams was May 23, 2013, in Normal, Ill., at the Valley Tournament. The Shockers won the game 15-0. Garrett Bayliff went 3-for-4 with three RBI, while Johnny Coy went 3-for-3 with three RBI and Mikel Mucha went 3-for-4 with four RBI. Starter Garrett Brummett earned the win.

Shocks in the NCAA Stats
Wichita State is ranked in the top-50 in several statistical categories in the seventh NCAA stats release of the season. The Shockers are 41st in home runs, 44th in home runs per game, and 28th in walks allowed per nine innings. Individually, Casey Gillaspie is 23rd in walks, 31st in walks per game, 28th in batting average, 43rd in hits, ninth in home runs, 17th in home runs per game, 11th in on base percentage, 37th in RBI, 49th in RBI per game, 11th in slugging percentage and 20th in total bases. Tanner Dearman is 34th in stolen bases and 47th in stolen bases per game. Micah Green is 24th in sacrifice flies. A.J. Ladwig is 21st in games started, 50th in strikeout-to-walk ratio, 35th in walks allowed per nine innings, and 39th in ERA and Sam Tewes is 21st in games started. Cale Elam is 28th in strikeout-to-walk ratio and 46th in walks allowed per nine innings.
 
Ladwig Continues His Quality Start Streak
Junior pitcher A.J. Ladwig continued his streak of quality starts in 2014. He is now nine-for-nine after throwing 6.2 innings on Friday at Evansville and allowing just three earned runs. He is one of just five pitchers nationally to be 9-for-9 in quality starts this season. On the season, he is 2-5 with a 1.47 ERA. In his starts, the Shocker offense is averaging just 2.33 runs per game.
 
Weekend Rotation
The weekend rotation of A.J. Ladwig, Cale Elam, and Sam Tewes continues to be impressive for the Shockers. The trio is 12-8 with a 2.32 ERA. In 159 innings pitched, the rotation has 32 walks and 111 strikeouts. The trio's ERA of 2.32 ranks 16th nationally among weekend rotations.

Gillaspie's Streak Snapped
Junior first baseman Casey Gillaspie had his 20-game hitting streak snapped on Sunday at Evansville. The 20-game streak is a career-best for Gillaspie and ranks tied for 12th in the Shocker record books for career hitting streaks.
 
Simpson Hits Grand Slam
Junior third baseman Chase Simpson hit his first career grand slam on Sunday at Evansville. It was his third career home run and the second grand slam for the Shockers this season. Micah Green hit the other one on Feb. 16 against SIUE.
 
Tewes Earns First MVC Win
Freshman Sam Tewes earned his first Missouri Valley Conference win on Sunday against Evansville. He went 6.1 innings and gave up three runs on seven hits with one walk and two strikeouts. With the win, he improved to 5-2 on the year.