The RoundHouse | 4/18/2019 11:39:00 PM

 
Mitchell Walters chose between "Hells Bells" and "Enter Sandman" for his intro song, both appropriately aggressive for a call to the bullpen.
 
He settled on "Hells Bells" by AC/DC for this season at Wichita State, his first as a closer in college.
 
"I liked it a little better," Walters said. "It helps you get into the mentality of 'You're the baddest person on the field.'"
 
On Thursday, Walters was just bad enough to help the Shockers defeat UCF 8-6 to open the series and snap a six-game losing streak. He recorded his sixth save with two innings of work in which he allowed one run and three hits, while striking out two. 
 
Catcher Ross Cadena helped him by throwing out a runner in the eighth inning, dampening a UCF threat that started with a single and a walk. Walters struck out the next two batters, relying on his slider, to end the inning. In the ninth, a double play and a line drive snagged by third baseman Paxton Wallace limited the damage to one run.
 
Most important, the Shockers (19-18, 4-6 American Athletic Conference) moved back over .500 and Walters got some work, even if he wasn't as sharp as in previous outings. The Knights (22-16, 4-9) lost their fourth straight game after the Shockers took a 3-1 lead in the first inning and built a 7-2 edge after four innings.
 
"It's nice to get to him tonight," Butler said. "A lot of times, we're not getting to him until (the final game of the series). If not, sometimes we haven't been able to get to him at all, because we're behind. He's good at the end."
 
Walters, a junior from Katy, Texas, has a 2.59 ERA in 16 appearances, striking out 26 with nine walks. He gave up his first extra-base hit of the season on Thursday, a double in the ninth. He didn't give up a run in eight straight appearances, over 12 innings, from March 20 to April 10.

In five conference appearances, he is 1-1 with two saves and a 2.38 ERA
 
Walters started at Weatherford (Texas) College before coming to Wichita State. He moved to the bullpen at Wichita State, somewhat out of necessity.
 
"In the fall, we had to shut him down (with an injury), so he didn't get to pitch as much as we wanted to," Butler said. "We had to treat him kind of gingerly."
 
The move to closer is fine with Walters, who is a Houston Astros fan and grew up admiring the work of pitchers such as Roy Oswalt and Justin Verlander. When the Shockers can get him the ball, he treats pitching in relief much like he did starting.
 
"The mentality is always to get outs and get them as efficiently as possible," he said.
 
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.