WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State faces its first Big 12 opponent of the season Tuesday night when the Oklahoma Sooners visit Eck Stadium for a 6 p.m. first pitch on COX YurView.
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Quick Hits
• The game will be broadcast on KNSS 1330 AM and on goshockers.com with Mike Kennedy calling the action. It will also be televised on Cox YurView Kansas with Shane Dennis and Denning Gerig.Â
• Oklahoma leads the overall series with Wichita State 16-12. WSU leads the series in Wichita 9-3.
• The Shockers are ranked No. 26 in the Collegiate Baseball poll.
• WSU's 8-0 start was the best since the 2005 team started 11-0.
• Alec Bohm already has three grand slams this season and is the national leader.
• The Shockers lead the nation in grand slams with five.
• Liam Eddy is just the second freshman pitcher in school history to win his first four starts. The other was David Haas in 1985.
• Redshirt freshman Alex Segal will be making his first career start.
• The Shockers are 6-for-12 with the bases loaded this season with five grand slams. Alec Bohm is 3-for-3 with three grand slams with the bases loaded.
• The Shockers are 9-1 at home this season.
• In 10 home games, WSU is hitting .295 with a 2.54 ERA and .989 fielding percentage.
• Mason O'Brien is hitting .406 with 13 RBI at home this season.
• WSU is 6-4 in the last 10 games.
• In the last 10 games, WSU is hitting .286 with a 3.64 ERA and a .975 fielding percentage.
• Head Coach Todd Butler collected his 200th career victory on Feb. 24 against Omaha.
• 10 of 11 Shockers, who have a home run in their career, have homered in their last 41 at bats.
• Six Shockers have double-digit errorless streaks including Jacob Katzfey at 30, Dayton Dugas at 35, Josh DeBacker at 20, Mason O'Brien at 15, Gunnar Troutwine at 13 and Travis Young at 13.
• Junior Greyson Jenista has made 114-straight starts while junior Alec Bohm has started 97 straight. Senior Trey Vickers had his streak of 89 straight starts broken opening weekend.
• Shocker pinch hitters are 8-for-22 (.364) this season.
• Freshman Hunter Gibson homered in his first collegiate plate appearance on Feb. 25 against Omaha. He is just the second Shocker to do that joining teammate Alec Bohm who did it in 2016.
• Greyson Jenista and Alec Bohm have both been named preseason All-Americans and to the watch list for the Golden Spikes Award.
• The Shockers are 19-6 on March 20.
• WSU is 587-240-2 all-time in the month of March.
• WSU is now 30-11 in season openers since 1978.
• WSU is now 38-3 in home openers since 1978.
• Greyson Jenista and Alec Bohm have both been named preseason All-Americans and to the watch list for the Golden Spikes Award.
• 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 Oklahoma
The Sooners are 14-8 overall with wins over No. 20 Indiana, Holy Cross twice, Valparaiso, No. 29 Alabama twice, No. 25 Dallas Baptist, A&M Corpus Christi three times, Texas Southern twice and Kennesaw State twice. Losses have come against No. 17 South Alabama, Coastal Carolina, Virginia Tech, Valparaiso, No. 24 Dallas Baptist, No. 29 Alabama, A&M Corpus Christi and Kennesaw State. Leading the way offensively is Kyle Mendenhall who is hitting .357 with three home runs and 23 RBI. The team is hitting .280 with a 3.80 ERA and .966 fielding percentage. The Sooners are led by head coach Skip Johnson.
Series History vs. the Sooners
Oklahoma leads the overall series with Wichita State 16-12. The Shockers lead the series in Wichita 9-3.
Last Meeting vs. OU
The last meeting between the two teams was March 7, 2017 in Norman, Okla. The Shockers won the game 4-2. Jordan Boyer went 2-for-4 with a RBI, while reliever Tommy Barnhouse earned the win.
Shockers Ranked 20th
The Wichita State baseball team is ranked No. 20 in the March 12 Collegiate Baseball Poll. The Shockers were ranked No. 22 in the March 5 poll. It was the first time the Shockers have been ranked in the top-25 since March 27, 2011 when they were No. 24. WSU is also receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll and the NCBWA poll.
National Leaders
Wichita State already has five grand slams this season, which leads the NCAA. New Mexico State, Santa Clara and Kansas State are in second with three grand slams. Individually, Alec Bohm is the national leader with three grand slams, while three others are tied for second with two each.
10 Different Shockers
Ten different Shockers have hit a home run this season. That is tied for the most in the nation with Georgia Tech.
Wallace Breaks Out
Freshman Paxton Wallace collected his first career hit in the March 17 game at Creighton. It was a pinch-hit opposite field RBI double to tie the game at one in the eighth inning. He earned the start in game two of the series and went 1-for-3 with two RBI and two walks. He also had two go ahead RBI in the finale.
Improving on the Road
The Shockers are 4-3 on the road so far this season. They need just one more road win to equal the total number of road wins last season. In 2017, the Shockers were 5-22 on the road and in 2016 they were just 4-19 away from Eck Stadium.
Another Grand Slam
Greyson Jenista hit his first career grand slam in the 12-3 win over UT Arlington. It was the Shockers fifth grand slam of the season. The school record is six set in 1998.
Vickers' Debut
Senior shortstop Trey Vickers made his first start of the season in game one against UT Arlington after missing the first part of the season with a hamstring injury. In his debut, he went 3-for-5 with two runs and a home run. He pinch hit in game three against the Mavericks and singled to right, which led to the tying run scoring in the eighth inning.
Power Surge
The Shockers hit their 19th home run of the season on March 10 against UT Arlington. That is just 13 games into the season. Last season, it took the Shockers 35 games to hit 19 home runs.
Troutwine's Walk-Off
Senior catcher Gunnar Troutwine's walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning gave Wichita State a 5-4 win in 10 innings against UT Arlington on March 11. It was the first walk-off win for the Shockers since May 16, 2017 when Luke Ritter hit a walk-off home run against Kansas State. It was the first extra innings walk-off hit since Greyson Jenista's single against Oral Roberts in the 10th inning on May 9, 2017.
School Record
Junior Alec Bohm already has three grand slams this season, which is a school record for grand slams in a season. He needs just one more to tie for the career record of four at Wichita State held by Phil Stephenson and Randy Walter.
Back-to-Back
The Bash Brothers went back-to-back for the first time this season in game three against Omaha. Greyson Jenista hit a two-run home run to left field and on the very next pitch Alec Bohm homered to right-center. The Bash Brothers went back-to-back for the second time this season in game two against Nebraska. Greyson Jenista hit a three-run home run to right field and Alec Bohm followed with a homer to left field.
Stout Defense
The Shockers continued to play great defense this season in the three-game series with UT Arlington and already has seven errorless games in 12 total games this season. The Shockers are fielding .987 overall.
8-0 Start
Wichita State started the 2018 season 8-0 which is the best start since 2005 when the Shockers started 11-0.
Sanburn Emerges
Senior reliever Chandler Sanburn has emerged as the Shockers top relief pitcher. In his last four appearances, he has pitched six shutout innings and has not allowed a hit. He has one save with two walks and 11 strikeouts.
Grand Slams for Everyone
On March 2 in game one of the series against Nebraska, Mason O'Brien and Alec Bohm both hit grand slams for the Shockers. It was the first time the Shockers had two grand slams in a game since April 25, 2008 when Dusty Coleman and Conor Gillaspie did it at Indiana State.
Bohm's Slams
Alec Bohm already has three grand slams this season (Feb. 16 at McNeese, March 2 vs. Nebraska, March 4 vs. Nebraska). The last Shocker to have multiple grand slams in a season was Casey Gillaspie in 2013 with two.
Four-Straight
Alec Bohm hit a home run in four-straight games this season (Feb. 25-March 4). He is the first Shocker to do that since Sam Hilliard hit one in four-straight from May 14-20, 2015.
Bases Loaded
With the bases loaded this season, the Shockers are 4-for-6 with four grand slams. Alec Bohm is 3-for-3 with the bases loaded with three grand slams.
Gibson Homers in Debut
Freshman Hunter Gibson pinch hit in game three of the series against Omaha for his first collegiate at bat. He hit an opposite field home run and became just the second player in Shocker history to hit a home run in their first collegiate plate appearance. The other is his teammate Alec Bohm who did it in 2016.
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. Three more made appearances in the series with Omaha including Hunter Gibson, Paxton Wallace and Garrett Kocis and Trent Allen made his debut against Nebraska.
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.
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.
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.
