Kansas On Tap for Shocker Baseball Wednesday

3/19/2019 1:07:00 PM

      SCENE SETTER: The Wichita State baseball team (8-11) is slated to face the Kansas Jayhawks (13-6) in a midweek game on Wednesday, March 20, at 6 p.m. at Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field.

            MEDIA COVERAGE: Television - Wednesday's showdown with KU will air live on COX YurView Kansas (HD 2022) with Steve Strain calling the action ... Live video - A free, live stream of the series will be available at YurView.com/Kansas ... Radio - KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM will air Wednesday's contest, with Pizza Hut Shockers Sports Hall of Famer and former WSU standout pitcher Shane Dennis providing play-by-play ... Live audio - Free, live audio will be available at GoShockers.com/listen ... Additional coverage - Live stats will be available at ShockerStats.com.

            SERIES RECORD: Wednesday's contest against the Jayhawks will mark the 81st meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1952. The Shockers lead the series, 46-34, and have won the last three meetings. Last season, WSU downed KU, 14-5 and 11-0.

            CATCHING UP WITH THE SHOCKERS: The Shockers enter Wednesday with an overall record of 8-11 after splitting a four-game series against the Rhode Island Rams March 15-17 at Eck Stadium ... Through 19 games, Wichita State is paced at the plate by senior infielders Jordan Boyer (.435 avg., 17 R, 27 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 7 BB, .532 OB%, 3 SB) and Luke Ritter (.400 avg., 17 R, 30 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 16 RBI, .640 SLG%, 8 BB, .500 OB%, 5 SB) ... Boyer currently ranks second in The American in hitting while Ritter is third ... On the mound, WSU is led by freshman left-hander Cal Carver (4.29 ERA, 3-1, 21.0 IP, 19 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 10 BB, 14 SO), junior right-hander Preston Snavely (5.27 ERA, 1-2, 27.1 IP, 28 H, 17 R, 16 ER, 15 BB, 31 SO) and sophomore reliever Alex Segal (5.91 ERA, 2 SV, 10.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 7 BB, 15 SO) ... As a team, the Shockers are hitting .288 with a 6.56 ERA and .960 fielding percentage.

            ABOUT KANSAS: The Kansas Jayhawks enter the week at 13-6 overall after being swept in a three-game series at St. John's March 15-17 in Queens, N.Y. ... Through 19 games, KU is paced offensively by junior catcher/first baseman Jaxx Groshans (.391 avg., 18 R, 25 H, 2 2B, 8 HR, 24 RBI, .797 SLG%, 17 BB, .518 OB%) ... Groshans currently leads the Big 12 in homers and ranks fourth in overall hitting ... On the mound, Kansas is led by junior right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn (1.86 ERA, 3-0, 29.0 IP, 16 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 12 BB, 32 SO) and sophomore reliever Jonah Ulane (0.93 ERA, 6 SV, 9.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 18 SO) ... Ulane leads the Big 12 in saves ... Sophomore lefty Steve Washilewski (3.38 ERA, 1-0, 10.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 11 SO) is slated to get the start for Kansas against the Shockers ... As a team, KU is hitting .248 with a 3.64 ERA and .974 fielding percentage ... KU is under the direction of 17th season head coach Ritch Price.

            HOT START: Jordan Boyer is off to the best start of his career at the plate. The Oklahoma City native is hitting a team-best .435 with 27 hits, including four doubles, a triple and homer, in 17 games and 62 at bats, going along with 12 RBI and seven walks. He ranks second in The American in hitting going into Wednesday's game. In three games against Rhode Island last weekend, Boyer hit a blistering .600, going 6-for-10 with a double and three RBI.

            SLAVENS SURGING: In his last eight games, freshman infielder Brady Slavens is hitting .346 with nine hits, a pair of doubles, seven RBI and two stolen bases.

            WALLACE SWINGING FOR THE FENCES: Sophomore third baseman Paxton Wallace clubbed two home runs in Wichita State's four-game series against Rhode Island. One of those homers was a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth that tied the game, helping the Shockers eventually win on a walk-off walk. On the season, the Greenbrier, Ark., native has a team-high four round-trippers.

            NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Freshman outfielder David VanVooren continues to make an impact with both his bat and glove in just eight games. The Bedford, Texas, native has four hits, including two doubles and a homer, to go along with five RBI, a .529 slugging percentage and four walks going into the Shockers' game Wednesday. In the outfield, he has made 18 putouts and zero errors.

            NOTABLE STREAKS: Luke Ritter is riding a 31-game on-base streak dating back to last season (has reached base safely in all 19 games in 2019), and has at least one hit in his last nine contests ... Paxton Wallace is riding a team-best 12-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 16 consecutive contests ... Senior Mason O'Brien has gotten on-base successfully in his last 14 games, while sophomore Ross Cadena has reached in his last 10.

            PLATE CONSISTENCY: Luke Ritter is hitting .400 with 27 hits in 75 at bats and has seven doubles, a triple, and three homers, going along with 16 RBI, a .640 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage Entering the week, Ritter ranks third in The American in hitting.

            MILESTONE WATCH: Clayton McGinness is just five strikeouts away from 100 career Ks ... Luke Ritter is eight RBI shy of 100 for his career, and currently is third in career hit by pitch, having been hit 28 times.

            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 begins American Athletic Conference play with a three-game series against the Memphis Tigers March 22-24 at Eck Stadium. The scheduled game times are 6 p.m. Friday, March 22, 2 p.m. Saturday, March 23, and 1 p.m. Sunday, March 24.

            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.

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Kansas On Tap for Shocker Baseball Wednesday