WICHITA, Kan. – Jordan Boyer worked a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the bottom of the ninth-inning to give the Wichita State baseball team an 8-7 walk-off victory over the Rhode Island Rams in the opening game of a four-game series Friday, March 15, at Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field.
 
The Shockers (7-9) and Rams (2-9) are scheduled to play a doubleheader Saturday, March 16, starting at 1 p.m.
 
After Rhode Island plated three runs in the top of the ninth to gain a 7-5 lead, sophomore Paxton Wallace tied the game with a two-run home run to left field with one out in the bottom of the ninth. It was his team-best third homer of 2019.
 
Ross Cadena followed with a two-out single to center field, prior to David VanVooren and Jack Sigrist coaxing back-to-back walks to load the bases and bring Boyer to the plate. The senior from Oklahoma City was awarded first base on the eighth pitch of the at-bat, bringing in Cadena for the winning run.
 
Boyer went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, two runs scored and two RBI, leading Wichita State offensively, while Wallace added a 2-for-5 showing with the game-tying homer, and a pair of RBI and runs scored. Cadena tallied three hits in four at bats, and Luke Ritter and Mason O'Brien each had a pair of hits, respectively.
 
Right-hander Clayton McGinness (2-2) picked up the victory on the mound after allowing no earned runs in a third of an inning.
 
Max Mircovich went 2-for-3 with a double and two walks, while John Christino posted a triple, two runs scored and a RBI, pacing the Rams in the batter's box.
 
Reliever Cam LaFleur (0-3) suffered the loss on the mound after giving up three earned runs on three hits with two walks and a strikeout in two-thirds of an inning.