Shockers Open AAC Tournament Tuesday vs. ECU

5/20/2019 2:24:00 PM

            SCENE SETTER: Eighth-seeded Wichita State (26-29) is scheduled to face top-seeded ECU (42-13) in the opening round of the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship Tuesday, May 21, at approximately 11:30 a.m. CT (12:30 p.m. ET) in Clearwater, Fla., at Spectrum Field.

            MEDIA COVERAGE: TV - All games up to the May 26th championship contest will air live on the American Digital Network with Jeff Brightwell providing play-by-play and Garrett Walvoord serving as color commentator. Hali Oughton will be the sideline reporter. The championship game will air live on ESPNEWS ... Radio - KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM or KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM will carry every tournament game live, with Pizza Hut Shockers Sports Hall of Famer and "The Voice of the Shockers" Mike Kennedy on the call ... Live video - The American Digital Network will air the first 14 games of The American tournament live at TheAmerican.org/Baseball ... Live audio - Complimentary live audio will be available for all games at GoShockers.com/listen ... Live stats - Live stats will be available at TheAmerican.org/Baseball.

            SHOCKERS IN THE POSTSEASON: Wichita State will be making its 42nd-consecutive appearance in conference tournament play. WSU has won 17 tournament titles and owns a tournament record of 101-54-1 in tournament play, and is 17-8 in the championship game. In The American-only, the Shockers will be making their second appearance. Wichita State is 1-2-0 all-time in the AAC tournament after defeating USF, 4-2, and losing to UConn, 7-5, and USF, 7-2, in 2018.

            SERIES HISTORY VS. THE FIELD: No. 1 ECU - 3-4 overall; No. 2 Cincinnati - 2-4 overall; No. 3 Tulane - 8-6 overall; No. 4 UConn - 5-3 overall; No. 5 Houston - 12-31 overall; No. 6 UCF - 4-2 overall; No. 7 Memphis - 4-2.

            TALE OF THE TAPE VS. ECU: Wichita State - 26-29 overall record, .266 avg., 93 2B, 11 3B, 39 HR, 271 RBI, .388 SLG%, 206 BB, 80 HP, 21 GDP, .358 OB%, 23 SF, 68-88 SB, 70 E, .966 FLD%, 48 DPs turned, 5.39 ERA, 1 CG, 11 SV, 287 BB, 419 SO; No. 6 ECU - 42-13 overall record, .292 avg., 98 2B, 8 3B, 57 HR, 342 RBI, .448 SLG%, 242 BB, 70 HP, 36 GDP, .391 OB%, 62 SF, 46-66 SB, 48 E, .977 FLD%, 32 DPs turned, 3.55 ERA, 1 CG, 15 SV, 174 BB, 523 SO.

            WICHITA STATE LEADERS: Entering the American Athletic Conference Championship, the Shockers are led at the plate by senior infielder Luke Ritter (.335 avg., 44 R, 70 H, 14 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 37 RBI, 115 TB, .550 SLG%, 31 BB, 14 HP, 36 SO, .451 OB%, 11 SB, .7 E, .970 FLD%) and redshirt senior infielder Jordan Boyer (.312 avg., 33 R, 63 H, 14 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 36 RBI, 98 TB, .485 SLG%, 21 BB, 12 HP, 44 SO, .395 OB%, 8 SF, 5 SB, 13 E, .949 FLD%) ... Ritter ranks sixth in overall hitting in The American entering the week ... On the mound, Wichita State is paced by senior right-handed starter Clayton McGinness (4.12 ERA, 6-4, 1 CG, 67.2 IP, 72 H, 33 R, 31 ER, 23 BB, 54 SO) and junior right-handed reliever/closer Mitchell Walters (4.01 ERA, 2-3, 8 SV, 33.2 IP, 29 H, 18 R, 15 ER, 16 BB, 42 SO) ... Walters is tied for fifth in the conference in saves going into Tuesday's tournament opener.

            RITTER NAMED FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE: For the second straight season, Luke Ritter was named First Team All-Conference in The American. The Overland Park, Kan., native earned first team accolades as a utility player after hitting a team-best .293 with 27 hits in 92 at bats, going along with five doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI, 14 walks and three stolen bases in the Shockers' 24 conference games.

            BACK-TO-BACK WEEKLY HONORS: Clayton McGinness was honored by The American for the second consecutive week, as he was named to the conference's weekly honor roll after tossing seven innings and tallying a career-high eight strikeouts to earn his second straight win on the mound in Wichita State's 7-6 triumph at USF May 16. He was named pitcher of the week in the conference for the week of May 6-12.

            LATE-SEASON PITCHING GAINS: In its last 11 games of the regular season the Shocker pitching staff posted a 3.53 ERA with 77 strikeouts and 53 walks. In that span, Clayton McGinness had a 1.96 ERA in three starts and 23 innings to go along with a complete-game, 14 Ks and just four walks. In addition, he only allowed five earned runs on 15 hits. Also, in that window, Alex Segal posted a 1.80 ERA in five appearances out of the bullpen with eight strikeouts in five innings of work, and Tommy Barnhouse had a 1.93 ERA in three appearances and two starts with five Ks in 9 1/3 innings.

            GRAND SLAM (X 2) FOR WALLACE: Paxton Wallace belted his second grand slam of the season in Wichita State's 7-6 win at USF May 16. His first occurred at UConn May 4 in game two of a doubleheader. He's the first Shocker to hit two slams in a season since Alec Bohm had three last season against McNeese State, and Nebraska (2).

            O'BRIEN ON POINT: Mason O'Brien is hitting .314 (second-best on team behind Luke Ritter) in his last nine games with 11 hits, three homers, five RBI and a team-best .571 slugging percentage.

            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.

            NEUTRAL SITE SUCCESS: Luke Ritter hit a blistering .526 in Wichita State's five neutral site games during the regular season. The Overland Park, Kan., native had 10 hits, including a double and homer, to go along with six RBI, and .737 slugging and .667 on-base percentages. Mason O'Brien (.500 avg., .857 SLG%, .632 OB%) and Jordan Boyer (.389 avg., .611 SLG%, .560 OB%) also excelled offensively in WSU's neutral site contests. As a team, the Shockers hit .295 in neutral site games during the 2019 regular season.

            TOUGH SCHEDULE: Entering the American Athletic Conference Championship, Wichita State has played the 39th-toughest schedule in NCAA Division I baseball (fourth-toughest among American-only teams) and ranks 92nd in the latest overall RPI rankings. The Shockers have played a combined 21 games against opponents that are ranked in the top-50 RPI and 41 in the top-100. WSU's opening round opponent Tuesday, ECU, is ranked fifth in the most recent RPI rankings.

            LATE-INNING SUCCESS: As a team, the Shockers are an impressive 22-0 when leading after eight innings, 21-0 when in front after seven and 22-1 when leading through six entering tournament play.

            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 entering the week with eight.

            NOTABLE STREAKS: Mason O'Brien has reached base safely in 11 straight games, while Luke Ritter has reached successfully in his last 10 contests.

            NOTABLE CAREER RANKINGS: Luke Ritter ranks third in hit by pitch (34), while Jordan Boyer is tied for 10th in hit by pitch (22) ... Clayton McGinness is tied for seventh in pitching appearances (94).

            NOTABLE CONFERENCE RANKINGS: Luke Ritter - 1st in hit by pitch (14), 7th in hits (70), on-base percentage (.451) and batting average (.335); tied for 9th in total bases (115), 10th in slugging percentage (.550); Jordan Boyer - tied for 3rd in hit by pitch (12), tied for 1st in sac flies (8), tied for 6th in triples (3); Jacob Katzfey - tied for 6th in triples (3); Mitchell Walters - tied for 5th in saves (8); Alex Segal - tied for 5th in appearances (28).

            TURNING TWO: Through 55 games, the Shockers are second in The American and rank 31st in the country in double plays turned with 48. 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 55 double plays.

            REACHING BASE...THE PAINFUL WAY: The Shockers lead The American and rank 29th nationally with 78 hit by pitches entering the week. In WSU's 7-6 win at USF May 16, the Shockers were hit a program-record six times.

            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 Open AAC Tournament Tuesday vs. ECU