Date: March 8, 2016
First Pitch: 6 p.m.
Location: Norman, Okla.
Stadium: L. Dale Mitchell Park
Free Audio: www.goshockers.com/watch
Talent: Mike Kennedy & Shane Dennis
Series: Oklahoma leads 14-11

Quick Hits
• Tuesday's game will be broadcast on KNSS 1330 AM with Mike Kennedy and Shane Dennis calling the action.  The game will also be on www.goshockers.com.
• Oklahoma leads the overall series with Wichita State 14-11. The Sooners also lead the series in Norman 11-2. WSU's only two wins in Norman were in 1992 and 2006.
• Clayton McGinness will be making his first career start for WSU.
• Head Coach Todd Butler recorded his 150th career win on March 1 against Omaha.
• Sophomore Gunnar Troutwine is currently on a seven-game hitting streak, while senior Mikel Mucha is on a six-game hitting streak and seniors Tanner Kirk and Ryan Tinkham are on four-game hitting streaks.
• WSU is 0-4 in road games.
• In four road games, WSU is hitting .294 with a 10.41 ERA and .966 fielding percentage.
• In four road games, Luke Ritter is hitting .545, while Ryan Tinkham is hitting .385.
• In the last 10 games, WSU is 3-7 and hitting .310 with a 7.01 ERA and .960 fielding percentage.
• Eleven current Shockers have played against OU in their careers including Tanner Kirk, Gunnar Troutwine, Mikel Mucha, Trey Vickers, Taylor Sanagorski, Ryan Tinkham, Chase Rader, Keenan Eaton, John Hayes, Reagan Biechler and Tyler Jones.
• WSU has three players from the state of Oklahoma including Jordan Boyer (OKC), Chase Williams (Broken Arrow) and Tyler Gibson (Howe).
• The Shockers rank 11th nationally in doubles, ninth in doubles per game, 39th in on base percentage, 31st in walks, 14th in shutouts and 38th in strikeouts per nine innings.
• WSU is 19-3-1 on March 8 since 1978.  
• WSU is 569-214-2 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 Oklahoma
The Sooners are 4-7-1 overall with wins over Northeastern twice, Abilen Christian and Central Arkansas. Losses have come against Northeastern twice, Sam Houston State three times, No. 22 USC and No. 14 UCLA. The tie was to No. 20 Mississippi State. As a team, they are hitting .247 with a team ERA of 3.24 and a .972 fielding percentage. They are led offensively by Sheldon Neuse who is hitting .302 with three doubles, one triple, two home runs, nine RBI and five stolen bases. OU is led by head coach Pete Hughes.

Series History vs. the Sooners
Oklahoma leads the overall series with the Shockers 14-11. The Sooners lead the series in Norman 11-2. The Shockers only wins in Norman were in 1992 and 2006. Head Coach Todd Butler is 1-2 in his career against OU.

Last Meeting vs. OU
The last meeting between the two teams was April 28, 2015, in Wichita. The Shockers won 9-8. Sam Hilliard went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a triple and two RBI to lead the Shockers, while reliever John Hayes earned the win.

On-Base Streaks
Three Shocker hitters have been on base in every game this season and also carry over streaks from last season. Ryan Tinkham has currently been on base in 25-straight games, while Gunnar Troutwine has reached in 21-straight and Tanner Kirk in 11-straight.
 
Schwanke Strikes Out Career-High
Willie Schwanke led the Shockers to a 2-0 win on Saturday against Sam Houston State. He pitched seven shutout innings and allowed four singles with no walks and a career-high eight strikeouts. He limited the Bearkats to a .154 batting average in the game. He struck out at least one batter in each of his seven innings and he allowed just two runners into scoring position, both at second base.

First for the Freshmen
Wichita State had two freshmen collect their first career home runs over the weekend. Freshman infielder Luke Ritter hit his first home run on Friday against Sam Houston State in the third inning, while freshman outfielder Dayton Dugas hit his first home run on Friday in the fifth inning. Redshirt freshman infielder Jordan Boyer also collected his first career hit this weekend. He had an infield single in the eighth inning on Sunday and then followed that with a three-run triple in the ninth.

Grand Slam for Tinkham
Senior first baseman Ryan Tinkham hit his first career grand slam on Sunday against Sam Houston State. It was his second home run of the weekend as he also had a home run on Friday. It was the first grand slam of the season for the Shockers. WSU hit two of them in 2015, one by Daniel Kihle against Southern Illinois and one by Sam Hilliard against Dallas Baptist.

Early Season Shutouts
The Wichita State pitching staff already has two shutouts during the 2016 season. The Shockers shut out Northern Colorado 11-0 on Feb. 19 and shut out Sam Houston State 2-0 on March 5. WSU had only one shutout in 2015. It was on May 10, a 10-0 win over Evansville.

Late Inning Offense
The Shocker bats have come to life during the late innings of games. Through 11 games, WSU has scored 12 runs in the eighth inning and 13 in the ninth inning.