May 15-17 - Wichita State (26-26, 10-8) at Illinois State (30-18, 10-8), 6, 6, 1 p.m.

Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes

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Date: May 15-17
First Pitch: 6, 6, 1 p.m. CST
Location: Normal, Ill.
Stadium: Duffy Bass Field
Radio: KNSS 1330 AM
Talent: Mike Kennedy & Shane Dennis
Series: Wichita State leads 93-21

Probable Pitching Matchups
May 15 — A.J. Ladwig (RHP, 3-6, 1.20) vs. Dan Savas (RHP, 7-4, 2.08)
May 16 — Sam Tewes (RHP, 7-3, 3.57) vs. Dylan Craig (LHP, 5-2, 2.45)
May 17 — TBA vs. TBA

Quick Hits
• All three games this weekend will be on KNSS 1330 AM. They will also be on www.shockerradio.com. Thursday's game will be televised on Kansas 22.
• Wichita State leads the overall series with Illinois State, 93-21.
• Casey Gillaspie ranks in the top-20 nationally in nine statistical categories including third in walks, 12th in batting average, fourth in on base percentage, sixth in home runs, fifth in slugging percentage and seventh in total bases.
• Garrett Bayliff is 22nd nationally with six outfield assists.
• The Shockers are 7-13 on the road this season.
• The Shockers are 24-1 when leading after seven innings and 22-0 when leading after eight innings.
• Eleven of the Shockers 26 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 23 multiple-hit games and 14 multiple-RBI games.
• In 20 road games, the Shockers are hitting .265 with a 4.28 ERA and a .969 fielding percentage.
• In those 20 games, Casey Gillaspie is hitting .364, Tyler Baker is hitting .290, Garrett Bayliff is hitting .286 and Dayne Parker is hitting .286.
• In road games, Cale Elam is 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA, A.J. Ladwig is 0-3 with a 1.76 ERA and Sam Tewes is 3-1 with a 3.26 ERA.
• WSU is 5-5 in its last 10 games. In those games, the Shocks are hitting .245 with a 4.35 ERA and a .963 fielding percentage.
• In the last 10 games, Casey Gillaspie is hitting .375, Zair Koeiman is hitting .343, Tyler Baker is hitting .278 and Dayne Parker is hitting .273.
• The weekend rotation of A.J. Ladwig, Cale Elam and Sam Tewes has combined to go 17-10 with a 2.24 ERA in 241 innings. The trio ranks eighth 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 116-109 overall.
• Assistant Coach Brian Walker is the third base coach and Volunteer Assistant Coach Jon Coyne is the first base coach.

Scouting Illinois State
Illinois State is 30-18 overall and 10-8 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Wins this season have come against Butler, Arkansas State three times, North Dakota twice, LIU Brooklyn twice, Bowling Green, Western Illinois three times, SIUE twice, Bradley twice, Indiana State twice, Eastern Illinois, Dallas Baptist, Robert Morris, Webster, Illinois, Missouri State twice, Illinois Wesleyan, MacMurray, and Southern Illinois three times. Losses have come against Butler, Arkansas State, Central Arkansas, Bucknell, Florida, Bradley, Illinois, Indiana State, Dallas Baptist twice, Northern Illinois, Missouri State, Purdue, Western Illinois twice and Evansville three times. As a team, the Redbirds are hitting .278 with a team ERA of 3.48. They are led offensively by Paul DeJong who his hitting .374 with 19 doubles, three triples, eight home runs and 45 RBI. ILS is led by fifth-year head coach Mark Kingston.

Series History vs. the Redbirds
Wichita State leads the overall series with Illinois State, 93-21. The Shockers also lead the series in Normal, Ill., 36-12. The Shockers have won seven of the last 10 meetings overall. The Redbirds last took a series from WSU in 2006.

Last Meeting vs. ILS
The last meeting between the two teams was May 25, 2013, in Normal, Ill., in the championship game of the Valley Tournament. The Shockers won the game 5-2. Garrett Bayliff went 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Johnny Coy had two RBI and Erik Harbutz went 2-for-4. Starter Cale Elam earned the win and Aaron LaBrie picked up the save.

Shocks in the NCAA Stats
Wichita State is ranked in the top-50 in several statistical categories in the 11th NCAA stats release of the season. The Shockers are 25th in doubles, 37th in doubles per game, 19th in home runs, 24th in home runs per game, 47th in shutouts, 42nd in slugging percentage, and 49th in walks allowed per nine innings. Individually, Casey Gillaspie is third in walks,sixth in walks per game, 12th in batting average, 20th in hits, sixth in home runs, 12th in home runs per game, fourth in on base percentage, 43rd in RBI, fifth in slugging percentage and seventh in total bases. Tanner Dearman is 48th in stolen bases. Micah Green is 32nd in sacrifice flies. A.J. Ladwig is 27th in games started, eighth in ERA, 50th in strikeout-to-walk ratio and 34th in walks allowed per nine innings and Sam Tewes is 27th in games started. Cale Elam is 35th in strikeout-to-walk ratio and Aaron LaBrie is 18th in appearances.

Home Run Streak
Wichita State has hit a home run in six-consecutive games. It is the longest streak since the 2010 team hit six-straight from April 4-11. The 2010 team also had a seven-game streak from April 3-11.
 
Parker Goes Deep
Senior infielder Dayne Parker did not hit his first home run this season until April 19 against Southern Illinois. He now has four on the season after hitting three in his last five games.
 
Senior Day
Wichita State honored its eight seniors on Sunday before the game with Dallas Baptist. In the Shocker career record books, Cale Elam is sixth in ERA (2.41), 12th in fewest walks per nine innings (2.61), 12th in saves (14), 12th in appearances (83), 22nd in wins (24) and 23rd in innings pitched (261.2). Micah Green is 14th in hit by pitch (18) and 15th in sacrifice hits (12). Erik Harbutz is 21st in assists (411). Aaron LaBrie is ninth in appearances (87) and 24th in saves (6). Dayne Parker is 15th in assists (465) and 21st in sacrifice hits (10). Foster Vielock is 17th in appearances (77) and 21st in saves (7).
 
More Home Runs for Gillaspie
Junior first baseman Casey Gillaspie hit his 11th and 12th home runs of the season on May 3 against Bradley. He homered from both sides of the plate in the same game for the second time this season. The 12 home runs are a new career-high for him in a season and the most by a Shocker since Drew Moffitt hit 26 in 2004. Gillaspie hit two more last week and now has 14 on the season.
 
Weekend Rotation
The weekend rotation of A.J. Ladwig, Cale Elam, and Sam Tewes continues to be impressive for the Shockers. The trio is 17-10 with a 2.24 ERA. In 241 innings pitched, the rotation has 51 walks and 173 strikeouts. The trio ranks eighth nationally in ERA for a weekend rotation.

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