WICHITA, Kan. - The Wichita State softball team opens NCAA Regional Round play for just the fourth time in school history on Friday afternoon against Oklahoma State, live on ESPNU with first pitch scheduled at 1:30 p.m. CT.
The winner of WSU and OSU will meet the winner of Arkansas and DePaul on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The losers from each of the opening games will face off at 4:00 p.m. the same day. The three-day regional event is double-elimination with the sole winner advancing to the Super Regional Round the following weekend.
QUICK HITS
• This is the fourth NCAA Regional Appearance for Wichita State (1986, 2005, 2016, 2018) and the second under
Kristi Bredbenner ('16, '18).
• This is the second at-large bid for Wichita State ('05, '18).
• The Shockers are 1-2 at the NCAA Regional Round under
Kristi Bredbenner and 1-6 historically.
• The Shockers are 3-0 against the Fayetteville Regional Field this season including a season sweep over Oklahoma State and a lone victory over Arkansas.
• Historically Wichita State is 10-79 against Oklahoma State (3-7 under Bredbenner), 4-5 against Arkansas (1-1 under Bredbenner) and 1-0 against DePaul.
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Mackenzie Wright (3B) earned 2018 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors on May 9. She also earned First Team All-Conference honors alongside
Bailey Lange (DP/P) and
Laurie Derrico (SS).
•
Ryleigh Buck (1B) and
Paige Luellen (DP) were tabbed to the Second Team All-Conference while
Bailee Nickerson (OF) earned All-Rookie honors.
• WSU has won 30 or more games for four straight years.
• The 2018 Shocker squad has hit the second highest amount of home runs in a single season (57) in the record books with at least two games to go.
• The Shockers sit at No. 35 in the latest NCAA RPI Rankings
• WSU is averaging 1.12 home runs per game which ranks them 14th in the country.
•
Mackenzie Wright has reached base in her first at-bat of the game in 25 of 51 contests.
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Mackenzie Wright is hitting .377 on the year; good for 4th overall in The American. In conference play only she leads The American in batting average.
• The American Athletic Conference ranks fourth nationally in the RPI just behind the SEC, Pac-12 and Big-12. Notable conferences behind The American include the ACC and Big Ten.
• In conference play, the Shockers lead The American in batting average, slugging percentage, runs scored, hits, RBI's, doubles, home runs and total bases.
•
Ryleigh Buck leads the conference in chances and putouts. She also leads The American in fielding double plays.
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Bailey Lange's six saves on the year lead the American Athletic Conference and place her 8th in the NCAA. She is second in the conference in batters struck out looking (52) and is third in total strikeouts (179), good for 59th in the NCAA.
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Paige Luellen became the first Shocker to hit 150 career RBI at The American Championships; she owns the career RBI record at WSU.
• Wichita State's non-conference schedule is ranked the 9th toughest schedule in the NCAA.
• The Shockers 2018 schedule is ranked the 25th strongest in the NCAA.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
The Cowgirls finished tied for second in the Big 12 with a 12-6 conference record, falling to Iowa State to finish sixth in the conference tournament. Third baseman Vanessa Shippy leads the Big 12 in batting average and is fifth nationally. All three consistent members of the pitching staff own ERA's under 2.70.
SERIES HISTORY
The teams have met 89 times in total with OSU holding a 79-10 advantage. The teams have faced off twice this season, once in Stillwater and once in Wichita.
LAST MEETING WITH THE COWGIRLS
The Shockers took both games this season with
Paige Luellen and
Asea Webber hitting home runs in Stillwater for a 5-3 victory in March. In the return leg in April, Webber again hit a home run against her former team with
Bailee Nickerson,
Bailey Lange and
Madison Perrigan also hitting home runs in a 9-6 victory.
SCOUTING ARKANSAS
Arkansas finish the regular season at No. 15 in both top-25 national polls after finishing 7th in the SEC. The Razorbacks finished the conference tournament in the semifinal round, earning one of the 13 SEC spots in the NCAA Tournament, the only conference to have every team make the big dance.
SERIES HISTORY
The teams have met nine times in total with Arkansas leading the overall series 5-4.
Kristi Bredbenner is 1-1 against the Razorbacks.
LAST MEETING WITH THE RAZORBACKS
The Shockers took down Arkansas at Wilkins Stadium behind a solo home run game by
Madison Perrigan for a 1-0 victory in Wichita State's home opener. Game two of the scheduled doubleheader was canceled due to windy conditions.
SCOUTING DEPAUL
The Blue Demons won their fourth Big East tournament title to earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, the 20th appearance in program history. DePaul won the regular season Big East title finishing with a 15-3 mark in conference play, 35-15 overall.
SERIES HISTORY
The teams have met once in history, a 6-5 Shocker victory back in 1993 at the Creighton Invitational. The Shockers swept the tournament with a 5-0 record under head coach Jim Maynard.
LAST MEETING WITH THE BLUE DEMONS
The Shockers defeated the Blue Demons 6-5 in a lone game in 1993 at the Creighton Invitational; this is the only meeting between the teams in history.
PERFECT RECORD
The Shockers are a perfect 3-0 against the Fayetteville Regional field having swept Oklahoma State in a home and home series (Stillwater and Wichita). WSU also took down Arkansas 1-0 in the Shockers' March home opener. Game two of the doubleheader was cancelled due to windy conditions.
TWO TIMING
Wichita State earned its second at-large bid to the NCAA Softball Championships in school history after finishing with a 30-21 mark in the programs toughest schedule in history. It also marks the fourth appearance at the NCAA round in school history and the second in three years for head coach
Kristi Bredbenner after winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in 2016.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Mackenzie Wright made history after being named the first Shocker to win conference Player of the Year for her performances during the 2018 American Athletic Conference slate. She led the way in batting average, hits, plate appearances, total bases and assists and was second in slugging percentage while being tied third in runs scored and third in on-base percentage. She also became the third Shocker in history to be tabbed all-conference all four years since Britnee Barnett and Katie McGeenery earned All-Missouri Valley from 2005-2008.
ACCOLADES ON ACCOLADES
Laurie Derrico and
Bailey Lange tabbed First Team All-Conference honors for their season long performances. Lange leads The American in looking strikeouts, Derrico is second in home runs and tied first for assists.
Ryleigh Buck and
Paige Luellen earned spots on the second team while
Bailee Nickerson earned a nod to the All-Rookie team.
TUNE IN ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
This weekend's opening round matchup will be broadcast live on ESPNU (DirecTV - 208, Dish - 141, WatchESPN App.) with Eric Frede on the play-by-play and Jennie Ritter on color commentary duties. Shocker HD will also broadcast live audio with the voice of Shocker Softball, Steve Strain, on the play-by-play and Jamie Hull on color commentary duties.
BOMBS ON BOMBS
With 57 home runs on the year, the Shockers have hit the second highest amount in school history with at least one game to go, second to only the 2016 NCAA Regional team [58] and the 2014 MVC Championship squad [56].
THAT'S 150; A RECORD
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. Luellen became the first Shocker in history to hit 150 RBI with an infield single against Tulsa at the AAC Tournament.
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).
