WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State returns to Eck Stadium Tuesday evening when the Shockers host Oral Roberts at 6 p.m. CT.
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 Nate Robertson.
• Wichita State leads the overall series with Oral Roberts 33-29. The Shockers also lead the series in Wichita 19-15.
• WSU is 146th in the May 8 NCAA RPI, while Oral Roberts is 95th. The Shockers are 2-14 against the top-50 and 3-18 against the top-100.
• WSU turned a triple play against Valpo on April 2. It was the first one since 2002.
• Willie Schwanke and Jordan Boyer are both on career-best seven-game hitting streaks.
• 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 18-6 this season at home.
• In those 24 home games, WSU is hitting .297 with a 2.89 ERA and .976 fielding percentage.
• At home this season, Willie Schwanke is hitting .387, Jordan Boyer is hitting .385, Greyson Jenista is hitting .378, Trey Vickers is hitting .330, Alec Bohm is hitting .293 and Alex Jackson is hitting .288.
• WSU is 4-6 in the last 10 games.
• In those 10 games, WSU is hitting .293 with a 7.05 ERA and .976 fielding percentage.
• In the last 10 games, Trey Vickers is hitting .447, Alec Bohm is hitting .439, Jordan Boyer is hitting .364 and Greyson Jenista is hitting .325.
• The Shockers are just one of 10 teams (Alabama, George Washington, College of Charleston, UNC Asheville, Cincinnati, St. John's, Boston College, UNCG, Georgia State) 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 eight more appearances to move into a tie for fifth in the Shocker record book for career appearances.
• Seven Shockers have double-digit errorless streaks including Alex Jackson at 37, Gunnar Troutwine at 29, Jacob Katzfey at 18, Trey Vickers at 16, Luke Ritter at 14, Dayton Dugas at 12 and Josh DeBacker 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 445-195-1 overall in the month of May.
• Since 1978, the Shockers are 22-4 on May 9.
• 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 Oral Roberts
The Golden Eagles are 33-13 overall and 20-4 in the Summit League. Wins this season have come against Little Rock four times, Alabama three times, Kansas, Dallas Baptist, North Dakota State four times, Wichita State, South Dakota State six times, Missouri State, Western Illinois twice, Fort Wayne six times, Oklahoma, Omaha three times, and Oklahoma State. Losses have come against Missouri State, Minnesota, Iowa, Hawaii, Dallas Baptist twice, Kansas, Western Illinois, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, South Dakota State and North Dakota State twice. As a team, the Golden Eagles are hitting .290 with a 3.12 ERA and .978 fielding percentage. They are led offensively by Noah Cummings who is hitting .330 with 13 doubles, 11 home runs and 58 RBI. ORU is led by head coach Ryan Folmar.
Series History vs. the Golden Eagles
Wichita State leads the overall series with Oral Roberts 33-29. The Shockers lead the series in Wichita 19-15.
Last Meeting vs. ORU
The last meeting between the two teams was March 21, 2017, in Tulsa. The Golden Eagles won the game 7-4. Jacob Katzfey went 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Shockers, while Gunnar Troutwine and Alex Jackson each had two hits. Starter Tommy Barnhouse took the loss.
Lewis' Impressive Streak
Senior pitcher Zach Lewis has put up impressive numbers in his last eight starts. In those eight starts, he is 3-2 with a 1.75 ERA. He has pitched 51.1 innings and allowed just 35 hits with 18 walks and 37 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting just .193 off him during that stretch. He has also pitched six or more innings in seven of those eight starts and has six quality starts.
Hitting Streaks
Sophomore second baseman Jordan Boyer and senior designated hitter Willie Schwanke are both on career-best seven-game hitting streaks. During the streak, Boyer is 11-for-26 (.423) with two runs, three doubles, one triple and 10 RBI. Schwanke is 11-for-29 (.379) with seven runs, five doubles, six RBI and a sacrifice fly.
Vickers Tough to K
Junior shortstop Trey Vickers has struck out just 13 times in 178 at bats this season, which is an average of once every 13.7 at bats. That average ranks 29th nationally and first in the Missouri Valley Conference. He has not struck out since April 14 at Bradley and has not had more than one strikeout in a game this season.
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.
