WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State and Kansas are primed to meet for the second time in less than a week when the two face off in Lawrence Tuesday night at 6 p.m. on ESPN3.
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Quick Hits
• The game will be broadcast on KNSS 1330 AM and on goshockers.com with Mike Kennedy and Shane Dennis calling the action and on ESPN3 with Brian Hanni and Kevin Wheeler.Â
• Wichita State leads the overall series with Kansas 45-34. The Shockers also lead the series in Lawrence 19-18. The Shockers haven't won in Lawrence since 2012.
• WSU is 20th in the April 22 NCAA RPI, while Kansas is 102nd and UCF is 47th. The Shockers are 6-6 against the top-50 and 9-9 against the top-100.
• The Shockers are 18-1 this season when they score first and 21-4 when they hit a home run in a game.
• Luke Ritter is currently on a career-best 13- game hitting streak.
• The Shocker pitching staff already has 11 quality starts this season.
• Shocker pinch hitters are 19-for-55 (.345) this season.
• WSU has 12 come from behind wins this season.
• 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 14-for-36 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 7-8 on the road this season.
• In 15 road games, WSU is hitting .256 with a 4.75 ERA and .965 fielding percentage.
• Gunnar Troutwine is hitting .348 on the road this season, while Alce Bohm is hitting .304 and Trey Vickers is hitting .300.
• WSU is 5-5 in the last 10 games.
• In the last 10 games, WSU is hitting .302 with a 3.81 ERA and a .967 fielding percentage.
• Luke Ritter is hitting .400 in the last 10 games, while Greyson Jenista is hitting .361, Travis Young is hitting .368, Alec Bohm is hitting .317 and Jordan Boyer is hitting .310.
• Head Coach Todd Butler collected his 200th career victory on Feb. 24 against Omaha.
• WSU's 8-0 start was the best since the 2005 team started 11-0.
• 11 of 12 Shockers, who have a home run in their career, have homered in their last 78 at bats.
• Four Shockers have double-digit errorless streaks including Jacob Katzfey at 38, Travis Young at 26, Luke Ritter at 11 and Alex Jackson at 13.
• Junior Alec Bohm has made 118 straight-starts, while junior Jordan Boyer has made 75-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 15 multiple-hit games and Gunnar Troutwine leads with 11 multiple-RBI games.
• Gunnar Troutwine leads the Shockers with 12 two-out RBI, while Troutwine also leads with six go ahead RBI.
• 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 24-6 on April 24.
• WSU is 668-286 all-time in the month of April.
Scouting Kansas
The Jayhawks are 19-20 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, TCU twice, Wichita State and Oklahoma State three tims. They are led offensively by Jaxx Groshans who is hitting .336 with 12 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 31 RBI. As a team, they are hitting .270 with a 6.01 ERA and .965 fielding percentage. KU is led by head coach Ritch Price.
Series History vs. the Jayhawks
Wichita State leads the overall series with Kansas 45-34. The Shockers also lead the series in Lawrence 19-18. The Shockers haven't won in Lawrence since 2012.
Last Meeting vs. KU
The last meeting between the two teams was April 18, 2018, in Wichita. The Shockers won the game 11-0. Gunnar Troutwine went 2-for-4 with four RBI. Starter Tyler DAvis earned his first career win.
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 Stays Hot
Junior utility player Luke Ritter is hitting .387 over his last 22 games. In those games, he is 36-for-93 with 23 runs, six doubles, one triple, three home runs, 12 RBI and two sacrifice flies.
Four in a Row
Wichita State collected four extra base hits in a row in the fifth inning against Kansas on April 18. The Shockers had four-straight doubles. It was the first time WSU had four extra base hits in a row since March 5, 2004 when they had a double and three home runs against Louisiana- Lafayette in the eighth inning.
Four in an Inning
WSU had four doubles in the fifth inning against Kansas on April 18. The last time the Shockers had four doubles in an inning was April 15, 2007 against Southern Illinois when they had four in the sixth inning.
Killgore Out of the Pen
Sophomore left-hander Keylan Killgore has been impressive out of the bullpen this season. In 15 relief appearances, he is 3-0 with a 0.48 ERA. He has allowed one earned run in 18.2 innings pitched out of the bullpen and has struck out 17.
Heuer's CG
Junior pitcher Codi Heuer threw his first career complete game on Friday at Houston. He went eight innings and gave up one earned run on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts in the loss. He is the first Shocker pitcher to pitch a complete game loss since Willie Schwanke against TCU on April 1, 2016.
13-Game Hitting Streak
Junior Luke Ritter is on a career-best 13-game hitting streak. During the streak, he is 22-for-52 (.423) with 12 runs, three doubles, one triple, one home run, five RBI, three walks, three hit by pitch and two stolen bases.
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 against UConn 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.
