2019 UT Arlington Classic
Game 1: Wichita State (1-3) vs. Stephen F. Austin (1-3)
Friday, Feb. 22 | Noon CT | Arlington, Texas (Clay Gould Ballpark)
Radio: 97.5 FM/1240 AM (Shane Dennis, pxp)
Live Audio | Live Stats
Game 2: Wichita State at UT Arlington
Saturday, Feb. 23 | Noon CT | Arlington, Texas (Clay Gould Ballpark)
Radio: 98.7 FM/1330 AM (Shane Dennis, pxp)
Live Video (PPV) | Live Audio | Live Stats
Game 3: Wichita State vs. Stephen F. Austin
Saturday Feb. 23 | 3:30 p.m. | Arlington, Texas (Clay Gould Ballpark)
Radio: 98.7 FM/1330 AM (Shane Dennis, pxp)
Live Audio | Live Stats
Game 4: Wichita State at UT Arlington
Sunday, Feb. 24 | 11 a.m. | Arlington, Texas (Clay Gould Ballpark)
Radio: 98.7 FM/1330 AM (Shane Dennis, pxp)
Live Video (PPV) | Live Audio | Live Stats
Game Notes | 2019 Fact Book | @GoShockersBSB
SCENE SETTER: After opening its 2019 season in Arizona, the Wichita State baseball team (1-3) is scheduled to travel to Clay Gould Ballpark in Arlington, Texas, to play four games in the UT Arlington Classic Feb. 22-24. The Shockers open up the classic with a single contest against Stephen F. Austin (1-3) Friday, Feb. 22, at noon. WSU is slated to play two games Saturday, Feb. 23, with game one vs. the host UT Arlington set for noon and game two vs. Stephen F. Austin scheduled for approximately 3:30 p.m. The Shockers will wrap up the weekend Sunday, Feb. 24, at 11 a.m. with a contest against UT Arlington.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Live video - Both of Wichita State's contests against UT Arlington Feb. 23 and 24 will feature a live, pay-per-view webcast located at UTAMavs.com ... Radio - Wichita State's four games in the UT Arlington Classic will air live on 1330 AM, 98.7 FM and GoShockers.com/listen with Pizza Hut Shockers Sports Hall of Famer and former Wichita State standout pitcher Shane Dennis calling the action ... Additional coverage options - All games will feature live stats, which can be accessed at UTAMavs.com.
SERIES RECORDS: Stephen F. Austin - Friday and Saturday's games against the Lumberjacks of Stephen F. Austin will mark meetings nine and 10 in the all-time series that dates back to 1990. The Shockers lead the series, 7-1, and have won the last four meetings. WSU last face SFA in 2016, winning two games in Wichita ... UT Arlington - Saturday and Sunday's contests vs. the UT Arlington Mavericks will be the 11th and 12th meetings in the all-time series that dates back to 1992. Wichita State leads the series, 8-2, and has won the last three meetings. The last time the two teams met was last season when WSU swept a three-game series against UTA in Wichita.
WICHITA STATE NOTES: The Shockers enter the weekend with an overall record of 1-3 after dropping three of four games in the Angels College Classic Feb. 15-17 in Phoenix and Tempe, Ariz. Wichita State's lone win in the classic was an 8-7 triumph over Grand Canyon Feb. 16. WSU fell to Grand Canyon, 9-1, Feb. 15, No. 5 Stanford, 5-4, Feb. 16, and Pepperdine, 13-8, Feb. 17 ... Through four games, WSU is paced at the plate by senior first baseman Mason O'Brien (.500 avg., 1 R, 5 H, 2 2B, 2 RBI, .700 SLG%, 2 BB, .643 OB%), senior infielders Luke Ritter (.429 avg., 5 R, 6 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .857 SLG%, 4 BB, .579 OB%, 1 SB) and Jordan Boyer(.333 avg., 4 R, 4 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 2 BB), junior outfielder Jacob Katzfey (.313 avg., 4 R, 5 H, 5 RBI), freshman outfielder Jack Sigrist (.300 avg., 2 R, 3 H, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB), and sophomore outfielder Hunter Gibson (.429 avg., 2 R, 3 H, 1 RBI) ... On the mound, the Shockers are led by junior right-handers Tommy Barnhouse (1.50 ERA, 0-1, 6.0 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO) and Preston Snavely (3.00 ERA, 1-0, 6.0 IP, 3 H 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO), sophomore right-hander Liam Eddy (1.59 ERA, 0-1, 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB), and sophomore reliever Alex Segal (0.00 ERA, 0-0, 1 SV, 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO) ... As a team, Wichita State has a .268 batting average, 5.82 ERA and .915 fielding percentage.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Stephen F. Austin - The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks enter the weekend at 1-3 overall after falling at Texas A&M Tuesday, 5-3 ... The Lumberjacks were picked to finish 12th out of 13 teams in the Southland Conference preseason poll ... Through four contests, SFA is led offensively by senior infielder Manny Vasquez (.353 avg., 3 R, 6 H, 1 2B, 2 RBI), freshman outfielder Brandon Uhse (.429 avg., 1 R, 6 H, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB) and sophomore outfielder Jared Martin (.313 avg., 4 R, 5 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB) ... On the mound, the Lumberjacks are led by freshman left-hander Jaxon Covington (0.00 ERA, 0-0, 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO) and junior right-hander Alex Palmer (4.50 ERA, 0-0, 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO) ... As a team, SFA has a .248 batting average, 5.40 ERA and .971 fielding percentage ... The 'Jacks are under the direction of 11th season head coach Johnny Cardenas... UT Arlington - The UT Arlington Mavericks enter the weekend at 3-2 overall after defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff Wednesday, 10-2 ... The Mavs were picked to finish fourth in the West Division of the Sun Belt Conference in the conference's preseason poll ... Through five games, UTA is led in the batter's box by junior infielder/outfielder Zac Cook (.348 avg., 4 R, 8 H, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB), junior outfielder Connor Aube (.333 avg., 6 R, 8 H, 5 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 SB) and sophomore outfielder David Renning (.308 avg., 1 R, 4 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, .615 SLG%) ... On the mound, the Mavericks are paced by junior left-handed starter Kody Bullard (0.00 ERA, 0-0, 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO) and senior reliever Andrew Gross (0.00 ERA, 0-0, 1 SV, 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO) ... As a team, UT Arlington has a .272 batting average, 4.91 ERA and .969 fielding percentage ... The Mavs are under the direction of 12th season head coach Darin Thomas.
RITTER ROLLING: Senior infielder Luke Ritter is off to a fast start at the plate, hitting .429 in four games and 14 at bats with five runs, six hits, a double, triple and homer, three RBI, four walks and a stolen base. He has a .857 slugging and .579 on-base percentage entering the weekend in Texas, and has reached base safely in all four of the Shockers games in 2019, extending his reached base safely streak to 16 games dating back to last season.
O'BRIEN OFF AND RUNNING: Senior first baseman Mason O'Brien is hitting a team-best .500 with five hits, including a pair of doubles, in 10 at bats and three games to start the season. The Owasso, Okla., native is on a three-game hitting streak, and ranks tied for third in The American in batting.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: Freshmen Jack Sigrist (OF) and Brady Slavens (INF) have a combined four hits entering the weekend. Sigrist is hitting .300 with three hits, including a double, in four games played, while Slavens, who joined the Shockers at the beginning of the spring semester, made his collegiate debut Feb. 17 vs. Pepperdine and collected his inaugural collegiate hit.
KATZFEY FINDING THE GAPS: Junior outfielder Jacob Katzfey is hitting .313 with five hits -- all singles -- to go along with a team-best five RBI in four games.
SEGAL SHUTTING THE DOOR: Sophomore left-handed reliever Alex Segal earned his first collegiate save in the Shocker's 8-7 win over Grand Canyon Feb. 16. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth inning, allowing no earned runs on just two hits with one walk and three strikeouts, to secure the victory for WSU.
NEW FACES: The Shockers have 21 newcomers to the program in 2019, including 19 freshmen and two junior college transfers. The freshmen on the active roster include Aaron Haase (RHP/UT), Calvin Marley (RHP/OF), Miller Pleimann (RHP), Connery Peters (RHP), Adam Stephenson (OF/LHP), Carson Cox (OF), David VanVooren (OF), Seth Morrow (OF), Ryan Koval (OF), Cal Carver (LHP), Brady Slavens (INF), Cooper Elliot (INF), Jack Sigrist (INF), Josh Killeen (C) and Jake Plastiak (3B). WSU's two junior college transfers are sophomore Tristan McCraw (RHP) and junior Mitchell Walters (RHP). Freshmen Jack Brimacombe (RHP), Reece Koon (LHP), Quinten Albrecht (C) and Mason Miller (C) are redshirting in 2019.
PRESEASON HONORS: Senior infielder Luke Ritter was voted to the American Athletic Conference's preseason all-conference team. He is also ranked 31st on the D1 Baseball's list of 2019 Top Senior Prospects and 15th on the organization's preseason second base power rankings list. Fellow senior, right-hander Clayton McGinness, is ranked 65th on the D1 Baseball Top Senior Prospects list.
NOTABLE STREAKS: Luke Ritter is riding a 16-game on-base streak dating back to last season (has reached base safely in all four games in 2019) ... Jordan Boyer, Alex Jackson and Mason O'Brien are riding three-game hitting streaks entering the weekend ... Boyer has reached base safely in all four of WSU's contests, while Jackson and O'Brien had gotten on-base in the last three games.
WEEKLY HONORS: N/A
PRESEASON PICKS: Wichita State was picked to finish seventh in the American Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll. Defending tournament champion ECU was picked first with 60 points and six first-place votes, while reigning regular season champion Houston was tabbed second with 55 points and two first-place votes. UConn was third with 52 points and the remaining first-place vote, followed by UCF (44 points), USF (35 points), Tulane (30 points), the Shockers, Cincinnati (16 points) and Memphis (nine points). The American ranked fourth in conference RPI in division I baseball last season.
UP NEXT: Wichita State hosts the Creighton Bluejays in its home-opening series March 1-3 at Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field. First pitch for the home opener Friday, March 1, is slated for 3 p.m., with game two scheduled for a 2 p.m. start Saturday, March 2, and the series finale slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch Sunday, March 3.
LOOKING BACK AT 2018: The Shockers played their inaugural season in the American Athletic Conference last season. WSU finished 35-21-1 overall and 9-14-1 in conference play. Junior third baseman Alec Bohm earned All- America honors and was selected third overall in the 2018 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, becoming the second-highest draft pick in program history. Bohm was one of 10 Shockers selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, tying for the most in program history. In December of 2018, legendary Wichita State head coach and current College Baseball Hall of Famer Gene Stephenson was inducted into the Pizza Hut Shockers Sports Hall of Fame.
THE COACH: Todd Butler is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Wichita State University baseball team. He came to WSU in June 2013 after spending the previous eight seasons as the hitting instructor, outfield coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Arkansas. During Butler's 26-year tenure as a NCAA Division I assistant or head coach, he has guided his teams to five College World Series appearances and four NCAA super regionals. In addition, his teams have been ranked No. 1 five times in his career. He has coached a combined 35 All-Americans and Freshman All-Americans, 167 players drafted in the MLB Draft and 45 Major League players. In his tenure at WSU, Butler has coached 26 student-athletes who were drafted, and five players who combined for 10 All-American and Freshman All-American honors. He played his college ball at McNeese State (1985-86) and Oklahoma (1987-88). A team captain for the Sooners in 1988, Butler still holds the OU single-season record for stolen bases with 46 steals in 1988, including 26 consecutive successful stolen base attempts. Butler was a third-team All-American in 1988 and also earned All-Big Eight Conference honors and all-region honors. He played on two NCAA Tournament teams for the Sooners for legendary coach Enos Semore. Butler's coaching career began as a student-assistant coach at McNeese State, where he earned his bachelor's degree in liberal studies in 1991. He was born in Alexandria, La., and is married to the former Melissa Borrel. The couple has two daughters, Caitlyn and Kendyll.
