WICHITA, Kan. - Coming off a perfect 5-0 weekend in Arlington, Texas, the Wichita State softball team looks to stay hot as they host the defending National Champion Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday at 5 p.m., inside Wilkins Stadium.
Standing room only tickets remain for tomorrow's softball game against No. 9 Oklahoma, Wichita State announced today. No general admission seating remains.
Standing room only tickets are $5, cash only. The entrance to the standing room only area will be behind the right field foul pole, but fans will be able to stand anywhere beyond the five-foot wooden outfield fence.
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Scouting No. 9 Oklahoma: After a record of 57-8 overall and 17-1 in the Big 12, the Oklahoma Sooners won a National Championship, defeating Auburn. OU is returning 11 players from a year ago, including seven starters and two All-Americans.
Oklahoma was led in 2016 by Shay Knighten who hit .397 on the season, including 13 home runs and 62 RBI. So far in 2017, the Sooners have been led by Caleigh Clifton who has started all 13 games and is hitting .417 with five doubles and six RBI.
In the circle, the Sooners have had two players throw over 30 innings, with Paige Lowary leading the team with an ERA of 2.23 in 31.1 innings while Paige Parker has thrown 38.2 innings and has an ERA of 2.35.
Wichita State faced Oklahoma twice in 2016, falling to the Sooners 10-1 on April 6 in Norman and also 7-2 on May 20 in the Norman Regional.
The Shockers are 5-44 all-time against Oklahoma, with head coach
Kristi Bredbenner being 0-9 vs. the Sooners.
Shockers News and Notes: The Shockers looked to rebound from two losses in Tempe, Ariz., traveling to Arlington, Texas where they defeated UMKC (twice), Nicholls State (twice) and UT Arlington to push their season record to 9-2.
A 9-2 record to start the season is the best start for the first 11 games since 1994 when the team started 10-1.
The Shockers are now receiving votes in the NFCAÂ Coaches Poll.
In five games on the weekend, senior pitcher
Katie Malone collected all five wins and pitched 29.1 of the 32 innings that the team played over the weekend.Â
Malone was named Missouri Valley Pitcher of the Week for the second time in her career.
So far this season, the Shocker offense has been led by
Kelli Spring who is hitting an even .500 with three doubles and six RBI, while
Mackenzie Wright is hitting .429 with five doubles and nine RBI. Both
Macklin Hitz and
Laurie Derrico are tied for the team lead with four home runs.
The Shockers have a team ERA of 1.87, with senior
Katie Malone throwing 50.1 innings, with a record of 8-2 while freshman
Bailey Klitzke has thrown 20.2 innings and has an ERA of 3.05.
Wichita State finished the 2016 regular season winning 12 of their last 13 games, with a 12 game winning streak being the second longest in school history.
After winning the regular season championship, the Shockers then went on to win the Missouri Valley Tournament Championship, winning both for the first time in school history.
Wichita State then was selected for the 2016 NCAA Regional in Oklahoma, falling to Oklahoma and Ole Miss, but defeating Tulsa for Wichita State's first win in an NCAA Regional.
The Shockers will return four of the seven athletes who recieved All-MVC honors in 2016, including
Paige Luellen,
Jenni Brooks,
Mackenzie Wright and
Macklin Hitz.
Paige Luellen had reached base in the first 28 games for the Shockers in 2016, but ended her 33 game on-base streak at Kansas on March 29, 2016.
Wichita State lost two giant bats from 2016 in
Cacy Williams and
Brittany Fortner, but look to pick up where they left off, bringing in eight newcomers to battle for playing time with the 8 returning starters from a year ago. Returning starters for the Shockers are
Kelli Spring,
Laurie Derrico,
Mackenzie Wright,
Ashley Johnson,
Paige Luellen,
Macklin Hitz,
Jenni Brooks and
Katie Malone.
The Shockers also return three other position players including,
McKenzie Adams who played in 22 games in 2016, hitting .212.
Mauriana Jamele,
Kennedy Long,
Cassidy Kelsheimer,
Bethany Canada and
Kaylee Huecker will also return in 2017.
Wichita State returns seniors
Katie Malone, who made the most starts among the pitching staff (43) a season ago, and
Jenni Brooks, who led the team in ERA (3.23), wins (18), and was second in starts (21), and innings pitched (136.1).
Malone appeared in 43 games while starting 26 for the Shockers. During those 43 appearances (which led the team), she also was second on the team in wins (15), strikeouts (78), complete games (11) and second on the team with an ERA of 4.18. Brooks appeared in 38 games for the Shockers, collecting 18 wins and holding opposing hitters to an average of .271. The Shockers have also brought in two newcomers that will pitch for the Shockers in
Bailey Klitzke and
Morgan Palmer.
In just her junior season,
Paige Luellen is beginning to work her way up the Shocker record book, currently tied for sixth in batting average (.333), fourth in slugging percentage (.598), third in on-base percentage (.451) and tied for 12th in walks (71).
Along with Luellen breaking records, senior pitcher
Katie Malone is also climbing the ranks with a full season still to play. She is third all-time with 58 wins, second all-time with 11 saves, fifth all-time with 136 appearances, fourth all-time with 95 games started and sixth all-time with 366 strikeouts.
Head coach
Kristi Bredbenner is entering her sixth season with the Shockers after coaching at Emporia State prior to taking the job at Wichita State.
Wichita State was picked second in the 2016 MVC preseason poll, as voted on by the Valley coaches. The Shockers collected 88 points and three first-place votes. Drake was picked first with 92 points and six first place votes.
Two Shockers were named to the 2017 Preseason First Team All-MVC, including Wright and Hitz.
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