WICHITA, Kan. - After losing a heartbreaker to No. 12 LSU on Thursday, the Shockers are quickly back in action this weekend to begin Missouri Valley Conference play against Drake. Following the Drake series, the Shockers will take on Nebraska on Monday at 5 p.m.
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Scouting Drake: So far this season, the Bulldogs has started with a record of 16-9 overall and are 0-5 in away games.Â
Sarah Maddox has led the way for the Bulldogs on the offensive side, hitting .365, while starting all 25 games. Tasha Alexander has also started all 25 games and is hitting, .347 on the year.Â
The Bulldogs pitching staff holds an ERA of 3.85, while Nicole Newman has thrown 55 innings and has an ERA of 1.27. Newman has also struck out 94 batters on the year, which leads the Missouri Valley and is tied for 25th in the nation.
The Shockers swept the Bulldogs in four games in 2016, winning three games in Des Moines by scores of 9-1, 9-0 and 7-4. The Shockers then defeated Drake in the championship game of the MVC Tournament, 5-0.
Scouting Nebraska: The Huskers lost their first 10 games of the year, before defeating Missouri for their first win of the year.
Wichita State was able to win one out of three last year in Lincoln, defeating the Huskers, 2-1, but falling, 10-5 and 6-4.
Shockers News and Notes: The Shockers fell to LSU on Thursday in eight innings and look to bounce back this weekend as they play four games in three days with three against Drake and one against Nebraska.Â
Wichita State finished this last weekend on a strong note, defeating Tulsa for the fourth time in the last two years. This win snapped a five game losing streak for the Shockers, with losses to North Texas, UTEP, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Montana.
Heading into the LSU game, Wichita State is ranked fifth in the nation in doubles per game with 1.86 doubles per game.Â
The Shockers are also second in the Missouri Valley in batting average at .323, first in doubles with 39 and first in home runs with 19.
Senior
Katie Malone leads the Missouri Valley in innings pitched (89.0), batters struck out looking (24), wins (10) and is seocnd in the Valley in total strikeouts (79).
The Shockers have played just one other home game so far this year against No. 9 Oklahoma, where the Shockers drew a record 1,113 fans, but lost to the Sooners by a score of 7-3.
Mackenzie Wright hit .435 in six games and earning Missouri Valley Player of the week for the week of March 6.
Katie Malone went a perfect 5-0 in Arlington, throwing 29.1 innings, earning her Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week for the week of Feb. 27.
So far this season, the Shocker offense has been led by
Kelli Spring who is hitting .371 and by
Mackenzie Wright who is hitting .362.
The Shockers have a team ERA of 3.32, with senior
Katie Malone throwing 89.0 innings, with a record of 10-5 while freshman
Bailey Klitzke has thrown 33.2 innings and has an ERA of 4.16.
Jenni Brooks has now made five appearances and has thrown 14.1 innings and allowed 10 earned runs for an ERA of 4.88.
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.
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 in seventh in batting average (.331), third in slugging percentage (.593), third in on-base percentage (.446) and 10th in walks (75).
Along with Luellen breaking records, senior pitcher
Katie Malone is also climbing the ranks as she finishes her senior year. She is third all-time with 60 wins, second all-time with 11 saves, fourth all-time with 146 appearances, fourth all-time with 101 games started and fifth all-time with 399 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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