Shockers, Cowboys Meet Wednesday at Eck Stadium

4/9/2019 2:50:00 PM

            SCENE SETTER: After a four-game road trip, the Wichita State University baseball team (18-14, 3-3 American) is scheduled to begin an eight-game homestand with a midweek showdown against the Oklahoma State Cowboys (19-11, 6-3 Big 12) Wednesday, April 10, at 6 p.m. at Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field.

            MEDIA COVERAGE: Television - Wednesday's contest against the Cowboys will be televised live on COX YurView Kansas (HD 2022) with Pizza Hut Shockers Sports Hall of Famer and former WSU standout pitcher Shane Dennis calling the action ... Radio - KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM will carry the game live, with Pizza Hut Shockers Sports Hall of Famer and "The Voice of the Shockers" Mike Kennedy on the call ... Live video - A free webcast will be available at YurView.com/Kansas ... Live audio - Complimentary live audio for the game will be available at GoShocker.com/listen ... Live stats - Live stats can be accessed at ShockerStats.com.

            SERIES RECORD: Wednesday's midweek tussle with Oklahoma State will mark the 97th meeting in the all-time series that dates all the way back to 1914. The Cowboys lead the series, 59-37, after defeating the Shockers earlier this season in Stillwater, 10-7.

            CATCHING UP WITH THE SHOCKERS: Wichita State enters the week with an overall record of 18-14 and an American Athletic Conference tally of 3-3 after dropping two of three games at Tulane April 5-6 in New Orleans ... Through 32 contests, the Shockers are paced by senior infielders Luke Ritter (.398 avg., 35 R, 49 H, 11 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 28 RBI, .691 SLG%, 19 BB, .513 OB%, 9 SB and Jordan Boyer (.382 avg., 26 R, 42 H, 8 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 11 BB, .467 OB%, 3 SB) ... Ritter ranks second in The American in hitting, while Boyer is fifth ... On the mound WSU is paced by sophomore right-hander Liam Eddy (4.70 ERA, 3-3, 38.1 IP, 33 H, 20 R, 20 ER, 15 BB, 20 SO) and junior closer Mitchell Walters (2.00 ERA, 1-1, 5 SV, 18.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 7 BB, 20 SO) ... As a team, Wichita State is hitting .286 with a 5.49 ERA and .964 fielding percentage.

            ABOUT THE COWBOYS: Oklahoma State enters the week at 19-11 overall and 6-3 in the Big 12 after losing two of three games to West Virginia at home in Stillwater April 5-7 (L, 11-1; W, 9-5; L, 4-2) ... Through 30 games, the Cowboys are led at the plate by junior outfielder Carson McCusker (.344 avg., 20 R, 33 H, 11 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 20 RBI, .615 SLG%, 15 BB, .434 OB%, 1 SB) and senior catcher Bryce Carter (.306 avg., 15 R, 26 H, 5 2B, 19 RBI, 19 BB, .443 OB%) ... On the mound, Oklahoma State is paced by redshirt freshman right-hander Brett Standlee (3.41 ERA, 2-0, 1 SV, 34.1 IP, 37 H, 13 R, 13 ER, 11 BB, 24 SO) and junior closer Ben Leeper (1.00 ERA, 3-0, 4 SV, 18.0 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 12 BB, 24 SO) ... As a team, the Cowboys are hitting .275 (4th in Big 12) with a 4.15 ERA (5th in Big 12) and .968 fielding percentage (7th in Big 12) ... OSU was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 preseason poll ... The Cowboys are under the direction of seventh season head coach Josh Holliday.

            WEEKLY HONORS FOR RITTER: Senior Luke Ritter was named to The American Weekly Honor Roll for the third time this season and sixth time in his career after hitting a blistering .533 with eight hits in 15 at bats, including three doubles and a homer, going along with seven runs scored, four RBIs, four walks and one stolen base. He also had a scorching .933 slugging percentage and .667 on-base percentage.

            THE STREAK CONTINUES: Luke Ritter is riding a 44-game on-base streak dating back to last season (has reached base safely in all 32 games in 2019). The last time he did not get on-base was May 5, 2018 against Cincinnati. To put that in perspective, that's 48 weeks (as of April 10, 2019), 339 days, 8,143 hours, 488,609 minutes, or 29,316,540 seconds.

            RITTER KEEPS ON ROLLIN': Luke Ritter continues to roll at the plate through 32 games. The Overland Park, Kan., native is hitting a team-best .398 in 32 games and 123 at bats. He leads the team in hits (49), runs (35), doubles (11), homers (7), RBIs (28), total bases (85), slugging percentage (.691), walks (19) and on-base percentage (.513). In The American, he ranks second in batting average, first in on-base percentage, tied for second in runs, total bases and hits, and tied for third in doubles. In the latest NCAA national statistics, he is 16th in total bases, 20th in hits, 23rd in on-base percentage, 29th in slugging percentage and 32nd in batting average.

            CLOSING THE DOOR: Right-hander Mitchell Walters leads Wichita State and is tied for fourth in The American with five saves in 13 appearances. The Katy, Texas, native has a 2.00 ERA in 18 innings with 20 Ks and only seven walks.

            TURNING TWO: Through 32 games, the Shockers are tied for second in The American and rank 17th in the country in double plays turned with 29. Tulane leads the conference with 31.

            REACHING BASE...THE PAINFUL WAY: The Shockers lead The American and rank 17th nationally with 52 hit by pitches entering the week. Luke Ritter leads the conference in hit by pitch at 11, while Jordan Boyer is second with 10, and Ross Cadena is tied for sixth with seven. Ritter is third in Wichita State career history in hit by pitch with 31.

            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 welcome the Houston Cougars to Eck Stadium for a three-game American Athletic Conference series April 12-14. The scheduled game times are 6 p.m. Friday, April 12, 2 p.m. Saturday, April 13 and noon Sunday, April 14.

            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.

Print Friendly Version

Wichita State Athletics

Events

Shockers, Cowboys Meet Wednesday at Eck Stadium