April 25-27 - Wichita State (21-19) at Tulane (15-23), 6:30, 2, 1 p.m.

Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes

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Date: April 25-27
First Pitch: 6:30, 2, 1 p.m. CST
Location: New Orleans, La.
Stadium: Turchin Stadium
Radio: KNSS 1330 AM
Talent: Mike Kennedy & Shane Dennis
Series: Tulane leads the series 4-3

Probable Pitching Matchups
April 25 — A.J. Ladwig (RHP, 3-5, 1.32) vs. Corey Merrill (RHP, 0-3, 4.50)
April 26 — Cale Elam (RHP, 5-1, 2.12) vs. Randy LeBlanc (RHP, 3-4, 2.25)
April 27 — Sam Tewes (RHP, 6-2, 3.08) vs. TBA

Quick Hits
• All three games this weekend will be on KNSS 1330 AM. They will also be on www.shockerradio.com.
• Tulane leads the overall series with Wichita State 4-3.
• Daniel Kihle is the Valley Player of the Week.
• Casey Gillaspie ranks in the top-35 nationally in 11 statistical categories including sixth in batting average, fourth in on base percentage, seventh in home runs and ninth in total bases.
• WSU had its season-best five-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday.
• The Shockers are 6-11 on the road this season.
• The Shockers are 20-1 when leading after seven innings and 17-0 when leading after eight innings.
• Ten of the Shockers 19 losses are by one run.
• Casey Gillaspie had his 20-game hitting streak snapped on April 13, but has reached base in all 40 games this season.
• Junior Casey Gillaspie leads the Shockers with 19 multiple-hit games and 13 multiple-RBI games.
• In 17 road games, the Shockers are hitting .269 with a 4.39 ERA.
• In those 17 games, Casey Gillaspie is hitting .379, Daniel Kihle is hitting .333, Tyler Baker is hitting .333 and Dayne Parker is hitting .310.
• WSU is 5-5 in its last 10 games. In those games, the Shocks are hitting .296 with a 4.26 ERA and a .972 fielding percentage.
• In the last 10 games, Casey Gillaspie is hitting .436, Daniel Kihle is hitting .424, Tyler Baker is hitting .333 and Dayne Parker is hitting .310.
• The weekend rotation of A.J. Ladwig, Cale Elam and Sam Tewes has combined to go 14-8 with a 2.10 ERA in 180.1 innings. The trio ranks sixth nationally in ERA for a weekend rotation.
• 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 111-102 overall.
• Assistant Coach Brian Walker is the third base coach and Volunteer Assistant Coach Jon Coyne is the first base coach.

Scouting Tulane
Tulane is 15-23 overall and 6-13 in Conference USA. Wins this season have come against Arkansas-Pine Bluff four times, Louisiana Tech two times, Nicholls State, Sacret Heart, California, East Carolina, Middle Tennessee twice, LSU, UTSA, and McNeese State. Losses have come against Louisiana Tech, Sacred Heart twice, Arkansas, San Francisco, Louisiana-Lafayette twice, East Carolina twice, Southeastern Louisiana twice, New Orleans, Middle Tennessee, Marshal twice, UTSA twice, Rice three times, Charlotte twice and LSU. As a team, the Green Wave is hitting .222 with a team ERA of 3.81. They are led offensively by Richard Carthon who is hitting .297 with five doubles, one triple and 15 RBI. Tulane is led by 21st-year head coach Rick Jones.

Series History vs. the Green Wave
Tulane leads the overall series with Wichita State 4-3. Tulane also leads the series in New Orleans, La., 2-1.

Last Meeting vs. Tulane
The last meeting between the two teams was a three-game series in Wichita, March 9-11, 2012. The Shockers won the first game 3-2 and the third game 3-0. Tulane won game two 7-2. Kevin Hall went 3-for-7 with three stolen bases, while Casey Gillaspie went 3-for-5 with three RBI. Josh Smith and Mitch Mormann each earned a win, while Albert Minnis took the loss.

Shocks in the NCAA Stats
Wichita State is ranked in the top-50 in several statistical categories in the eighth NCAA stats release of the season. The Shockers are 50th in batting average, 36th in doubles, 40th in doubles per game, 49th in hits, 36th in home runs, 37th in home runs per game, 42nd in shutouts, 30th in slugging percentage, and 40th in walks allowed per nine innings. Individually, Casey Gillaspie is 23rd in walks, 30th in walks per game, sixth in batting average, 15th in hits, seventh in home runs, 14th in home runs per game, fourth in on base percentage, 24th in RBI, 31st in RBI per game, fourth in slugging percentage and ninth in total bases. Tanner Dearman is 38th in stolen bases and 43rd in stolen bases per game. Micah Green is 17th in sacrifice flies. A.J. Ladwig is 30th in games started and 28th in ERA and Sam Tewes is 30th in games started. Cale Elam is 40th in strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Kihle Named Valley Player of the Week
Wichita State baseball student-athlete Daniel Kihle has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week for the week of April 14-20. He led the Shockers to a 4-0 week including a win over Oral Roberts and a three-game sweep over Southern Illinois. He went 11-for-18 (.611) as the Shocker leadoff hitter with seven runs, three doubles, one home run, four RBI and three stolen bases. In the four games, he had a slugging percentage of .944 and an on base percentage of .632. Against ORU, he went 4-for-4 with a run, two RBI, a double and a stolen base and in game one against SIU, he went 1-for-4 with two runs and a stolen base. In game two against the Salukis, he went 3-for-6 with a run, a double and a stolen base and in game three he went 3-for-4 with three runs, two RBI, a double and a home run. He is now hitting a team-best .405 on the season.

Weekly Nominee
Pitcher of the Week - A.J. Ladwig
A.J. Ladwig threw his second complete game of the season on Friday against Southern Illinois. He earned the win as he went seven shutout innings and allowed just two singles with two walks and three strikeouts. He faced just three batters in four of the seven innings and allowed just one Saluki to reach third base in the game.  With the win, he improves to 3-5 overall and lowered his ERA to 1.32. He is now 10-for-10 in quality starts this season.

Sweep Over SIU
Wichita State swept Southern Illinois over the weekend for the first time since 2007. It was the first sweep over SIU in Wichita since 1998. In the three games against the Salukis, the Shockers hit .370 with a 0.69 team ERA and a .972 fielding percentage.
 
Winning Streak Snapped
Wichita State had its season-best five-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday against Missouri. During the streak, the Shockers hit .352 with a 1.47 team ERA and a .967 fielding percentage. Daniel Kihle hit .611 during the streak, while Casey Gillaspie hit .412 and Tyler Baker hit .409.
 
Ladwig Continues His Quality Start Streak
Junior pitcher A.J. Ladwig continued his streak of quality starts in 2014. He is now 10-for-10 after throwing seven shutout innings on Friday against Southern Illinois. He is one of just four pitchers nationally to be 10-for-10 in quality starts this season. On the season, he is 3-5 with a 1.32 ERA.  
 
Weekend Rotation
The weekend rotation of A.J. Ladwig, Cale Elam, and Sam Tewes continues to be impressive for the Shockers. The trio is 14-8 with a 2.32 ERA. In 180.1 innings pitched, the rotation has 41 walks and 126 strikeouts. The trio's ERA of 2.10 ranks sixth nationally among weekend rotations.