WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State opens its inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship as the No. 7 seed and will face the No. 2 seed USF Bulls Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. CT on the American Digital Network.
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Quick Hits
• All American Tourney games this week will be broadcast on KNSS 1330 AM or KFH 1240 AM and on goshockers.com with Mike Kennedy calling the action. They will also be televised on the American Digital Network.Â
• WSU is making its 41st-straight conference tournament appearance. The first 40 were in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
• The Shockers hold a record of 100-52-1 in conference tournament play and have won 17 titles.
• WSU will play its first neutral site game of the season.
• Wichita State leads the overall series with USF 4-1-1. The two teams are 1-1-1 against each other this season.
• WSU is 49th in the May 19 NCAA RPI, while USF is 22nd. The Shockers are 7-11-1 against the top-50 and 13-15-1 against the top-100.
• Luke Ritter is on a nine-game hitting streak and Alec Bohm is on a five-game hitting streak.
• Liam Eddy is a member of this week's American Honor Roll.
• Senior catcher Gunnar Troutwine and junior utility player Luke Ritter were named first team all-conference, while Alec Bohm was named to the second team.
• Junior third baseman Alec Bohm is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes Award.
• The Shockers are 24-5 this season when they score first and 28-8-1 when they hit a home run in a game.
• The Shocker pitching staff has 15 quality starts this season.
• Shocker pinch hitters are 25-for-82 (.305) this season.
• WSU has 16 come from behind wins this season.
• Alec Bohm has three grand slams this season and is tied for the national lead.
• The Shockers are second nationally in grand slams with five. Tennessee Tech leads with six.
• 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 19-for-54 with the bases loaded this season with five grand slams. Alec Bohm is 3-for-7 with three grand slams with the bases loaded.
• The Shockers are 11-11 away from Eck Stadium this season.
• In 22 road games, WSU is hitting .270 with a 4.90 ERA and .967 fielding percentage.
• Gunnar Troutwine is hitting .329 on the road this season, while Luke Ritter is hitting .310, Trey Vickers is hitting .308, Travis Young is hitting .294 and Alec Bohm is hitting .287.
• WSU is 5-4-1 in the last 10 games.
• In the last 10 games, WSU is hitting .294 with a 4.07 ERA and a .970 fielding percentage.
• Luke Ritter is hitting .386 in the last 10 games, while Greyson Jenista is hitting .385, Gunnar Troutwine is hitting .353, Alec Bohm is hitting .317 and Alex Jackson is hitting .286.
• 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.
• 13 of 14 Shockers, who have a home run in their career, have homered in their last 81 at bats.
• Seven Shockers have double-digit errorless streaks including Jacob Katzfey at 45, Alex Jackson at 27, Greyson Jenista at 22, Hunter Gibson at 13 and Josh DeBacker, Trey Vickers and Ross Cadena at 10.
• Junior Alec Bohm has made 134 straight-starts, while junior Jordan Boyer had his streak of 76-straight starts broken on April 27. 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 and Luke Ritter lead the Shockers with 22 multiple-hit games and Gunnar Troutwine leads with 14 multiple-RBI games.
• Gunnar Troutwine leads the Shockers with 17 two-out RBI and Troutwine leads the team with 10 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.
• The Shockers are 8-8 on May 23, 11-3 on May 24, 7-4 on May 25, 11-9 on May 26 and 12-3 on May 27.
• WSU is 457-205-2 all-time in the month of May.
Series History vs. Tourney Field
vs. No. 1 Houston
12-28 overall
vs. No. 2 USF
4-1-1 overall
vs. No. 3 UConn
1-3 overall
vs. No. 4 ECU
2-2 overall
vs. No. 5 UCF
1-2 overall
vs. No. 6 Cincinnati
1-2 overall
vs. No. 8 Tulane
4-7 overall
Conference Tourney History
Wichita State will be making its 41st-straight appearance in conference tournament play. The Shockers have won 17 tournament titles and own a tournament record of 100-52-1. WSU last won a conference tournament championship in 2009. The Shockers have an overall record of 100-52-1 (.657) in conference tournament play and are 17-8 (.680) in the championship game.
Shockers vs. Bulls
Wichita State is the No. 7 seed in The American Tournament and will face No. 2 seed USF in the first round. No. 3 UConn and No. 6 Cincinnati are also in the Shockers bracket.
Three Named All-Conference
Three Shockers earned all-conference honors. Senior catcher Gunnar Troutwine and junior utility player Luke Ritter were named to the first team, while junior third baseman Alec Bohm was named to the second team.
Katzfey Hits First HR
Sophomore outfielder Jacob Katzfey hit his first career home run on Friday against Memphis. He is the 14th different Shocker to hit a home run this season.
30 Wins
Wichita State collected its 34th win of the season on Saturday against Memphis. It is the most wins by a Shocker team since 2013 when they had 39.
Tie
The 9-9 tie with USF on May 13 was the first tie for Wichita State since 1988. The Shockers and Creighton tied 3-3 on May 22, 1988 in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game due to nonstop rain.
Bombs Away
Wichita State hit five home runs in Friday's win over USF. It was the first time with five home runs in a game since April 22, 2007 against Missouri State.
Walk-Off Run-Rule
Junior Mason O'Brien hit a walk-off run-rule home run in game one against USF. The last time the Shockers had a run-rule walk-off home run was April 5, 2008 when Ryan Jones did it against Missouri State.
Career-High for Troutwine
Senior catcher Gunnar Troutwine scored a career-high five runs in the game one win over USF. The last time a Shocker scored five runs in a game was April 6, 2011 when Johnny Coy did it against Alcorn State.
Sac Flies for O'Brien
Junior Mason O'Brien tied a school record with two sacrifice flies in the win over South Dakota State. He is now one of 13 Shockers to have two in a game and the first since Ryan Tinkham vs. Oral Roberts in 2015.
1,000 Putouts
Senior catcher Gunnar Troutwine collected his 1,000th career putout in the May 5 win over Cincinnati. He is just the seventh full-time catcher to reach that mark in school history.
All-Time Leader
Senior shortstop Trey Vickers became the all-time Shocker leader in career sacrifice hits on May 5. He collected his 22nd sacrifice hit, which moved him past Kevin Hall who had 21 from 2008-12.
20 Home Wins
The Shockers won their 20th home game on May 5 against Cincinnati. It is the third time in the last four years that the Shockers have won 20 or more games at home.
Hitting Streak Snapped
Junior Luke Ritter had his career-best 19-game hitting streak snapped on May 6 against Cincinnati. During the streak, he went 33-for-77 (.429) with 19 runs, four doubles, one triple, three home runs, 13 RBI, five walks, five hit by pitch and two stolen bases.
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.
14 Different Shockers
Fourteen different Shockers have hit a home run this season. Tennessee Tech and Mercer lead the nation with 15 different players.
Ritter Stays Hot
Junior utility player Luke Ritter is hitting .400 over his last 38 games. In those games, he is 64-for-160 with 39 runs, nine doubles, one triple, five home runs, 24 RBI and four sacrifice flies.
