WICHITA, Kan. – The Wichita State University baseball team earned a 5-1 victory over the Rhode Island Rams in the series finale of a four-game series Sunday, March 17, at Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field.
 
Wichita State (8-11) is slated to host Kansas (13-6) in a midweek game on Wednesday, March 20, at 6 p.m.
 
Shocker left-handed pitchers Cal Carver and Alex Segal teamed up to toss nine innings of one-run baseball. Carver, a freshman from San Antonio, Texas, improved to 3-1 on the mound after going a season-best 6 1/3 innings and giving up just one earned run on five hits with four strikeouts and a pair of walks, while Segal, a redshirt sophomore from Scottsdale, Ariz., secured his second save of 2019 after throwing 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief with a strikeout.
 
Freshman David VanVooren paced WSU at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and two RBI, while senior Luke Ritter added a 2-of-4 showing with two RBI and a double. Freshman Brady Slavens also tallied a pair of hits in the contest and scored a run, respectively.
 
After his two hits Sunday, Ritter has now reached base safely in 31 consecutive games dating back to 2018.
 
Wichita State burst out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning on a pair of RBI doubles from VanVooren and Ritter. After Jake Plastiak led-off the frame with a single to left field, VanVooren smoked a double to left, plating Plastiak for the opening run of the game. Ritter drove in VanVooren via a one-out double down the right field line for the second run of the frame.
 
After Rhode Island (4-10) plated a run in the fifth to cut the advantage to 2-1, the Shockers responded with a run in the sixth after Mason O'Brien scored on a Ram error, pushing their lead to 3-1.
 
Ritter provided another run for WSU in the seventh on a RBI single to right field that plated VanVooren, prior to VanVooren scoring Slavens on a bunt single to first for the Shockers fifth and final run of the game.
 
Wichita State outhit Rhody in the contest, 10-6.
 
Max Mircovich went 2-of-4 with a triple, pacing the Rams in the batter's box.
 
Starter Justin Cherry (0-1) suffered the loss after giving up two earned runs and one unearned run on seven hits with eight strikeouts and no walks in six innings of work.