WICHITA, Kan. - Coming off an opening series sweep, the Wichita State baseball team opens its home schedule with a weekend series vs. Omaha this Saturday and Sunday at Eck Stadium.
Quick Hits
• All three games will be broadcast on KNSS 1330 AM and on goshockers.com with Shane Dennis calling the action and on Shocker HD with Tim Slack and Denning Gerig.
• The series was pushed back to Saturday/ Sunday because of inclement weather.
• Omaha leads the overall series with Wichita State 7-4. The Mavs also lead the series in Wichita 4-3.
• WSU is 37-3 in home openers since 1978.
• Alec Bohm is the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week.
• Head Coach Todd Butler needs one more win to collect his 200th career victory.
• Jordan Boyer is currently on a nine-game hitting streak, while Gunnar Troutwine is on a seven-game streak and Greyson Jenista and Alec Bohm are on five-game streaks.
• All nine Shockers, who have a home run in their career, have homered in their last 61 at bats.
• Six Shockers have double-digit errorless streaks including Jacob Katzfey at 23, Dayton Dugas at 21, Jordan Boyer at 16, Josh DeBacker at 15, Greyson Jenista at 14 and Noah Croft at 13.
• Junior Greyson Jenista has made 100-straight starts while junior Alec Bohm has started 83 straight. Senior Trey Vickers had his streak of 89 straight starts broken last weekend.
• In just three games, the Shockers have already scored in all nine innings and have RBI from all nine positions and a pinch hitter.
• Greyson Jenista and Alec Bohm have both been named preseason All-Americans and to the watch list for the Golden Spikes Award.
• WSU is 153-53 all-time overall in the month of February.
• WSU is 8-1 on Feb. 23 since 1978. The Shockers are 8-2 on Feb. 24 and 18-1 on Feb. 25.
• The Shockers are 85-7 all-time at home (Eck and Lawrence-Dumont) in the month of February.
• WSU is now 30-11 in season openers since 1978.
• The Shockers were picked sixth in The American Preseason Poll.
• Junior third baseman Alec Bohm and junior outfielder Greyson Jenista were named to the preseason all-conference team.
• The Shockers welcome nine newcomers in 2018.
• WSU returns nine starters and 24 letterwinners from the 2017 team.
• The Shocker pitching staff returns five pitchers who started games in 2017 including Codi Heuer, Cody Tyler, Keylan Killgore, Tommy Barnhouse and Robby Evans.
• Wichita State is playing its first season in the American Athletic Conference. The Shocker baseball program was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference from 1948-2017
• Head Coach Todd Butler is in his fifth season as coach of the Shockers.
• Assistant Coach Sammy Esposito is the third base coach and Volunteer Assistant Coach Willie Schwanke is the first base coach.
Scouting Omaha
The Mavs went 2-1 on opening weekend with a series win over Northwestern. Parker Smejkal went 7-for-13 (.538) in the series with four runs, two doubles and one RBI. The team hit .300 with a 4.85 ERA. The Mavs are led by head coach Evan Porter.
Series History vs. the Mavs
Omaha leads the overall series 7-4 and also lead the series in Wichita 4-3.
Last Meeting vs. Omaha
The last meeting between the two teams was March 1, 2017 in Wichita. The Shockers won the game 8-0. Trey Vickers went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a triple, while Jordan Boyer went 2-gor-3 with two RBI and a double. Ten Shocker pitchers combined on the three-hit shutout.
WSU a Winner in Home Openers
Since 1978, the Shockers are 37-3 in home openers. The three losses were to New Mexico, 11-13, in 1988 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, to Richmond, 10-11, in 2007 and 4-6 to Pittsburgh in 2013.
Bohm Named American Player of the Week
Wichita State baseball student-athlete Alec Bohm has been named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the opening week of the season. Bohm, a junior third baseman from Omaha, Neb., led the Shockers to a three-game road sweep at McNeese State. It was the first non-conference road series sweep for the Shockers since 2007. He went 6-for-11 (.545) with three doubles, one home run, seven RBI, four walks and one stolen base. He finished the weekend with a 1.091 slugging percentage and a .667 on base percentage. In game one against the Cowboys, he went 2-for-5 with four RBI, a stolen base and a grand slam. It was his first career grand slam and he tied his career-high with four RBI. In game two, he went 2-for-3, with three RBI and two doubles and in game three he went 2-for-3 with two walks.
Bash Brothers
Junior third baseman Alec Bohm and junior outfielder Greyson Jenista led the Shockers to a three-game sweep at McNeese State. In the three-game series, Bohm went 6-for-11 (.545) with three runs, three doubles, one home run (grand slam), seven RBI, four walks and one stolen base. Jenista went 5-for-12 (.417) with seven runs, one double, two home runs, four RBI, four walks and three stolen bases.
Road Series Win
With the sweep of McNeese State, Wichita State won its first road series since 2015 at Southern Illinois. It was the first non-conference road series win for the Shockers since sweeping Hawaii in 2007.
Hitting Streaks Alive
Four Shockers have continued hitting streaks that carried over from last season. Jordan Boyer is currently on a nine-game hitting streak, while Gunnar Troutwine is on a seven-game streak and Alec Bohm and Greyson Jenista are both on five-game hitting streaks.
Bat Attack
The Shocker offense averaged 10.7 runs per game in the three wins at McNeese State. They collected 10 or more runs in all three games and had RBI from all nine positions along with two from a pinch hitter. The 10.7 runs per game ranks fourth nationally.
Two-Out Machine
Junior infielder Jordan Boyer picked up where he left off last season. In three games at McNeese State, he collected three two-out RBI. Last season, he led the Shockers with 32 two-out RBI.
Troutwine Locked In
Senior catcher Gunnar Troutwine put together an impressive weekend in the sweep at McNeese State. He went 5-for-11 (.455) with four runs, two doubles, one home run and three RBI.
Newcomers Debut
Five Shockers made their collegiate debut in the three-game series at McNeese State. Redshirt freshmen Alex Segal and Preston Minor both pitched, while true freshmen Ross Cadena, Tyler Davis and Liam Eddy also played.
Eddy's Debut
Freshman right-hander Liam Eddy had an impressive debut for the Shockers in game two at McNeese State. He started game two and earned the win by pitching 5.1 innings with two runs, one walk and six strikeouts.
Smooth Criminal
Travis Young had three stolen bases in the Feb. 18 win at McNeese State. It was the first time a Shocker stole three bases in a game since Tanner Dearman did it against Western Illinois on March 17, 2015.
Jenista and Bohm Named to Watch List
Two Wichita State baseball student-athletes have been named to the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award watch list. Junior third baseman Alec Bohm and junior outfielder Greyson Jenista are both on the 55-player list. The award goes to the top amateur baseball player in the country and will be presented on June 28 in Los Angeles. Darren Dreifort is the only Shocker to win the award. He won it in 1993 after being a finalist in 1992.
Jenista & Bohm Named Preseason All-Americans
Greyson Jenista and Alec Bohm enter the 2018 season with many preseason accolades. Jenista has been named a preseason All-American by five publications, while Bohm has been honored by four. Jenista was named to the first team by Baseball America and College Sports Madness, second team by Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game and to the third team by D1Baseball. Bohm was named to the first team by Perfect Game, College Sports Madness and Baseball America and the third team by Collegiate Baseball. Bohm, a junior from Omaha, Neb., hit .305 last season with 71 hits, 44 runs, 13 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 40 RBI and five stolen bases to earn first team all-conference honors. During the summer, he helped the Falmouth Commodores to the Western Division Cape Cod League Playoffs and earned All-Star honors, while finishing second in the Cape in batting average (.351), third in RBI (28), third in doubles (10) and 10th in home runs (5). Jenista, a junior from Eudora, Kan., hit .320 last season with 73 hits, 45 runs, 14 doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 41 RBI and six stolen bases to earn second team all-conference honors. During the summer, he helped the Cotuit Kettleers to the Western Division Cape Cod League Playoffs and earned Cape Cod League MVP honors after hitting .310 with 24 runs, 44 hits, four doubles, three home runs, 16 RBI and nine stolen bases.
Family Tradition
Junior first baseman Mason O'Brien is carrying on a Shocker baseball family tradition. His uncles Charlie O'Brien (1980-82) and Erik Sonberg (1981-83) and cousins Chris O'Brien (2009-11) and Tim Kelley (2008-11) all played for the Shockers.
WSU Joins The American
On April 7, 2017, Wichita State accepted an invitation to the American Athletic Conference. Commissioner Mike Aresco announced the addition of Wichita State to the American Athletic Conference beginning on July 1, 2017. The American's Board of Directors unanimously voted to accept Wichita State as its newest member. The Shockers officially joined The American on July 1, 2017 and conference members include the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Connecticut, East Carolina University, the University of Houston, the University of Memphis, Southern Methodist University, the University of South Florida, Temple University, Tulane University, University of Tulsa, the U.S. Naval Academy and Wichita State University. Navy is a football-only member and Wichita State is a basketball and Olympic sports-only member.
Shockers Picked Sixth in The American
The Shockers were sixth in The American preseason poll done by the league's coaches. WSU totaled 29 points. Houston received five first-place votes and 59 points to finish first. UConn was picked second with three first-place votes and 50 points.
Two Named to Preseason All-Conference Team
Junior third baseman Alec Bohm and junior outfielder Greyson Jenista were named to the preseason all-conference team. Bohm earned first team all-Valley honors in 2017, while Jenista was named to the second team.
Nine Starters Return
WSU returns nine starters from the 2017 team in senior shortstop Trey Vickers, junior third baseman Alec Bohm, junior outfielders Dayton Dugas and Travis Young, junior utility player Luke Ritter, junior second baseman Jordan Boyer, junior first baseman Greyson Jenista, sophomore catcher Noah Croft and sophomore outfielder Alex Jackson.
Shockers to Play 32 Home Games
WSU will play 32 home games in 2018 including 2017 NCAA Tourney participants Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts and USF. The Shockers also host Omaha, SIUE, UT Arlington, Furman, Tulane, UConn, Central Arkansas, Kansas, Cincinnati, South Dakota State and Kansas State.
Newcomers Look to Make Impact
WSU welcomes nine newcomers to the 2018 team including junior Mason O'Brien and freshmen Logan Easley, Ross Cadena, Hunter Gibson, Paxton Wallace, Tyler Davis, Liam Eddy, Garrett Kocis, and Jacob Lindemann.
WSU Baseball on Facebook & Twitter
Become a fan of Wichita State Baseball on Facebook. Also follow the Shockers on Twitter @GoShockersBSB for in game updates.
The Todd Butler Show
The Todd Butler radio show airs on 1330 KNSS from 6-7/7-8/8-9 p.m. on Monday's. It is hosted by Mike Kennedy and starts on Feb. 19.
2017 Season Review
In 2017, the Shockers finished 28-30 overall and 10-11 in the Valley. Alec Bohm and Zach Lewis earned first team all-Valley honors, while Greyson Jenista was named to the second team. Trey Vickers and Noah Croft were named honorable mention.
