Date: March 18-20, 2016
First Pitch: 4, 2, 12 p.m.
Location: Lincoln, Neb.
Stadium: Haymarket Park
Free Audio: www.goshockers.com/watch
Talent: Shane Dennis
Series: Nebraska leads 23-21
Quick Hits
• All three games will be broadcast on KNSS 1330 AM with Shane Dennis calling the action.  The games will also be on www.goshockers.com.
• Nebraska leads the overall series with Wichita State 23-21. NU also leads the series in Lincoln 11-7.
• Bryan Erstad, younger brother of Nebraska head coach Darin Erstad, played for the Shockers from 2001-04 and was a second team Academic All-American in 2003.
• Head Coach Todd Butler recorded his 150th career win on March 1 against Omaha.
• WSU is 0-8 in road games.
• In eight road games, WSU is hitting .219 with a 8.16 ERA and .976 fielding percentage.
• In eight road games, Luke Ritter is hitting .280, while Tanner Kirk is hitting .265.
• In the last 10 games, WSU is 3-7 and hitting .259 with a 5.61 ERA and .960 fielding percentage.
• In the last 10 games, Mikel Mucha is hitting .429, while Gunnar Troutwine is hitting .406 and Dayton Dugas is hitting .346.
• Only one current Shocker has played against Nebraska. Reagan Biechler pitched against the Huskers in 2014.
• WSU has three players from the state of Nebraska including senior Tanner Kirk (Lincoln), sophomore Sam Tewes (Lincoln) and freshman Alec Bohm (Omaha).
• The Shockers rank 43rd nationally in doubles, 47th in doubles per game, and 23rd in shutouts.
• WSU is 20-7 on March 18 since 1978. The Shockers are 14-9 on March 19 and 19-5 on March 20.
• WSU is 570-218-2 all-time overall in the month of March.
• Freshman Alec Bohm became the first freshman in Shocker history to hit a home run in his first collegiate plate appearance.
• WSU is 28-11 in season openers since 1978.
• WSU is 36-3 in home openers since 1978.
• Dayton Dugas became the first freshman to start on opening day since Casey Gillaspie and Tyler Baker in 2012.
• 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 79-7 all-time at home (Eck and Lawrence-Dumont) in the month of February.
• 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 every year 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 Nebraska
The Huskers are 9-6 overall and have wins over No. 32 College of Charleston, No. 20 Tulane, No. 20 Long Beach State, Northern Colorado twice and Loyola Marymount four times. Losses have come against No. 32 College of Charleston twice, San Diego, No. 23 Arizona and No. 20 Long Beach State twice. As a team, they are hitting .289 with a team ERA of 4.05 and a .977 fielding percentage. They are led offensively by Ben Miller who is hitting .390 with four doubles, three home runs and 11 RBI. NU is led by head coach Darin Erstad.

Series History vs. the Huskers
Nebraska leads the overall series with Wichita State 23-21. The Huskers also lead the series in Lincoln 11-7. Head Coach Todd Butler is 0-4 in his career against Nebraska.  

Last Meeting vs. NU
The last meeting between the two teams was March 25, 2014, in Wichita. The Huskers won 7-3. Casey Gillaspie went 2-for-4 for the Shockers, while Tyler Baker hit a home run. Starter Kris Gardner took the loss.

Tinkham a Candidate for Senior CLASS Award
Wichita State baseball student-athlete Ryan Tinkham has been named one of 30 candidates for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award.
Tinkham, a senior first baseman from Simi Valley, Calif., was named a preseason second team All-American and a preseason all-Valley selection. He earned second team all-Valley and first team all-region honors in 2015. Through 15 games this season, he is hitting .255 with 11 runs, five doubles, two home runs and 12 RBI.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C's of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2016 College World Series® in June.
For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
 
Lewis Sets Career-Highs
Junior pitcher Zach Lewis set a few career-highs on Sunday at No. 23 Cal State Fullerton. He pitched a career-best 6.1 innings and also struck out a career-high seven, while not walking anyone.

Tough Road Stretch
The Shockers are in the middle of a tough road stretch of seven of eight games away from home. WSU started the road trip at Oklahoma on Tuesday before playing three games at No. 23 Cal State Fullerton over the weekend. WSU played at home against North Dakota on Tuesday before finishing the week with a three-game series at Nebraska.