WICHITA, Kan. - After earning their second win over a top-25 team this season, the Wichita State softball team host UCF for the first time in history in round five of American Athletic Conference play. The Shockers will face off against the Knights on Friday in a doubleheader beginning at 4:00 p.m.

On Sunday, the senior class consisting of Morgan Palmer, Paige Luellen and Mackenzie Wright will be honored prior to the 12:00 p.m. first pitch. Sunday will also play host to Earth Day in which the first 100 fans through the gate will recieve a WuShock tote. Due to the schedule change with no game on Saturday there will be no Kids Day game.

 

WICHITA STATE SOFTBALL

Wichita, Kan.

Wilkins Stadium

Game Notes: WSU | UCF

GAME 42

Wichita State (24-17, 6-6)   vs. UCF (30-16, 8-4)

Friday, April 20

4:00 P.M. CDT

Live Stats

Shocker HD ($)

GAME 43

Wichita State (24-17, 6-6)   vs. UCF (30-16, 8-4)

Friday, April 20

6:30 P.M. CDT

Live Stats

Shocker HD ($)

GAME 44

Wichita State (24-17, 6-6)   vs. UCF (30-16, 8-4)

Sunday, April 22

12:00 p.m. CDT

Live Stats

Shocker HD ($)

SOCIAL

@GoShockersSB | #watchus

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Go Shockers

SCOUTING UCF
UCF bring a 30-win record to Wilkins Stadium in the first ever matchup between the Knights and the Shockers. Currently sitting in second position in the American Athletic Conference with an 8-4 record, the Knights have already swept Tulsa and took series wins over Houston and Memphis. The weekend in Storrs, Conn., is the only blip, dropping the series to UConn. Notable wins for UCF include a 1-0 shutout of #4 Florida and #22 Long Beach State.

SERIES HISTORY
The Knights and Shockers have never met.

QUICK HITS
• The Shockers took down #19/24 Oklahoma State for the second time this season on Wednesday evening to earn their second win over a ranked opponent; they move to 6-7 against teams either inside the top-25 poll or receiving votes in the poll.
• The Shockers sit #34 in the latest RPI rankings (April 16); they are 3-4 against teams with RPI's 1-25, 5-8 against those 26-50 and 5-4 against 51-100.
• With six votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll on April 17, the Shockers continue to be one of the two main polls for the seventh consecutive week.
• The American Athletic Conference ranks fourth nationally in the Rating Percentage Index just behind the SEC, Pac-12 and Big-12. Notable conferences behind The American include the ACC and Big Ten.
• The Shockers took down Tulsa, 14-5, (5) on April 8 by scoring in every one of the five innings; the last time the Shockers scored in every inning was vs. UMKC in 2014.
• Ryleigh Buck leads the conference in chances and putouts; she also leads The American in fielding double plays.
• The Shockers are averaging 1.10 home runs per game; good for 16th in the nation. WSU are also leading The American in doubles per game with 1.41 (58th in the nation) and slugging percentage (30th in the NCAA)
• Bailey Lange's six saves on the year lead the American Athletic Conference and place her 5th in the NCAA. She leads the conference in batters struck out looking and is fourth in total strikeouts. Her 149 strikeouts place her 45th in the entire country
• Mackenzie Wright is hitting .362 on the year; good for 10th in The American.
• Laurie Derrico's team leading nine home runs rank her second in the conference; she is also third in total bases and fourth in slugging percentage. She is also second in RBI.
• Bailey Klitzke has given up the least hits in the conference with only 37 through 22 total appearances.
• The Shockers swept Uconn in Storrs (March 29-31) for their first conference three-game road series sweep since April 2016.
• Mackenzie Wright became the first Shocker in history to be named the American Athletic Conference softball player of the week on April 1st. Her 7-for-10 weekend at UConn included her 100th career RBI, 200th career hit and 600th career at-bat.

THIS IS FOR THE SENIORS
The Shockers will honor the three seniors on the team prior to Sunday's matchup. Morgan Palmer, Mackenzie Wright and Paige Luellen will be honored with Luellen the last link to Kristi Bredbenner's first Conference Championship team in 2014. Both Luellen and Wright were a part of the 2016 Conference Championship and Tournament team that made history by becoming the first Shocker team to win an NCAA Regional game with a 2-1 victory over Tulsa.

TOP-25 SWEEP
The Shockers played Oklahoma State back on March 27 in Stillwater, coming away with their first win over a ranked opponent in two years and first in Stillwater in three. Paige Luellen went 2-for-3 with a solo home run. Bailey Lange and Bailey Klitzke threw a combined 7.0 innings only giving up four hits and two earned runs while striking out seven.
The Shockers completed the series sweep on Wednesday night with a 9-6 victory highlighted by four home runs and eight Lange strikeouts for their second win of the season over a top-25 team.

WE LIKE STRONG DEFENSE
After hitting 300 career assists last week, Laurie Derrico broke into the Shocker record books at #15. Currently at 307, if she reaches 333 she will pass 2017 senior Kelli Spring for 14th all-time. Ryleigh Buck is also in the top-15 for highest fielding percentage at .982.

COULDN'T HAVE GOT CLOSER
The Wichita State softball team nearly earned the biggest win in program history April  in Norman, Okla. The Shockers hit two three-run home runs from Laurie Derrico and Caitlin Bingham  in the third inning over #2/2 Oklahoma to stun the Sooners and potentially could have run-ruled the reigning College World Series Champions after stranding two runners at third and second in the fifth.
But a Sooner rally in the bottom of the sixth saw them score seven runs through four hits and six walks to come away with the victory and deny the Shockers a huge win.

THAT NUMBER 10
Mackenzie Wright became the first athlete in Shocker softball history to earn American Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors. Her 7-for-10 weekend at UConn saw her bat in her 100th runner, get her 200th career hit, see her 600th appearance at the plate and hit her first home run of the season. Wright also had an 11 game hit streak and a team leading 18 game reached base streak entering the weekend at Houston but both fell in game one.
She is the seventh conference honoree this season for Wichita State; the other five were named to the weekly honor roll. Those include Laurie Derrico (twice), Paige Luellen, Bailey Lange, Ryleigh Buck and Bailee Nickerson.

NOTED AND VOTED
The Wichita State softball team received votes in six consecutive USA Today/NFCA Weekly Poll's in 2018 before falling out on April 17. They recieving votes in three consecutive ESPN.com/USA Softball polls before dropping out on April 10 but re-entered on April 17 with 6 votes.
The Shockers received one vote on March 6, 14 on March 13, 10 on March 20 and one on March 27. To open the polls in April they saw five in the USA Today on April 3 before receiving two on April 10.
This is the first time the Shockers have entered one of the main two softball polls since the 2006 ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Poll released prior to that season.

BACK-TO-BACK
The Shockers hit home runs in back-to-back at-bats for the second time this season against Oklahoma State on Wednesday night. Bailey Lange hit a solo shot over right center with Madison Perrigan crushing to right field. The last time the Shockers went back-to-back was against Creighton in March.

MAKING AN IMPACT
The Shockers are making waves in their first season in The American and are averaging 1.03 home runs per game; good for 28th in the nation. WSU are also leading The American in doubles per game with 1.40 (60th in the nation) and slugging percentage (39th in the NCAA)

DOING IT IN STYLE
Senior Paige Luellen took control of the career RBI record book after a stellar weekend at the WSU Tournament. The senior struck three home runs that included a grand slam to lift the Shockers out a six-run hole and a three-run walk-off home run to go 4-0 over the weekend.
After taking control of the record book, Luellen is streaking clear and on course to make history as the first Shocker to reach 150 career RBI; she is also second on the team in slugging percentage.

FIRST YEAR DONE RIGHT
Junior pitcher Bailey Lange leads the Shocker pitching staff in wins (13), innings pitched (141.2) and strikeouts (148) in her first full season at WSU. She also leads The American in saves (6), is fifth in wins [13] and leads the conference in looking strikeouts. She is also third in strikeouts per game with 7.38.

ALL EYES ON WILKINS
Every Shocker softball home game in 2018 will be broadcast live through ShockerHD with Steve Strain on the play-by-play call and former softball standout Jamie Hull as the color commentator for the second straight season.

STAYING IN THE LOOP
Follow the Shocker softball program on twitter (@GoShockersSB) for up-to-date content and in-game updates. You can also become a fan of Wichita State Softball on Facebook (WichitaStateSoftball) and Instagram (GoShockersSB).