WICHITA, Kan. - After a 5-0 weekend in Arlington last weekend, and a mid-week loss at home to No. 9 Oklahoma, the Wichita State softball team makes its way back to Texas to take on North Texas, UTEP and Texas Tech in the Texas Tech Invitational.
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Scouting North Texas:Â The Mean Green have started the season .500 with a record of 8-8, going 5-2 in neutral site games.
Kelli Schkade and Lacy Gregory lead the team with batting averages of .386 and .340 respectively, while Gregory leads the team with 14 RBI.
North Texas has had three pitchers throw this season, including Stacey Underwood who has an ERA of 2.80, Lauren Craine with an ERA of 3.99 and Jessica Elder with an ERA of 6.81.
The Shockers are 11-4 all-time against the Mean Green, and 1-1 in the Bredbenner era. The last meeting came in 2014.
Scouting UTEP: UTEP has began the season with a record of 3-11, while one player is hitting over .300.
Kiki Pepi leads the team with 12 RBI, and 19 total bases, while Cortney Smith leads the team with four home runs and three doubles.
The Miners pitching staff has three players that have thrown over 20 innings. Devyn Cretz has thrown 23.0 innings and has an ERA of 4.26, while Erika Harrawood has thrown 25.0 innings and has an ERA of 4.48. Kaitlin Fifield has thrown 22.1 innings and has an ERA of 6.27.
The Shockers are 1-1 all-time against the Miners with their last meeting coming in 2011.
Scouting Texas Tech: The Red Raiders have started the 2017 season with a record of 8-7 with Devon Thorney leading the team with a batting average of .400, while Kierra Miles is second with a .326 average.
Kassidy Scott has thrown the most innings for the Red Raiders by far with 47 innings, and also leads the team with an ERA of 2.38.
The Shockers are 6-8 all-time against Texas Tech with the last meeting coming in 2011.
Shockers News and Notes:
Wichita State is coming off a tough loss in their home opener, falling to No. 9 Oklahoma, 7-3 in front of a Wilkins Stadium record 1,113 fans.
The Shockers traveled to UT Arlington last weekend, where they went 5-0, defeating UMKC twice, Nicholls State twice and UT Arlington once.Â
Katie Malone went a perfect 5-0 on the weekend, throwing 29.1 innings, earning her Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week.
So far this season, the Shocker offense has been led by
Kelli Spring who is hitting .462 and by
Mackenzie Wright who is hitting .395.
The Shockers have a team ERA of 1.97, with senior
Katie Malone throwing 54.2 innings, with a record of 8-3 while freshman
Bailey Klitzke has thrown 23.1 innings and has an ERA of 3.30.
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 fifth in batting average (.337), second in slugging percentage (.600), first in on-base percentage (.459) and 13th in walks (68).
Along with Luellen breaking records, senior pitcher
Katie Malone is also climbing the ranks with a full seasons still to play. She is fourth all-time with 50 wins, second all-time with 11 saves, fifth all-time with 125 appearances, tied for sixth all-time with 88 games started and seventh all-time with 320 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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