WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State continues conference play this weekend on the road with a trip to the Sunshine State to face UCF. The Shockers and Knights open the weekend series Friday night at 5:30 p.m. CT in Orlando.
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WICHITA STATE BASEBALL
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    Orlando, Fla. |
   John Euliano Park |
    Game Notes |
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| Â GAME 40 |
  Wichita State (27-12, 4-8)
 at UCF (27-14, 7-8) |
      Friday, April 27 |
      5:30 P.M. CDT |
    Watch |
      Listen |
      Live Stats |
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| Â GAME 41 |
  Wichita State (27-12, 4-8)
 at UCF (27-14, 7-8) |
| Â Â Â Â Â Saturday, April 28 |
| Â Â Â Â Â 5:30 P.M. CDT |
| Â Â Â Watch |
| Â Â Â Â Â Â Listen |
| Â Â Â Â Â Live Stats |
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| Â GAME 42 |
  Wichita State (27-12, 4-8)
 at UCF (27-14, 7-8) |
| Â Â Â Â Â Â Sunday, April 29 |
| Â Â Â Â Â 11:00 A.M. CDT |
| Â Â Â Watch |
| Â Â Â Â Â Â Listen |
| Â Â Â Â Â Live Stats |
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| Â SOCIAL |
      @GoShockersBSB | #watchus |
      @goshockers | #watchus |
      Go Shockers |
Quick Hits
• All three games will be broadcast on KNSS 1330 AM and on goshockers.com with Mike Kennedy and Shane Dennis calling the action.Â
• This will be the first meeting between the two teams.
• WSU is 19th in the April 24 NCAA RPI, while UCF is 49th. The Shockers are 6-6 against the top-50 and 11-10 against the top-100.
• The Shockers are 18-1 this season when they score first and 22-4 when they hit a home run in a game.
• Luke Ritter is currently on a career-best 14- game hitting streak.
• The Shocker pitching staff already has 12 quality starts this season.
• Shocker pinch hitters are 20-for-57 (.351) this season.
• WSU has 13 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 15-for-38 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 8-8 on the road this season.
• In 16 road games, WSU is hitting .267 with a 4.77 ERA and .968 fielding percentage.
• Gunnar Troutwine is hitting .353 on the road this season, while Trey Vickers is hitting .341.
• WSU is 5-5 in the last 10 games.
• In the last 10 games, WSU is hitting .312 with a 4.13 ERA and a .968 fielding percentage.
• Travis Young is hitting .500 in the last 10 games, while Luke Ritter is hitting .439, Jordan Boyer is hitting .333 and Greyson Jenista is hitting .324.
• 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 82 at bats.
• Four Shockers have double-digit errorless streaks including Jacob Katzfey at 39, Travis Young at 27, Luke Ritter at 12 and Alex Jackson at 14.
• Junior Alec Bohm has made 119 straight-starts, while junior Jordan Boyer has made 76-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 21-9 on April 27, 24-9 on April 28 and 23-9 on April 29.
• WSU is 669-286 all-time in the month of April.
Scouting UCF
The Knights are 27-14 overall and 7-8 in The American with wins over Virginia, Savannah State three times, Bethune-Cookman twice, Wagner three times, Florida twice, Siena three times, Bradley, Chicago State three times, ECU, Memphis twice, Stetson, UConn, Miami, Cincinnati twice, and USF. Losses have come against Rice, Samford, Stetson, Miami, Florida State twice, ECU twice, Memphis, UConn twice, Cincinnati, and USF twice. They are led offensively by Rylan Thomas who is hitting .399 with 11 doubles, 10 home runs and 45 RBI. As a team, they are hitting .277 with a 2.98 ERA and .964 fielding percentage. UCF is led by head coach Greg Lovelady.
Series History vs. the Knights
This will be the first meeting between the two teams.
Sweeps
Wichita State earned a season sweep of Kansas with a 14-5 win on April 24 in Lawrence. The Shockers also defeated the Jayhawks 11-0 in Wichita on April 18. It was WSU's first win in Lawrence since 2012 and the first season sweep of KU since 2012. The Shockers also earned a season sweep of Oklahoma State, which was the first time since 2010.
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 .398 over his last 23 games. In those games, he is 39-for-98 with 25 runs, seven doubles, one triple, four home runs, 17 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.
14-Game Hitting Streak
Junior Luke Ritter is on a career-best 14-game hitting streak. During the streak, he is 25-for-57 (.439) with 14 runs, four doubles, one triple, two home runs, 10 RBI, four walks, three hit by pitch and two stolen bases.
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.
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.
Power Surge
Wichita State already has 39 home runs this season in 39 games. The Shockers haven't hit more than 40 home runs in a season since 2010 when they hit 64.
