WICHITA, Kan. - No. 24 Wichita State hosts a pair of midweek contests this week at Eck Stadium beginning with a matchup vs. Central Arkansas Tuesday, April 17 at 6 p.m. The Shockers then host in-state rival, Kansas, Wednesday night at 6 p.m. on COX YurView.
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Quick Hits
• Both games will be broadcast on KNSS 1330 AM and on goshockers.com with Mike Kennedy calling the action and will be televised on Shocker HD on Tuesday and Cox YurView Kansas on Wednesday with Shane Dennis and Denning Gerig.Â
• Wichita State leads the overall series with Central Arkansas 4-3. The Shockers also lead the series in Wichita 3-2.
• Wichita State leads the overall series with Kansas 44-34. The Shockers also lead the series in Wichita 24-16.
• The Shockers are ranked No. 24 in the April 16 USA Today Coaches poll and No. 20 in the April 9 NCBWA poll.
• WSU is 15th in the April 16 NCAA RPI, while Central Arkansas is 135th, Kansas is 91st and Houston is 128th. The Shockers are 6-6 against the top-50 and 8-7 against the top-100.
• The Shockers are 16-0 this season when they score first and 20-3 when they hit a home run in a game.
• Luke Ritter and Alec Bohm are currently on eight-game hitting streaks, while Gunnar Troutwine is on a six-game streak and Jordan Boyer is on a three-game streak.
• The Shocker pitching staff already has 10 quality starts this season.
• 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 tied for the national lead.
• 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.
• Senior Trey Vickers is one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award.
• The Shockers are 13-for-35 with the bases loaded this season with five grand slams. Alec Bohm is 3-for-6 with three grand slams with the bases loaded.
• The Shockers are 17-4 at home this season.
• In 21 home games, WSU is hitting .306 with a 3.33 ERA and .973 fielding percentage.
• Trey Vickers is hitting .370 at home this season, while Alec Bohm is hitting .354, Luke Ritter is hitting .351, Greyson Jenista and Mason O'Brien are hitting .333 and Dayton Dugas is hitting .327.
• WSU is 5-5 in the last 10 games.
• In the last 10 games, WSU is hitting .291 with a 5.55 ERA and a .949 fielding percentage.
• Luke Ritter is hitting .359 in the last 10 games, while Gunnar Troutwine is hitting .324.
• Head Coach Todd Butler collected his 200th career victory on Feb. 24 against Omaha.
• 11 of 12 Shockers, who have a home run in their career, have homered in their last 66 at bats.
• Three Shockers have double-digit errorless streaks including Jacob Katzfey at 38, Travis Young at 21, and Alex Jackson at 11.
• Junior Alec Bohm has made 113 straight-starts, while junior Jordan Boyer has made 70-straight starts. Senior Trey Vickers had his streak of 89 straight starts broken opening weekend and junior Greyson Jenista had his 117-game streak broken on March 25.
• Alec Bohm leads the Shockers with 13 multiple-hit games and Gunnar Troutwine leads with nine multiple-RBI games.
• Gunnar Troutwine leads the Shockers with 10 two-out RBI, while Mason O'Brien leads with five go ahead RBI.
• Shocker pinch hitters are 15-for-46 (.326) 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 26-7 on April 17 and 24-5 on April 18.
• WSU is 666-283 all-time in the month of April.
Scouting Central Arkansas
The Bears are 22-13 overall with wins over Northern Illinois, Missouri State, Creighton twice, Mississippi Valley twice, McNeese, SEMO twice, Incarnate Word three times, New Orleans three times, Northwestern State twice, Houston Baptist, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and UT Martin three times. Losses have come against Northern Illinois twice, Little Rock, Missouri State, Oral Roberts, Creighton, McNeese twice, Oklahoma State, Wichita State, Northwestern State and Houston Baptist twice. Leading the way offensively is Rigo Aguilar who is hitting .358 with 10 doubles, one home run and 25 RBI. The team is hitting .282 with a 3.44 ERA and .981 fielding percentage. The Bears are led by head coach Allen Gum.
Series History vs. the Bears
Wichita State leads the overall series with Central Arkansas 4-3. The Shockers also lead the series in Wichita 3-2.
Last Meeting vs. UCA
The last meeting between the two teams was March 27, 2018, in Conway, Ark. The Shockers won the game 9-6. Paxton Wallace went 2-for- 2 with a triple and two RBI, while Trey Vickers went 3-for-5 with a double. Reliever Keylan Killgore earned the win.
Scouting Kansas
The Jayhawks are 19-16 overall with wins over Murray State twice, Northwestern twice, Omaha three times, Texas Southern three times, No. 20 St. John's three times, Grand Canyon, Baylor twice, Morehead State twice, and No. 5 Texas Tech. Losses have come against Murray State, Northwestern, No. 4 Florida State twice, Texas three times, Grand Canyon, Baylor, Missouri State, Morehead State, No. 5 Texas Tech twice, Creighton and TCU twice. They are led offensively by Jaxx Groshans who is hitting .346 with 11 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 29 RBI. As a team, they are hitting .278 with a 5.72 ERA and .963 fielding percentage. KU is led by head coach Ritch Price.
Series History vs. the Jayhawks
Wichita State leads the overall series with Kansas 44-34. The Shockers also lead the series in Wichita 24-16.
Last Meeting vs. KU
The last meeting between the two teams was April 19, 2017 in Wichita. The Shockers won the game 8-0. Greyson Jenista went 3-for-5 with three runs, while Alec Bohm and Jordan Boyer each had two RBI. Reliever Connor Lungwitz earned the win.
Shockers Ranked 24th
The Wichita State baseball team is ranked No. 24 in the April 16 USA Today Coaches poll and No. 20 in the April 9 NCBWA poll. The Shockers were ranked No. 22 in the March 5 poll. It was the first time the Shockers had been ranked in the top-25 since March 27, 2011 when they were No. 24.
National Leaders
Wichita State already has five grand slams this season, which leads the NCAA. Austin Peay, Coastal Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee Tech are in second with four grand slams. Individually, Alec Bohm is tied for the national lead with three grand slams. Matt Wallner of Southern Miss also has three.
11 Different Shockers
Eleven different Shockers have hit a home run this season. Tennessee Tech leads the nation with 15 different players.
Ritter Named to American Honor Roll
Wichita State baseball student-athlete Luke Ritter has been named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll for the week of April 9-15. Ritter, a junior outfielder from Overland Park, Kan., led the Shockers to a road win at Oklahoma State and a win over UConn. He went 7-for-14 (.500) with six runs, one double, one home run, four RBI, a walk and two hit by pitch. On Tuesday at Oklahoma State, he went 2-for-4 with two runs and a walk. In game one against UConn, he went 1-for-3 with a run, a RBI and a home run and in game two he went 1-for-2 with a run. In the finale against the Huskies, he went 3-for-5 with two runs, three RBI and a double. He is currently on a career best eight-game hitting streak.
Killgore Out of the Pen
Sophomore left-hander Keylan Killgore has been impressive out of the bullpen this season. In 13 relief appearances, he is 3-0 with a 0.61 ERA. He has allowed one earned run in 14.2 innings pitched out of the bullpen and has struck out 16.
Five in the First
Wichita State scored five runs in the first inning of Sunday's win over UConn. It was the first time the Shockers scored five or more runs in the first inning since April 16, 2016 against Missouri State.
Vickers Moves Into First
Senior shortstop Trey Vickers collected a sacrifice hit over the weekend to move him into a tie for first place in the Shocker career record books for sacrifice hits with 21. He is currently tied with Kevin Hall.
Ritter Stays Hot
Junior utility player Luke Ritter is hitting .394 over his last 17 games. In those games, he is 28-for-71 with 20 runs, five doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI and two sacrifice flies.
Troutwine Delivers
Senior catcher Gunnar Troutwine is hitting .381 over his last 11 games. In those games, he is 16-for-42 with nine runs, four doubles, three home runs, 16 RBI and five walks.
