The RoundHouse | 3/29/2018 11:00:00 AM
By
Paul Suellentrop
The American Athletic Conference got a marquee series early in its schedule, even if it's one few expected.
Wichita State, ranked as high as No. 18 nationally, opens its conference season at East Carolina, ranked as high as No. 16 in a national poll, on Thursday (5:30 p.m.) in Greenville, N.C. They lead the American in the power rankings with Wichita State No. 7 and ECU No. 13 in the RPI.
In the preseason poll, coaches voted ECU fourth and Wichita State sixth.
"East Carolina – they pack the house," Shockers coach
Todd Butler said. "This is a real atmosphere with energy. That's exciting. That's how you want to play."
Butler is ready to start life in the new conference and optimistic that his team can continue its turnaround on the road. Wichita State (18-4) is 5-3 away from Eck Stadium this season after going 5-22 last season. That record includes a sweep at McNeese State, a split of two games at Creighton and Tuesday's 9-6 win at Central Arkansas. The Shockers lost at Oral Roberts (2-1), Missouri (9-4) and Creighton (3-1).
"I'm pretty much past the road woes, and I know our team is tired of it," Butler said. "First, you have to be good. It takes good players. You have to have enough good players. When you have enough, you should be able to win on the road."
The Shockers drew trips to East Carolina (18-5), defending champion Houston (the preseason favorite), Central Florida (No. 69 in the RPI) and Memphis (No. 214). Through its first 22 games, they are showing signs they can play the kind of low-mistake, balanced baseball that travels well. Wichita State ranks third in the American in batting average (.283) and first in home runs with 27. It is second in fielding percentage (.981). While it ranks fifth in earned run average (3.24), it is first in opponent batting average (.197) and 39 extra-base hits is second for fewest allowed in the nine-team conference.
"As the years go by, you learn how to win and you learn situations," Shocker shortstop Trey Vickers said. "We've got a lot of experience and a lot of guys who know what they're doing."
Six Shocker position players own 100 or more career starts and three more are at 50-plus. Those starts include weekend series at places such as LSU, Texas Tech, Cal State Fullerton, TCU, Dallas Baptist and Missouri State.
"We played all the big guys, so hopefully that schedule that we played in the past and kicked our tail on the road has made us a better team this year," Butler said.
While no current member has advanced to the College World Series as an American member, Wichita State is joining a group with national success in the not-too-far distant past. Tulane went to Omaha in 2001 and 2005. Houston played in super regionals in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2014. ECU won regional titles in 2001, 2004, 2009 and 2016.
The American ranked in the top six, peaking at No. 3 in 2015, of the national RPI its previous four seasons; the Missouri Valley Conference ranked between No. 6 and 16 during that span. The conferences are often similar at the top, with Missouri State and Dallas Baptist of the MVC comparable to the American's top teams. The American is deeper.
This season, the American ranks sixth nationally in conference RPI (the MVC is eighth). Last season, seven of the eight American schools finished in the top 100 with No. 119 Memphis the exception. That depth put Houston, UCF and South Florida in an NCAA regional, with Houston as a host. The American also totaled three NCAA bids in 2016 and four in 2015.
Houston (2014) and East Carolina (2016) advanced to super regionals as American members. Former member Louisville played in the 2014 College World Series.
In December, Baseball America's Teddy Cahill listed Wichita State outfielder Greyson Jenista (No. 10), Connecticut lefty Tim Cate (No. 13), Shocker third baseman Alec Bohm (No. 16), ECU outfielder Dwayna Williams-Sutton (No. 82) and UCF lefty Bryce Tucker (No. 86) on his list of the top 100 draft prospects in college.
Last June, 26 from the American were drafted, 11 in the first 10 rounds.
"East Carolina's going to be like us – they're big and strong and they throw strikes," Butler said. "You're going to see high draft picks in this league. You're going to see more power pitching. You're going to see 90 (mph) and above. It's a power league."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
