Game 1: Wichita State (13-12) vs. Bethune-Cookman (9-17)
Friday, March 29 |  Noon | Wichita, Kan. (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field)
TV: COX YurView Kansas HD 2022 (Shane Dennis, pxp)
Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM (Mike Kennedy, pxp)
Notes: Kid's Day game
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats

Game 2: Wichita State vs. Bethune-Cookman
Saturday, March 30 | 2 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field)
TV: COX YurView Kansas HD 2022 (Shane Dennis, pxp)
Radio: KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM (Mike Kennedy, pxp)
Promotions: Book Drive Weekend - Student-athletes will be at the gates collecting books for USD 259 and the Reading with the Shockers program
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats

Game 3: Wichita State vs. Bethune-Cookman
Sunday, March 31 | 1 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field)
TV: COX YurView Kansas HD 2022 (Steve Strain, pxp)
Radio: KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM (Shane Dennis, pxp)
Promotions: Book Drive Weekend - Student-athletes will be at the gates collecting books for USD 259 and the Reading with the Shockers program
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats

Game Notes | 2019 Fact Book | @GoShockersBSB

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            SCENE SETTER: The Wichita State University baseball team (13-12, 2-1 American) is scheduled to conclude a 14-game homestand with a three-game series against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (9-17, 3-6 MEAC) March 29-31 at Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field. The series opener is slated for Friday, March 29, at noon and will be a Kid's Day game, while game two is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, March 30. The series finale is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday, March 31.
 
            MEDIA COVERAGE: Television - All games in the series will air live on COX YurView Kansas (HD 2022) with Pizza Hut Shockers Sports Hall of Famer Shane Dennis calling the action Friday and Saturday, and Steve Strain providing play-by-play Sunday ... Live Video - A free, live video stream will be available at YurView.com/Kansas ... Radio - Friday's series opener will air live on KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM, while Saturday and Sunday's games will be broadcast live on KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM. "The Voice of the Shockers" and Pizza Hut Shockers Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kennedy will call Friday and Saturday's games, while Dennis will describe the action Sunday ... Live audio - Free, live audio will be available at GoShockers.com/listen ... Additional coverage - Live stats will be available at ShockerStats.com.
 
            SERIES RECORD: The series will mark the inaugural meeting for the Shockers and Wildcats.
 
            CATCHING UP WITH THE SHOCKERS: Wichita State enters the weekend at 13-12 overall and 2-1 in The American after defeating Omaha and Kansas State in a pair of midweek games Tuesday and Wednesday, 12-2 and 8-5 ... The Shockers have won seven of their last 10 contests ... Through 25 games, WSU is paced at the plate by senior infielders Jordan Boyer (.398 avg., 20 R, 33 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 17 RBI, .602 SLG%, 7 BB, .485 OB%, 3 SB) and Luke Ritter (.390 avg., 25 R, 39 H, 8 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 24 RBI, .690 SLG%, 12 BB, .488 OB%, 5 SB), and senior first baseman Mason O'Brien (.307 avg., 14 R, 27 H, 8 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 11 BB) ... On the mound the Shockers are paced by junior right-handed starter Preston Snavely (5.01 ERA, 32.1 IP, 32 H, 19 R, 18 ER, 18 BB, 33 SO) and junior right-handed closer Mitchell Walters (2.77 ERA, 0-1, 4 SV, 13.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 19 SO) ... Snavely, in addition to left-hander Cal Carver are slated to start Friday and Saturday, with Sunday's pitcher to be determined ... As a team, Wichita State is hitting .286 with a 5.67 ERA and .962 fielding percentage.
 
            ABOUT THE WILDCATS: The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats enter the weekend at 9-17 overall and 3-6 in the MEAC after falling to Alabama A&M Tuesday and Wednesday in Daytona Beach, Fla., 8-2 and 7-4 ... The Wildcats have dropped their last five contests entering the series with WSU ... Offensively, Bethune-Cookman is led by redshirt senior pitcher/infielder Brandon Wilkes (.310 avg., 7 R, 22 H, 5 2B, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 3 BB, 3 SB) and senior infielder Joseph Fernando (.306 avg., 16 R, 30 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 7 BB, 6 SB) ... The Wildcats are scheduled to start junior right-hander Anthony Maldonado (4.41 ERA, 2-2, 34.2 IP, 34 H, 18 R, 17 ER, 14 BB, 38 SO), freshman right-hander Seth Lovell (7.15 ERA, 2-1, 1 CG, 22.2 IP, 28 H, 23 R, 18 ER, 16 BB, 12 SO) and senior right-hander Tyler Krull (6.12 ERA, 0-3, 32.1 IP, 42 H, 31 R, 22 ER, 12 BB, 13 SO) ... Wilkes has been Bethune Cookman's closer through 26 contests, compiling a 1.45 ERA with a 2-0 record and three saves. He has allowed 13 hits and three earned runs while tallying five walks and 25 strikeouts in 18.2 innings ... Maldonado is the MEAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year ... Bethune-Cookman was picked to finish second in the MEAC Southern Division preseason poll ... The Wildcats are under the direction of first season head coach Jonathan Hernandez.
 
            KOCIS GOES BACK-TO-BACK: Sophomore first baseman Garrett Kocis became the first Shocker since Greyson Jenista in 2018 to hit home runs in consecutive games, going deep against Omaha Tuesday and K-State Wednesday. Jenista accomplished the same feat against South Dakota State and USF last season. The round-tripper Kocis hit Tuesday marked his first hit of the season.
 
            RITTER REACHES MILESTONE: Senior Luke Ritter tallied his 100th career RBI on a double to left-center in the first inning against Kansas State Wednesday evening.
 
            BOYER, RITTER EXCELLING AT THE PLATE: Jordan Boyer and Luke Ritter continue to excel at the plate entering the weekend. Boyer leads the Shockers, ranks third in The American and 49th nationally in hitting at .398 while Ritter is second on the team and fifth in the conference at .390.
 
            GOING DEEP: The Shockers hit a combined four home runs in their two wins over Omaha and K-State Tuesday and Wednesday. Against the Mavs Tuesday, Garrett Kocis, Jordan Boyer and Luke Ritter went yard, with Kocis going deep again Wednesday vs. the Wildcats. Ritter has a team-best six homers through 25 games, while Boyer is at three and Kocis has two. Paxton Wallace (4), Hunter Gibson (2), Mason O'Brien (1), Ross Cadena (1) and David VanVooren (1) also have homers this season.
 
            CLOSING THE DOOR: Right-hander Mitchell Walters leads Wichita State and is tied for third in The American with four saves in 10 appearances. The Katy, Texas, native has a 2.77 ERA in 13 innings with 16 Ks and only five walks. He ranks 55th in the nation in saves entering the weekend.
 
            TURNING TWO: Through 25 games, the Shockers are tied for second in The American with Cincinnati and rank 12th in the country in double plays turned with 24. Tulane leads the conference with 25.
 
            REACHING BASE...THE PAINFUL WAY: The Shockers lead The American and rank 13th nationally with 46 hit by pitches entering the week. Jordan Boyer leads the conference in hit by pitch at nine, while Luke Ritter is second at eight, and Ross Cadena and Mason O'Brien are tied for fifth with six.
 
            FRIENDLY CONFINES: WSU comes into the Bethune-Cookman series with a record of 10-3 at Eck Stadium. The Shockers have a .285 batting average and 3.87 team ERA at home.
 
            NOTABLE STREAKS: Luke Ritter is riding a 37-game on-base streak dating back to last season (has reached base safely in all 25 games in 2019), and has at least one hit in his last 15 contests -- a team-high ... Senior Mason O'Brien has gotten on-base successfully in his last 19 games, while sophomore Ross Cadena has reached in his last 16 contests.
 
            RITTER, WALTERS EARN WEEKLY HONORS: Luke Ritter and Mitchell Walters were named to The American Weekly Honor Roll for their performances during the week of March 18-24. Ritter received honor roll accolades for the second time this season and fifth time in his career, while Walters garnered honor roll recognition for the first time in his career. Ritter hit .375 with six hits, including a pair of two-run homers, to go along with four RBIs, runs and walks, and a .750 slugging and .500 on-base percentage in the Shockers' four games last week. Walters made three appearances in relief for WSU last week, posting a 0.00 ERA with no earned runs on just one hit with seven strikeouts and only one walk in five innings of work. He picked up his team-best third save of 2019 after throwing a pair of scoreless innings, giving up just one hit with no walks and three Ks in the Shockers' 8-4 win over Memphis March 23.
 
            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: The Shockers face Kansas in Lawrence April 2 before traveling to New Orleans for a three-game American Athletic Conference series at Tulane April 5-7.
 
            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.