Shockers Trek to Oral Roberts for Midweek Game

5/13/2019 5:27:00 PM

            SCENE SETTER: The Wichita State University baseball team (23-28) is scheduled to travel to Tulsa, Okla., to take on the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles (24-22) in its final midweek game of the regular season Tuesday, May 14, at 6 p.m. at J.L. Johnson Stadium.

            MEDIA COVERAGE: TV - Tuesday's contest will be televised live on ESPN+, KGEB TV (Tulsa) and CoxHD (Oklahoma) ... Radio - KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM will carry the contest live, with Pizza Hut Shockers Sports Hall of Famer and "The Voice of the Shockers" Mike Kennedy on the call ... Live video - A webcast courtesy of ESPN+ will be available at WatchESPN.com and on the ESPN app ... Live audio - Complimentary live audio will be available at GoShockers.com/listen ... Live stats - Live stats will be available at ORUathletics.com.

            SERIES RECORD: Tuesday's game at ORU will mark the 67th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1982. The Shockers lead the series, 36-30, after defeating the Golden Eagles earlier this season at Eck Stadium, 8-2, but have lost the last four meetings in Tulsa. Wichita State's last victory at J.L. Johnson Stadium was a 10-3 triumph in 2012.

            WICHITA STATE UPDATE: WSU enters the week at 23-28 overall and 7-14 in The American after dropping two of three games to No. 8-ranked and American Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion ECU May 10-12 at Eck Stadium in Wichita ... Through 51 games, the Shockers are led at the plate by senior infielder Luke Ritter (.330 avg., 41 R, 64 H, 13 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 32 RBI, 108 TB, .557 SLG%, 29 BB, 13 HP, .447 OB%, 10 SB) and redshirt senior infielder Jordan Boyer (.328 avg., 32 R, 60 H, 13 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 36 RBI, 94 TB, .514 SLG%, 20 BB, 12 HP, .413 OB%, 8 SF, 5 SB) ... On the mound, Wichita State is paced by senior right-handed starter Clayton McGinness (4.30 ERA, 5-4, 1 CG, 60.2 IP, 67 H, 31 R, 29 ER, 21 BB, 46 SO) and junior right-handed reliever/closer Mitchell Walters (4.06 ERA, 2-3, 7 SV, 31.0 IP, 28 H, 17 R, 14 ER, 13 BB, 38 SO) ... WSU's starter for Tuesday's contest is to be announced ... As a team, the Shockers are hitting .270 with a 5.54 ERA and .966 fielding percentage.

            ANALYZING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles enter the week at 24-22 overall and 15-11 in The Summit League after splitting a pair of games at South Dakota State (L, 5-4; W, 5-3 in five innings) May 10-11 in Brookings, S.D. ... Through 46 games, ORU is lad offensively by junior infielder/pitcher Spencer Henson (.358 avg., 39 R, 54 H, 10 2B, 2 3B, 15 HR, 44 RBI, 113 TB, .748 SLG%, 36 BB, .484 OB%, 2 SB) and senior infielder Hunter Wilson (.306 avg., 38 R, 53 H, 8 2B, 2 HR, 31 RBI, 67 TB, 17 BB, .364 OB%, 11 SB) ... Henson leads The Summit League in batting average, RBI and homers ... On the mound, Oral Roberts is paced by senior right-handed starter Josh McMinn (4.56 ERA, 6-4, 79.0 IP, 87 H, 48 R, 40 ER, 25 BB, 79 SO) and freshman right-handed reliever Trey Wolf (4.08 ERA, 0-3, 4 SV, 28.2 IP, 23 H, 14 R, 13 ER, 16 BB, 28 SO) ... ORU's starting pitcher for Tuesday is to be determined ... As a team, the Golden Eagles are hitting .280 (1st in Summit League) with a 4.91 ERA (4th in Summit League) and .973 fielding percentage (2nd in Summit League) ... Oral Roberts is under the direction of seventh season head coach Ryan Folmar.

            MCGINNESS GOES THE DISTANCE: Clayton McGinness fired his first-career complete game to lead Wichita State to a 3-1 win over No. 8 ECU Saturday, May 11, on Senior Day at Eck Stadium. McGinness pitched the full nine innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits with only one walk and four strikeouts in 103 total pitches, lifting the Shockers to their first victory over a top-10 opponent since 2014. He also turned two 1-6-3 double plays in the contest.

            WEEKLY HONORS: Clayton McGinness was named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday, May 13. McGinness became Wichita State's first-ever Pitcher of the Week in The American. The senior right-hander from Amazonia, Mo., fired his first-career complete game May 11 to lead the Shockers to a 3-1 victory over No. 8 ECU.

            O'BRIEN ON POINT AT THE PLATE: Redshirt senior Mason O'Brien hit a team-best .370 in his last seven games. The Owasso, Okla., native has three runs, 10 hits, two homers, three RBI, a .593 slugging and .433 on-base percentage during that span.

            WALLACE DELIVERS: Sophomore Paxton Wallace delivered Wichita State's first grand slam of the season when he launched a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall in the third inning in the Shockers' win at UConn in game two of a doubleheader Saturday, May 4.

            GOING DEEP: Wichita State has belted a combined six home runs in its last seven games. Mason O'Brien and Paxton Wallace have each gone deep twice, while Luke Ritter and Ross Cadena have tallied one round-tripper each during the span on games. Ritter leads the team on the season with nine homers, while Wallace has eight, Hunter Gibson and Jordan Boyer each have five, O'Brien has three, Jacob Katzfey, Cadena, and Garrett Kocis each have two, and David VanVooren has one.

            KATZFEY CRUISING AT THE PLATE: Jacob Katzfey hit a team-best .500 in Wichita State's three-game series against No. 8 ECU May 10-12. In the series, the junior had six hits and two stolen bases, and posted identical .500 slugging and on-base percentages. The Lee's Summit, Mo., native leads the team in hitting in conference play with a .282 batting average.

            RITTER NAMED FINALIST FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD: Luke Ritter was named as one of 10 finalists for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award which honors student-athletes who excel both on and off the field. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: character, classroom, community and competition. A native of Overland Park, Kan., Ritter was a first team all-conference honoree in The American last season, and has been named to the conference's weekly honor roll three times so far this season. Ritter has a 3.24 cumulative grade-point average as a finance major. For more information and to vote, please visit seniorCLASSaward.com.

            BOYER AMONG NATION'S BEST IN SAC FLIES: Jordan Boyer ranks third in the country in sacrifice flies going into the week with eight.

            NOTABLE STREAKS: Jordan Boyer is riding a team-best 10-game reached base safely streak, while Mason O'Brien is on a team-high seven-game hitting streak ... Ross Cadena has gotten on-base successfully in eight consecutive games, while O'Brien has reached in seven straight and Luke Ritter and Brady Slavens have each reached base in six consecutive contests.

            NOTABLE CAREER RANKINGS: Luke Ritter ranks third in hit by pitch (33), while Jordan Boyer is tied for 10th in hit by pitch (22) ... Clayton McGinness is tied for seventh in pitching appearances (93).

            NOTABLE CONFERENCE RANKINGS: Luke Ritter - 1st in hit by pitch (13), 9th in hits (64), slugging percentage (.557) and on-base percentage (.447), tied for 8th in total bases (108), tied for 7th in homers (9); Jordan Boyer - tied for 2nd in hit by pitch (12), tied for 1st in sac flies (8), tied for 5th in triples (3); Jacob Katzfey - tied for 5th in triples (3); Mitchell Walters - 6th in saves (7); Alex Segal - 6th in appearances (25); Liam Eddy - 9th in innings pitched (70.1).

            TURNING TWO: Through 51 games, the Shockers are second in The American and rank 28th in the country in double plays turned with 44. Wichita State turned four double plays against Oklahoma State April 10 -- tying for third-most in program single-game history. Cincinnati leads the conference with 53 double plays.

            REACHING BASE...THE PAINFUL WAY: The Shockers lead The American and rank 37th nationally with 71 hit by pitches entering the week.

            UP NEXT: Wichita State wraps up American Athletic Conference and regular season action with a three-game series at USF May 16-18 in Tampa, Fla. The winner of the series will advance to The American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship May 21-26 in Clearwater, Fla.

            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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Shockers Trek to Oral Roberts for Midweek Game