May 2-4 - Wichita State (22-23, 6-6) vs. Bradley (21-20, 4-11), 6:30, 2, 1 p.m.

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Date: May 2-4
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 93-24

Probable Pitching Matchups
May 2 — A.J. Ladwig (RHP, 3-5, 1.16) vs. Elliot Ashbeck (RHP, 5-2, 2.35)
May 3 — Cale Elam (RHP, 5-1, 2.23) vs. Steve Adkins (RHP, 1-1, 3.55)
May 4 — Sam Tewes (RHP, 7-2, 2.82) vs. TBA

Quick Hits
• All three games this weekend will be on KNSS 1330 AM. They will also be on www.shockerradio.com.
• Wichita State leads the overall series with Bradley, 93-24.
• Casey Gillaspie ranks in the top-30 nationally in nine statistical categories including ninth in walks, 28th in batting average, ninth in on base percentage, 11th in home runs, 11th in slugging percentage and 16th in total bases.
• Casey Gillaspie is hitting .500 in his career against Bradley, while Micah Green is hitting .389.
• Cale Elam is 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA in his career against Bradley.
• The Shockers are 15-7 at home this season.
• The Shockers are 21-1 when leading after seven innings and 18-0 when leading after eight innings.
• Eleven of the Shockers 23 losses are by one run.
• Casey Gillaspie had his 20-game hitting streak snapped on April 13 and his on base streak snapped at 43 games on April 25.
• Junior Casey Gillaspie leads the Shockers with 20 multiple-hit games and 13 multiple-RBI games.
• In 22 home games, the Shockers are hitting .301 with a 2.47 ERA.
• In those 22 games, Daniel Kihle is hitting .442, Casey Gillaspie is hitting .372, Garrett Bayliff is hitting .301, Dayne Parker is hitting .298 and Micah Green is hitting .291.
• WSU is 5-5 in its last 10 games. In those games, the Shocks are hitting .280 with a 3.15 ERA and a .963 fielding percentage.
• In the last 10 games, Casey Gillaspie is hitting .378, Daniel Kihle is hitting .333, Zair Koeiman is hitting .333, Garrett Bayliff is hitting .317, Dayne Parker is hitting .300 and Chase Simpson is hitting .294.
• The weekend rotation of A.J. Ladwig, Cale Elam and Sam Tewes has combined to go 15-8 with a 2.00 ERA in 202.2 innings. The trio ranks fifth 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 112-106 overall.
• Assistant Coach Brian Walker is the third base coach and Volunteer Assistant Coach Jon Coyne is the first base coach.

Scouting Bradley
Bradley is 21-20 overall and 4-11 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Wins this season have come against Alcorn State three times, UALR two times, Xavier, Dayton three times, Wright State, Saint Louis, Northern Illinois three times, Illinois-Springfield, Illinois State, Iowa, Southern Illinois twice, Missouri State, and SIUE. Losses have come against UALR, Austin Peay, Wright State, Illinois State twice, Dallas Baptist three times, Iowa, Southern Illinois, SIUE, Missouri State twice, Omaha three times, Evansville three times and Illinois-Chicago. As a team, the Braves are hitting .280 with a team ERA of 4.37. Isaac Smith leads Bradley offensively as he is hitting .350 with three doubles, two triples, two home runs, 24 RBI and 16 stolen bases. The Braves are led by sixth-year head coach Elvis Dominguez.

Series History vs. the Braves
Wichita State leads the overall series with Bradley, 93-24.  WSU leads the series in Wichita, 56-9.  WSU has won 28 of the last 30 meetings overall.  The Braves last took a series from the Shockers in 2003. WSU has won 30-straight against BU in Wichita.

Last Meeting vs. BU
The last meeting between the two teams was a three-game series in Peoria, Ill., April 12-14, 2013. The Shockers swept the series by scores of 4-0, 10-6 and 18-8. Micah Green went 8-for-14 with six RBI, while Tyler Baker went 6-for-12 with five RBI and Casey Gillaspie went 5-for-11. Cale Elam, Brandon Peterson and Foster Vielock each earned a win.

Shocks in the NCAA Stats
Wichita State is ranked in the top-50 in several statistical categories in the ninth NCAA stats release of the season. The Shockers are 35th in doubles, 44th in doubles per game, 34th in home runs, 35th in home runs per game, 39th in slugging percentage, and 44th in walks allowed per nine innings. Individually, Casey Gillaspie is 14th in walks, 25th in walks per game, 14th in batting average, 18th in hits, 11th in home runs, 19th in home runs per game, fifth in on base percentage, 40th in RBI, seventh in slugging percentage and 16th in total bases. Tanner Dearman is 43rd in stolen bases and 49th in stolen bases per game. Micah Green is 21st in sacrifice flies. A.J. Ladwig is 26th in games started and 13th in ERA and Sam Tewes is 26th in games started and 36th in victories. Cale Elam is 30th in strikeout-to-walk ratio and Aaron LaBrie is 38th in appearances.

Ladwig and Tewes Post Career-Highs
Two Shocker starting pitchers posted career-best outings over the weekend at Tulane. Junior A.J. Ladwig tied his career-high in innings pitched with nine and struck out a career-high nine in his start on Friday. Freshman Sam Tewes pitched a career-high eight innings on Sunday and struck out a career-high seven.
 
First Career Home Runs
Two Shockers hit their first career home runs over the weekend at Tulane. Sophomore Tanner Dearman hit his home run to right field on Saturday against the Green Wave and junior Zair Koeiman hit his to left-center on Sunday. They became the eighth and ninth Shocker to homer this season.
 
Nine-Game Home Stand
Wichita State began a nine-game home stand on Tue., April 29 against Kansas. The Shockers host Oklahoma State on April 30 and then play Bradley in a three-game series May 2-4. Kansas State comes to Eck Stadium on May 6 and the Shockers close out the home stand with Dallas Baptist May 9-11.

Weekly Nominee
Pitcher of the Week - Sam Tewes
Sam Tewes earned the win on Sunday at Tulane. He pitched a career-high eight innings and allowed just one run on three hits with no walks and a career-high seven strikeouts. He did not allow a hit until the fourth inning and only two runners reached second base.  He faced just three batters in six of his eight innings and never faced more than four in an inning. With the win, he improved to 7-2 overall and lowered his ERA to 2.82.

Ladwig Continues His Quality Start Streak
Junior pitcher A.J. Ladwig continued his streak of quality starts in 2014. He is now 11-for-11 after throwing nine shutout innings on Friday at Tulane. He is one of just four pitchers nationally to be 11-for-11 in quality starts this season. On the season, he is 3-5 with a 1.16 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 15-8 with a 2.00 ERA. In 202.2 innings pitched, the rotation has 43 walks and 145 strikeouts. The trio ranks fifth nationally in ERA for a weekend rotation.