The RoundHouse | 5/21/2018 11:18:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - While her teammates showered and changed clothes, Mackenzie Wright sat on a curb near the bus in her Wichita State uniform. She boarded for the 267-mile drive wearing her black visor, white top, black pants and cleats, clicking toward the back of the bus, pulling away from the stadium and clinging to her final moments of college softball.
 
When the Shockers stopped to for chicken fingers, she cried a little, laughed with teammates, called an assistant coach by her first name for the first time and reminisced about the wristband with color-coded plays she wore during games. When the Shockers stopped for ice cream, she joked that they really didn't deserve ice cream after losing 6-4 to Arkansas on Sunday in the championship round of the NCAA regional at Bogle Park.
 
It was the perfect image of Wichita State's landmark season – the team energy source as the last one in uniform. Before the season started, coach Kristi Bredbenner spoke of her dread at losing Wright's talent and enthusiasm and after 55 games, the chore arrived.
 
 "Kenzie's tough to talk about," Bredbenner said. 
 
"No one does it like Kenzie Wright," centerfielder Asea Webber said.

 

Still in her uniform and cleats on the bus. True lover of the game and one of the best to play for @GoShockersSB. Catcher Kenz left her mark! ?????? pic.twitter.com/UyOZstlDuV

— Kristi Bredbenner (@CoachBredbenner) May 20, 2018

 
 
Sunday, through the hugs and tears and farewells, served a dual purpose for the Shockers. 
 
They recognized the end of strong season and looked forward to 2019, when most of the lineup that produced a school-record 59 home runs and all of the pitching staff is expected to return. Wichita State finished in a tie for third in the American Athletic Conference, produced the conference Player of the Year (Wright) and earned an NCAA at-large bid. It won two games in NCAA play for the first time in four trips and advanced to its first regional final round. 
 
"This team was everything I could dream of," freshman pitcher Caitlin Bingham said. "You grow up and you dream of this atmosphere. To have those eight ladies behind me on the field, it's really something special. The chemistry that we've created this year is something I think, looking forward to the future, is what we need to strive for. Our seniors did an excellent job."
 
The Shockers must replace Wright and outfielder Paige Luellen, two key members of the program's turnaround. Senior outfielder Morgan Palmer started 39 games in her two seasons with the Shockers, 38 in 2017.
 
Luellen started as a freshman in 2014 and hit .354 when the Shockers won their first Missouri Valley Conference title. She hit .326 with six home runs as a senior. Luellen, who redshirted in 2015 due to injury, drove in 153 runs in her career to set the program mark.
 
Wright arrived in 2015 and both started on the 2016 team that won another MVC title and won the program's first NCAA game. Wright earned all-conference honors at third and catcher during her career and hit .360 with 10 doubles and four home runs as a senior. Bredbenner sees her as the program's top defender. Just as important, she led with her attitude and emotion. Before games, she scrawled the name of big-league baseball players on the forearm of her teammates. During games, her voice celebrated the big hits and kept the mistakes from dominating the mood.
 
"Big shoes to fill, on the field and in the dugout," Bingham said.
 
The returners should benefit from learning in the first season in the new conference and playing in front of large crowds in the regional. Twelve members of the 19-person roster participated in NCAA play for the first time.
 
"This environment, this crowd, everyone cheering against you in an away situation – it's something you look at when you watch the Women's College World Series every year," Bingham said. "Getting experience in this is only going to help us. It's something that's going to carry us really far."
 
The Shockers will start fall practice with several important roles filled with experience and talent.
 
Pitcher Bailey Lange, an all-conference pick, started 13 of Wichita State's 21 conference games and threw 74 2/3 of the 138 conference innings. In the regional, she started all four games. She hit .285 with seven home runs and played in the outfield. 

"Coach B is all about being gritty and working hard and I definitely think we take that from her," Lange said.
 
All-conference shortstop Laurie Derrico led the Shockers with 11 home runs and hit .290. First baseman Ryleigh Buck hit .305 with six home runs to earn second-team all-conference honors. Outfielder Bailee Nickerson, who missed the regional with a foot injury, earned All-Rookie honors. Catcher Madison Perrigan, who homered twice in Saturday's elimination win over Oklahoma State, hit 10 home runs for the season and returns for a third season as the starter.

"We've got some offense, we've got some speed," Bredbenner said. "We could use another potential pitcher."
 
Bredbenner wants Bingham and freshmen returners McKenzie Weber, Hailey Martinez and sophomore Bailey Klitzke to take some of the burden off Lange. Bingham started 15 games and went 2-6 with a 5.72 ERA. Klitzke appeared in 26 games, mostly in relief, and went 7-2 with a 3.10 ERA.
 
"We need a commitment from them," Bredbenner said. "They've got to strive to be true No. 2's, even No. 1's. We see potential in them, but they've got to be able to make some changes so they can come in next year and be a little bit more of a contributor."
 
Third base is open with Wright's departure. Second baseman Kaylee Huecker, a defensive specialist, could move there, as could Derrico. Bredbenner is excited about incoming freshman Adeline Reese, from Remington High, at third.
 
"She can hit and she plays a nice little third base," Bredbenner said. "Hopefully, she is focused in on wanting to fill those shoes and wanting to be that cornerstone there."
 
Up and down –Bredbenner's first message to the returners will be to avoid settling for this season's success. She is always mindful of the disappointing 2015 season, when the Shockers slumped to fourth place in the MVC after winning the MVC in 2014.

"In 2015, we laid a big, fat egg," she said. "We didn't work to be good."
 
After getting to the NCAAs in 2016, the 2017 team slipped. Work in the summer and fall will determine if the 2019 season can stop that trend.
 
"We turned it back around," Bredbenner said. "You've got to take a step back and think 'How did we get there and what did we do?' What can we continue to keep getting better at?"
 
The Shockers have compiled five straight winning seasons under Bredbenner, the longest such stretch under one coach at Wichita State. 
 
"We've got to redefine ourselves," she said. "Our kids have to recognize that and come in hungry vs. satisfied."

Defense is at the top of Bredbenner's list for drills in fall practices. The Shockers committed 31 errors in 21 conference games to rank seventh in the American with a .951 fielding percentage.

"At times, I thought our defense lost games for us," she said. "That's on me. We've got to make sure our defense is prepared."
 
Busy arms -  The third-seeded Shockers (33-23) went 2-2 in the regional, eliminated by the top-seeded Razorbacks when Lange exhausted her left arm 21 innings into the tournament. Arkansas reliever Mary Haff held the Shockers scoreless over the game's final 4 2/3 innings, striking out seven and allowing two hits.
 
Lange pitched 20 innings in Wichita State's two wins over Oklahoma State and a loss to Arkansas leading to Sunday. She gave up three runs, four hits and a walk in her one inning. 
 
"She threw her butt off for four games," Bingham said.
 
Bingham allowed three hits and three runs in five innings in relief.
 
"We started Lange thinking we might be able to get a couple innings from her and, unfortunately, she was gassed," Bredbenner said. "Caitlin came in and, I thought, did a good enough job to keep us in the game."
 
Haff shut out the Shockers 5-0 in Saturday's winners bracket game. In 11 2/3 scoreless innings in the two meetings, she held the Shockers to three hits and struck out 12.
 
"She did a good job of adjusting herself to each batter," Webber said. "She did a good job of moving her pitches."

Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.