WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State is primed to host two midweek games at Eck Stadium this week, beginning with Oral Roberts on Tuesday, May 8 at 6 p.m. The Shockers then welcome South Dakota State on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
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Quick Hits
• Both games will be broadcast on KNSS 1330 AM and on goshockers.com with Mike Kennedy calling the action. They will also be televised on Shocker HD with Shane Dennis and Denning Gerig.Â
• Wichita State leads the ovearll series with Oral Roberts 34-30. The Shockers also lead the series in Wichita 20-15. ORU last won in Wichita in 2012.
• Wichita State leads the overall series with South Dakota State 5-0. All five meetings were in Wichita in 1981.
• WSU is 31st in the May 6 NCAA RPI, while Oral Roberts is 131st, South Dakota State is 230th and USF is 26th. The Shockers are 6-7 against the top-50 and 9-12 against the top-100.
• The Shockers are 20-3 this season when they score first and 23-7 when they hit a home run in a game.
• South Dakota State pitching coach Mitch Mormann pitched for the Shockers in 2012.
• The Shocker pitching staff has 13 quality starts this season.
• Shocker pinch hitters are 21-for-63 (.333) this season.
• WSU has 14 come from behind wins this season.
• Alec Bohm already 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 16-for-40 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 20-6 at home this season.
• In 26 home games, WSU is hitting .313 with a 2.96 ERA and .970 fielding percentage.
• Alec Bohm is hitting .370 at home this season, while Dayton Dugas is hitting .369, Luke Ritter is hitting .357, Greyson Jenista is hitting .337 and Gunnar Troutwine is hitting .305.
• WSU is 3-7 in the last 10 games.
• In the last 10 games, WSU is hitting .251 with a 4.01 ERA and a .960 fielding percentage.
• Luke Ritter is hitting .357 in the last 10 games, while Travis Young is hitting .278.
• 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 71 at bats.
• Four Shockers have double-digit errorless streaks including Jacob Katzfey at 39, Alex Jackson at 20, Greyson Jenista at 13 and Jordan Boyer at 10.
• Junior Alec Bohm has made 125 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 leads the Shockers with 17 multiple-hit games and Gunnar Troutwine leads with 11 multiple-RBI games.
• Gunnar Troutwine leads the Shockers with 13 two-out RBI, while Troutwine, Greyson Jenista and Alec Bohm lead 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 18-7 on May 8 and 23-4 on May 9.
• WSU is 452-202-1 all-time in the month of May.
• WSU is now 30-11 in season openers since 1978.
• WSU is now 38-3 in home openers since 1978.
• The Shocks were picked sixth in The American Preseason Poll.
• Junior third baseman Alec Bohm and junior outfielder Greyson Jenista were named to the preseason all-conference team.
• The Shockers welcome nine newcomers in 2018.
• WSU returns nine starters and 24 letterwinners from the 2017 team.
• The Shocker pitching staff returns four pitchers who started games in 2017 including Codi Heuer, Cody Tyler, Keylan Killgore, and Tommy Barnhouse.
• Wichita State is playing its first season in the American Athletic Conference. The Shocker baseball program was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference from 1948-2017
• Head Coach Todd Butler is in his fifth season as coach of the Shockers.
• Assistant Coach Sammy Esposito is the third base coach and Volunteer Assistant Coach Willie Schwanke is the first base coach.
Scouting Oral Roberts
The Golden Eagles are 30-15 overall and 19-5 in the Summit League with wins over Utah three times, Nevada, Central Arkansas, SIUE, Wichita State, Dallas Baptist, South Dakota State five times, Nebraska, Omaha, North Dakota State six times, Western Illinois four times, Fort Wayne three times, and Oklahoma State two times. Losses have come against Nevada, SIUE twice, Dallas Baptist twice, Missouri State, Nebraska, Omaha twice, Little Rock, Oklahoma twice, Western Illinois twice, and South Dakota State. They are led offensively by Spencer Henson who is hitting .380 with eight home runs and 44 RBI. As a team, they are hitting .284 with a 4.10 ERA and .966 fielding percentage. The Golden Eagles are led by head coach Ryan Folmar.
Series History vs. the Golden Eagles
Wichita State leads the overall series with Oral Roberts 34-30. The Shockers also lead the series in Wichita 20-15. The Shockers have won the last six meetings in Wichita.
Last Meeting vs. ORU
The last meeting between the two teams was March 7, 2018, in Tulsa, Okla. ORU won the game 2-1. The Shockers had just three hits in the game, a double by Travis Young and singles from Jordan Boyer and Greyson Jenista. Starter Keylan Killgore took the loss.
Scouting South Dakota State
The Jackrabbits are 15-24 overall and 13-8 in the Summit League with wins over SEMO twice, Western Illinois, Omaha four times, Fort Wayne five times, North Dakota State twice, Oral Roberts. Losses have come against Austin Peay twice, Illinois, Bradley three times, Minnesota twice, SEMO, Air Force twice, Northern Colorado four times, Oral Roberts five times, Omaha twice, Creighton, and Fort Wayne. They are led offensively by Josh Falk who is hitting .301 with six home runs and 26 RBI. As a team, they are hitting .265 with a 5.85 ERA and .973 fielding percentage. The Jackrabbits are led by head coach Rob Bishop.
Series History vs. the Jackrabbits
The Shockers lead the overall series with South Dakota State 5-0. All five meetings were in 1981 in Wichita. The Shockers won by scores of 18-8, 29-4, 8-2, 18-0 and 13-2.
Bullpen to Starters
Two Shockers have seen success from moving to the rotation after starting the season in the bullpen. Freshman right-hander Tyler Davis is 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA in four starts this season. He has pitched 21 innings with two walks and 21 strikeouts. Sophomore right-hander Tommy Barnhouse is 2-1 as a starter with a 2.08 ERA in four starts. He has pitched 17.1 innings with three walks and 19 strikeouts.
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.
Pushing 30
Wichita State collected its 29th win of the season on Saturday against Cincinnati. It is the most wins by a Shocker team since 2014 when they had 31.
Hitting Streak Snapped
Junior Luke Ritter had his career-best 19-game hitting streak snapped on Sunday 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.
