Wichita State (5-9) vs. Oral Roberts (6-6)
Tuesday, March 12 | 1 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field)
TV: COX YurView Kansas Ch. 22 (Shane Dennis, pxp)
Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM (Mike Kennedy, pxp)
Promotions: Teacher Appreciation -- $5 admission for all teachers, professors, faculty and staff with school ID
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stat

Game Notes | 2019 Fact Book | @GoShockersBSB

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            SCENE SETTER: The Wichita State baseball team (5-9) will look to end a four-game skid when it faces the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles (6-6) Tuesday afternoon, March 12, at 1 p.m. Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field. The contest is the first of 14 consecutive home games for the Shockers.
 
            MEDIA COVERAGE: Television/Live video - Tuesday's game will air live locally on COX YurView (Ch. 22) with Pizza Hut Shockers Sports Hall of Famer and former Wichita State standout pitcher Shane Dennis on the call. Free, live video will also be available at YurView.com/Kansas ... Radio - Pizza Hut Shockers Sports Hall of Famer and "The Voice of the Shockers" Mike Kennedy will call the action Tuesday live on KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM ... Live Audio - Free, live audio for all games is available at GoShockers.com/listen ... Additional coverage options - Live stats links for all games are available at GoShockers.com.
 
            SERIES RECORD: Tuesday's contest against Oral Roberts will mark the 66th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1982. The Shockers lead the series, 35-30. Last season, WSU split the season series with ORU, losing in Tulsa, Okla., 2-1, before winning in Wichita, 2-1.  
 
            WICHITA STATE NOTES: The Shockers enter the week at 5-9 overall after dropping four games last week. WSU fell at Oklahoma State March 6 before being swept in a three-game series at No. 10 Texas Tech March 8-10 ... Through 14 games, Wichita State is paced at the plate by senior infielders Luke Ritter (.411 avg., 14 R, 23 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, .625 SLG%, 8 BB, .522 OB%, 4 SB) and Jordan Boyer (.404 avg., 12 R, 19 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 6 BB, .517 OB%, 2 SB), and sophomore outfielder Hunter Gibson (.341 avg., 8 R, 15 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 7 BB, 2 SB) ... Ritter currently ranks second in the American Athletic Conference in hitting, while Boyer is third and Gibson is 10th ... On the mound, WSU is paced by junior right-hander Preston Snavely (5.48 ERA, 1-2, 23.0 IP, 25 H, 15 R, 14 ER, 10 BB, 24 SO) and junior closer Mitchell Walters (2.08 ERA, 0-1, 2 SV, 4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO) ... As a team, the Shockers are hitting .283 with a 7.21 ERA and .955 fielding percentage.  
 
            SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles enter the week with an overall record of 6-6 after being swept by Dallas Baptist in a three-game series in Tulsa March 8-10 ... ORU was picked to finish first in The Summit League preseason poll and has won 19 consecutive tournament and 18 straight regular season titles in the league ... Through 12 games, Oral Roberts led at the plate by junior infielder/RHP Spencer Henson (.395 avg., 11 R, 17 H, 3 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 15 RBI, .837 SLG%, 6 BB, .469 OB%), senior infielder Hunter Wilson (.366 avg., 11 R, 15 H, 1 2B, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 3 SB) and senior outfielder Andrew Pace (.314 avg., 7 R, 16 H, 3 2B, 9 RBI, 1 BB) ... On the mound, ORU is led by senior right-hander Josh McMinn (5.06 ERA, 2-2, 26.2 IP, 31 H, 18 R, 15 ER, 4 BB, 21 SO) and freshman right-hander Isaac Coffey (3.66 ERA, 1-1, 19.2 IP, 17 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 4 BB, 16 SO) ... As a team, the Golden Eagles are hitting .257 with a 5.18 ERA and .962 fielding percentage ... Oral Roberts is under the direction of seventh season head coach Ryan Folmar.
 
            NOTABLE STREAKS: Luke Ritter is riding a 26-game on-base streak dating back to last season (has reached base safely in all 14 games in 2019) ... Paxton Wallace is riding a team-best seven-game hitting streak ... Jordan Boyer has reached base successfully in all 13 games he has played in this season, while Wallace is on an 11-game reached base safely streak.  
 
            RITTER ROLLING: Luke Ritter has continued his hot start at the plate through 14 games. The Overland Park, Kan., native is hitting a team-best .411 with 23 hits in 56 at bats and has four doubles, a triple, and two homers, going along with 11 RBI, a .625 slugging percentage and .522 on-base percentage. He has reached base safely in 26 consecutive contests dating back to last season. Entering the week, Ritter ranks second in The American in hitting.  
 
            HOT START: Jordan Boyer is off to the best start of his career at the plate. The Oklahoma City native is hitting .404 with 19 hits, including a pair of doubles, a triple and homer, in 13 games and 47 at bats, going along with nine RBI and six walks. He ranks third in The American going into Tuesday's game.  
 
            GIBSON HEATING UP: Hunter Gibson hit .400 with six hits, a triple, homer, two RBI and posted a .733 slugging percentage in the Shockers' four games last week at Oklahoma State and 10th-ranked Texas Tech. On the season, he is hitting .341 with 15 hits in 44 at bats, and has a double, triple and home, going along with 11 RBI and seven walks.  
 
            SLAVENS FINDING THE GAPS: Freshman Brady Slavens is hitting .316 with six hits in 19 at bats, including a pair of doubles, and drive in a trio of runs in seven games.
 
            MILESTONE WATCH: Clayton McGinness is just six strikeouts away from 100 career Ks ... Luke Ritter is 13 RBI shy of 100 for his career, and currently is tied for fourth in career hit by pitch, having been hit 25 times ... Jordan Boyer recently eclipsed 100 career hits. He sits at 109 going into Wednesday.  
 
            WEEKLY HONORS:  Luke Ritter was named to the American Athletic Conference's Weekly Honor Roll for the week of Feb. 18-24. It's his fourth career honor roll appearance.  
 
            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.  
 
            UP NEXT: Wichita State continues its lengthy homestand with four games against Rhode Island March 15-17 at Eck Stadium. The series opener is slated for 6 p.m. Friday, March 15, before a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 16. The series finale is slated to a noon start on Sunday, March 17.  
 
            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.