For all three games this weekend: National Canned Food Month - Receive $1 grandstand admission with donation of non-perishable food item for the Kansas Food Bank

Date: Feb. 19-21, 2016
First Pitch: 3, 2, 1 p.m.
Location: Wichita, Kan.
Stadium: Eck Stadium
Free Audio: www.goshockers.com/watch
Talent: Mike Kennedy & Shane Dennis
Free Video: www.goshockers.com
Series: Wichita State leads 5-1

Quick Hits
• All three games will be broadcast on KNSS 1330 AM with Mike Kennedy and Shane Dennis calling the action.  All three games will also be on www.goshockers.com.
• The three games against Northern Colorado will be video streamed for free on goshockers.com.
• WSU leads the overall series with Northern Colorado 5-1.
• WSU is 27-11 in season openers since 1978.
• WSU is 35-3 in home openers since 1978.
• Mikel Mucha enters the 2016 season on a career-best 12-game hitting streak, while Ryan Tinkham and Gunnar Troutwine are both on six-game hitting streaks.
• Ryan Tinkham is a preseason second team All-American by Collegiate Baseball.
• WSU plays 35 games in 2016 against teams that were in the top-100 in the RPI in 2015. Twenty-one of those are games against teams in the top-50.
• WSU unveiled a new scoreboard/videoboard in January that is the fourth-largest in college baseball.
• The Shockers are 77-6 all-time at home (Eck and Lawrence-Dumont) in the month of February.
• WSU is 142-48 all-time overall in the month of February.
• WSU is 4-4 on Feb. 19 since 1978. The Shockers are 9-2 on Feb. 20 and 5-4 on Feb. 21.
• The Shocks were picked third in the MVC Preseason Poll.
• Senior first baseman Ryan Tinkham, sophomore starting pitcher Sam Tewes and sophomore catcher Gunnar Troutwine were named to the preseason all-Valley team.
• WSU's recruiting class was ranked No. 25 by Baseball America.
• The Shockers welcome 15 newcomers in 2016.
• Two of the Shocker newcomers were drafted in 2015 along with two returners: Willie Schwanke (22nd rd.), Chase Williams (25th rd.), Dayton Dugas (29th rd.), and Connor Lungwitz (35th rd.)
• The Shocks set the school record for times they were hit by a pitch in a season with 73 in 2015.
• Gunnar Troutwine tied the school record for fielding percentage by a freshman with a .994 fielding percentage in 2015.
• Chase Rader was hit by a pitch 17 times in 2015, which ranks third in the Shocker record books.
• Ryan Tinkham had a 21-game hitting streak last season that ranks as the 10th-best in school history.
• WSU returns six starters and 15 letterwinners from the 2015 team.
• The Shocker pitching staff returns three starters including Sam Tewes, Willie Schwanke and Chase Williams.
• WSU has ranked in the top 25 in attendance since 1999.
• Head Coach Todd Butler is in his third season as coach of the Shockers.
• Head Coach Todd Butler is the third base coach and Volunteer Assistant Coach Mike Sirianni is the first base coach.

Scouting Northern Colorado
The Bears return 15 letterwinners and seven starters from a team that went 16-32 a year ago. The Bears are picked eighth in the WAC preseason poll. Last season, the Bears hit .277 and the pitching staff had a 6.43 ERA. Returning offensively for UNC is Marco Castilla who hit .309 with 15 RBI in 2015. Pitcher Nick Tanner returns after going 2-3 with a 4.69 ERA in 2015. The Bears are led by head coach Carl Iwasaki.

Series History vs. the Bears
Wichita State leads the overall series with Northern Colorado 5-1. The Shockers also lead the series in Wichita 5-1. They lost the first game of a two-game series in 2005 and swept two-game series in 2006 and 2007. Head Coach Todd Butler is 0-0 in his career against Northern Colorado.

Last Meeting vs. UNC
The last meeting between the two teams was a two-game series in Wichita, May 2, 2007. The Shockers swept the series by scores of 12-6 and 8-1. Matt Brown went 4-for-7 in the series, while Andy Dirks went 5-for-9 and Conor Gillaspie went 5-for-9 with four RBI. Max Hutson and Noah Krol each earned a win.

WSU a Winner in Season Openers
Since 1978, the Shockers are 27-11 in season openers.  The last time WSU lost a season opener was in 2015, an 8-5 loss at Sam Houston State.  

WSU a Winner in Home Openers
Since 1978, the Shockers are 35-3 in home openers.  The three losses were to New Mexico, 11-13, in 1988 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, to Richmond, 10-11, in 2007 and 4-6 to Pittsburgh in 2013.

Hayes Named to Watch List
Wichita State baseball student-athlete John Hayes has been named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason Stopper of the Year watch list. The award is given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball.
Hayes, a senior from Pottsboro, Texas, made 26 appearances in relief in 2015. He finished the year 6-2 with four saves and a 2.79 ERA. He also struck out 55 in 51.2 innings and earned honorable mention all-Valley honors.
The 2016 Stopper of the Year Watch List will be updated with a midseason release on Wednesday, April 27, including the national saves leaders. At the conclusion of the regular season, the Division I national saves leader and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as finalists and released Wednesday, June 8, prior to start of NCAA Super Regional competition.
The NCBWA's All-America Committee will select the winner, with this year's recipient to be announced at the 2016 College World Series.

Shocks Picked Third in the Valley
The Shockers were third in the Valley preseason poll done by the league's coaches.  WSU totaled 47 points and received one first-place vote. Missouri State received five first-place votes and 60 points to finish first.  Dallas Baptist was picked second with two first-place votes and 56 points.

Three Named to Preseason All-MVC Team
Senior first baseman Ryan Tinkham, sophomore starting pitcher Sam Tewes and sophomore catcher Gunnar Troutwine were named to the preseason all-Valley team.  Tinkham earned second team honors in 2015, while Troutwine was an honorable mention selection.

Tinkham Named a Preseason All-American
Wichita State baseball student-athlete Ryan Tinkham has been named a second team Louisville Slugger preseason All-American.
Tinkham, a senior first baseman from Simi Valley, Calif., hit .333 last season and started all 59 games. He had 70 hits, 53 runs, 19 doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, 46 RBI and seven stolen bases and earned second team all-Valley honors.

Shocks Unveil Fourth-Largest Scoreboard
Shocker fans will have a bigger reason to cheer when the 2016 baseball season begins as Wichita State University has partnered with Daktronics of Brookings, South Dakota, to provide a new LED video display that will be top-five in all of college baseball at nearly 1,300 square feet. The board was installed in January.
The display will measure approximately 20.5 feet high by 63.5 feet wide and will feature a 15HD pixel layout to provide crisp, clear imagery with wide angle visibility to appeal to every seat at Eck Stadium. It features variable content zoning which allows it to show one large image or it can be divided into multiple windows to show a variety of live video, instant replays, up-to-the-minute statistics and game information, graphics and animations, and sponsorship messages.

WSU Has No. 25 Recruiting Class
Wichita State's recruiting class has been ranked No. 25 by Baseball America. It is the second-straight top-25 ranking for the Shockers as last year's class was ranked No. 21 by Baseball America.
Two of the recruits were drafted in 2015 including outfielder Dayton Dugas (29th round) and right-handed pitcher Connor Lungwitz (35th round). Right-handed pitcher Zach Lewis was drafted in 2014 (33rd round).
The Shockers welcome 15 newcomers including 11 freshmen and four junior college transfers.

Hitting Streaks Alive
Mikel Mucha comes into the 2016 season on a career-best 12-game hitting streak, while Ryan Tinkham and Gunnar Troutwine are both on a six-game hitting streak.  Zach Reding, Tanner Kirk and Trey Vickers enter the season on one-game hitting streaks.   

34 Games to be Televised in 2016
Wichita State is scheduled to have 34 baseball games televised in 2016. Thirty of the 34 televised games will be home contests, while four of WSU's 22 road contests will also be televised.
Twenty-five of the games will be televised on ESPN3, including twenty-two home games as part of The Valley on ESPN3 television package. The three road games on ESPN3 are April 8 and April 10 at Evansville and April 19 at Kansas.
Seven games will be televised on Cox Channel Kansas, which is available for Cox cable subscribers on channel 22 and 2022. Those games include April 12 against Oklahoma, April 16 against Missouri State, April 24 against Bradley, April 26 against Kansas State, May 10 against Creighton, May 17 against Kansas and May 19 against Dallas Baptist.
The other two televised games are April 2 against TCU on ESPNU and May 3 at Kansas State on FOX College Sports.
Four home games that will not be televised (Feb. 19-21 and March 5) will be available on a free video stream at www.goshockers.com.
Every game, home and away, can also be heard on KNSS 1330 AM and www.goshockers.com.

Six Starters Return
WSU returns six starters from the 2015 team in senior first baseman Ryan Tinkham, senior second baseman Tanner Kirk, senior third baseman Chase Rader, senior outfielder Mikel Mucha, sophomore catcher Gunnar Troutwine and sophomore shortstop Trey Vickers.   

Shocks to Play 34 Home Games
WSU will play 34 home games in 2016 including preseason top-25 Oklahoma and 2015 NCAA Tournament participants Oklahoma State, TCU, Missouri State, Bradley and Dallas Baptist.  The Shockers also host Northern Colorado, Omaha, Sam Houston State, North Dakota, Cal Poly, Stephen F. Austin, Oral Roberts, Kansas State, Indiana State, Creighton and Kansas.

Newcomers Look to Make Impact
WSU welcomes 15 newcomers to the 2016 team including juniors Josh Whisler, Tyler Gibson, Zach Lewis and Justin Seiwald and freshmen Keylan Killgore, Alec Bohm, Luke Ritter, Dayton Dugas, Greyson Jenista, Connor Lungwitz, Noah Croft, Gabe Constantine, Robby Evans, Clayton McGinness and Codi Heuer.

WSU Baseball on Facebook & Twitter
Become a fan of Wichita State Baseball on Facebook.  Also follow the Shockers on Twitter @GoShockersBSB for in game updates.

The Todd Butler Show
The Todd Butler radio show airs on 1330 KNSS from 8-9 p.m. on Monday's.  It is hosted by Mike Kennedy and starts on Feb. 29.

2015 Season Review
In 2015, the Shockers finished 26-33 overall and 10-11 in the Valley.  Sam Hilliard earned first team all-Valley honors, while Ryan Tinkham and Daniel Kihle were named to the second team.  Gunnar Troutwine, Trey Vickers and John Hayes were named honorable mention, while Tinkham earned first team all-region honors and Hilliard was named to the second team.