WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State hits the road for its final non-conference midweek game Tuesday night when the Shockers visit Manhattan, Kan., to face Kansas State at 6:30 p.m.
Quick Hits
• Tuesday's game will be broadcast on KNSS 1330 AM and on goshockers.com with Mike Kennedy calling the action. The game will also be televised on COX Channel Kansas with Shane Dennis and Ben Fogarty.
• Wichita State leads the overall series with Kansas State 52-37. The Shockers also lead the series in Manhattan 20-17.
• WSU is 146th in the May 1 NCAA RPI, while Kansas State is 98th and Dallas Baptist is 48th. The Shockers are 1-12 against the top-50 and 2-14 against the top-100.
• Alec Bohm is currently on a career-best 16- game hitting streak.
• WSU turned a triple play against Valpo on April 2. It was the first one since 2002.
• Willie Schwanke had his first at bat of the season on April 5 against Oklahoma State and his first since March 10, 2015.
• WSU is 3-16 this season on the road.
• In those 19 road games, WSU is hitting .227 with a 7.23 ERA and .970 fielding percentage.
• On the road this season, Alec Bohm is hitting .342, Alex Jackson is hitting .279, Noah Croft is hitting .261 and Greyson Jenista is hitting .260.
• WSU is 5-5 in the last 10 games.
• In those 10 games, WSU is hitting .308 with a 6.54 ERA and .977 fielding percentage.
• In the last 10 games, Alec Bohm is hitting .444, Trey Vickers is hitting .410, Greyson Jenista is hitting .390 and Jordan Boyer is hitting .321.
• The Shockers are just one of eight teams (Alabama, George Washington, College of Charleston, UNC Asheville, Cincinnati, St. John's, Boston College) to turn a triple play this season.
• WSU collected a season-high 16 strikeouts on March 22 against Sacramento State. It was the most by the pitching staff since 2009.
• WSU collected back-to-back shutouts on Feb. 25 of Grand Canyon. The last time WSU had two-straight was in 2013.
• WSU had a scoreless innings streak of 24.1 from Feb. 19-26. The streak ranks as the eighth longest in WSU history.
• Senior pitcher Reagan Biechler needs 11 more appearances to move into a tie for fifth in the Shocker record book for career appearances.
• Five Shockers have double-digit errorless streaks including Alex Jackson at 33, Gunnar Troutwine at 28, Jacob 17, Trey Vickers at 12 and Luke Ritter at 10.
• WSU struck out seven-straight batters in the season opener against Utah Valley. It was the first time with six or more consecutive strikeouts since 2010.
• WSU is 444-192-1 overall in the month of May.
• Since 1978, the Shockers are 25-3 on May 2.
• WSU plays 24 games in 2017 against teams that were in the top-100 in the RPI in 2016. Fifteen of those are games against teams in the top-50.
• The Shocks were picked tied for fourth in the MVC Preseason Poll.
• Sophomore designated hitter Alec Bohm and sophomore utility player Luke Ritter were named to the preseason all-Valley team.
• In 2016, Greyson Jenista was the first freshman to lead the Shockers in hitting since Pat Magness in 1997 and was just the fifth freshman overall.
• The Shockers welcome 13 newcomers in 2017.
• WSU returns seven starters and 15 letterwinners from the 2016 team.
• The Shocker pitching staff returns four starters including Willie Schwanke, Cody Tyler, Zach Lewis and Connor Lungwitz.
• Last season, Travis Young tied the freshman record for sacrifice hits in a season with seven and it was also the 12th most in the single season record books.
• Last season, Gunnar Troutwine had the fifth most assists by a catcher with 59.
• Head Coach Todd Butler is in his fourth season as coach of the Shockers.
• Assistant Coach Brian Walker is the third base coach and Volunteer Assistant Coach Codey McElroy is the first base coach.
Scouting Kansas State
The Wildcats are 24-20 overall and 4-11 in the Big 12. Wins this season have come against Pitt, Delaware, Ohio State, South Carolina, Liberty twice, Eastern Illinois three times, Northwestern State twice, UC Riverside, Iowa twice, Omaha, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, New Mexico twice, West Virginia twice and Abilene Christian three times. Losses have come against Ohio State, St. John's, UC Riverside twice, Omaha, Iowa, Texas three times, Nebraska twice, TCU three times, Oklahoma State twice, Texas Tech twice, West Virginia and Arkansas. As a team, KSU is hitting .270 with a 4.56 ERA and .969 fielding percentage. They are led offensively by Jake Scudder who is hitting .301 with 10 doubles, 13 home runs and 51 RBI. The Wildcats are led by head coach Brad Hill.
Series History vs. the Wildcats
Wichita State leads the overall series with Kansas State, 52-37. The Shockers also lead the series in Manhattan 20-17.
Last Meeting vs. KSU
The last meeting between the two teams was May 4, 2016 in Wichita. The Wildcats won the game 5-2. Trey Vickers went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Shockers. Starter Robby Evans took the loss.
Bohm's Streak
Sophomore third baseman Alec Bohm had a hit in all four games last week to extend his career-best hitting streak to 16 games. During the streak, he is 29-for-68 (.426) with 16 runs, three doubles, two triples, four home runs, 17 RBI, seven walks and two stolen bases. During the streak, he has raised his batting average from .240 to .315.
Vickers' Ties Career-High
Junior shortstop Trey Vickers tied his career high in hits with a four-hit game in the finale against Illinois State and also tied his career high in RBI. He finished 4-for-5 with three RBI and a double. On April 2, he was hitting .232 and has raised his batting average to .294 in the last 27 days.
10 or More
Wichita State scored 10 or more runs in all three games against Illinois State this weekend. The Shockers scored 11 in the first game, 10 in the second game and 12 in the third game. It was the first time WSU scored 10 or more in three-straight games since Feb. 25-26, 2012 against North Dakota.
Shutout of the Jayhawks
Wichita State beat in-state rival Kansas 8-0 on Wednesday night in Wichita. It was the first shutout of the Jayhawks by WSU since April 5, 2006 in Wichita. In that game, the Shockers won 4-0.
Home Run for Schwanke
Senior designated hitter Willie Schwanke hit his first home run of the season on Saturday at Missouri State. It was his first home run as a Shocker and the second of his career. He had 118 at bats between his two home runs and a little more than four years and two months. He hit his other home run on Feb. 19, 2013 against New Orleans when he was a freshman at Arkansas.
Back-to-Back
Wichita State hit back-to-back home runs in the April 15 game at Bradley. It was the first time the Shockers went back-to-back since April 17, 2015 at Bradley when Ryan Tinkham and Sam Hilliard did it. This time around, it was Dayton Dugas and Noah Croft.
Croft's Big Day
Redshirt freshman catcher Noah Croft hit the first home run of his career in the second inning at Bradley on Saturday. He finished the game with another home run in the seventh inning, a three-run shot that tied the game. He ended up going 3-for-4 in the game with a career-high five RBI and a double.
Triple Play
In the ninth inning of the April 2 game against Valparaiso with runners on first and second, the Shockers turned a 5-6-3 triple play to keep the game tied. It was the first triple play turned by the Shockers since April 16, 2002 against Kansas.
Walk-Offs for Young
Sophomore outfielder Travis Young collected the first walk-off hit of the season for the Shockers in the March 31 4-3 win over Valparaiso. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, he singled to left field to drive in Alex Jackson for the game-winning run. He followed that up with another walk-off on April 2 in another 4-3 win. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, he singled to right field to drive in Noah Croft for the game-winning run. They were the first two walk-off hits of his career.
Lewis Sets Career-High
Senior pitcher Zach Lewis put together a career performance on March 25 against No. 3 Texas Tech. He tied his career-best with seven innings pitched and struck out a career-high 10 in the game.
Season-High K's
The Shocker pitching staff collected a season-high 16 strikeouts on March 22 against Sacramento State. It was the most strikeouts by the WSU pitching staff since March 18, 2009 when the Shockers struck out 16 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Boyer's Grand Slam
Sophomore infielder Jordan Boyer hit his first career home run on March 15 against Northern Colorado. The home run was a grand slam, which was the Shockers first of the season.
