Shockers Trek to Missouri State Tuesday

5/6/2019 6:45:00 PM

            SCENE SETTER: The Wichita State University baseball team (21-26) is scheduled to travel to Springfield, Mo., to take on the Missouri State Bears (15-31) in a midweek game on Tuesday, May 7, at 6:30 p.m. at Hammons Field.

            MEDIA COVERAGE: TV - Tuesday's contest at Missouri State will be televised live on ESPN+, WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app ... 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 audio - Complimentary live audio for the contest will be available at GoShockers.com/listen ... Live stats - Live stats may be accessed at GoShockers.com.

            SERIES RECORDS: Tuesday's showdown against the Bears will mark the 109th meeting in the all-time series that dates all the way back to 1987. The Shockers lead the series, 62-46, but have dropped the last four meetings against Missouri State, which occurred during the 2017 season. The Shockers and Bears were scheduled to meet in Wichita at Eck Stadium a week ago, but the contest was canceled due to inclement weather.

            WICHITA STATE UPDATE: The Shockers enter Tuesday at 21-26 overall and 6-12 in The American after winning one of three games in a conference series at UConn May 3-4 at Dunkin' Donuts Park in Hartford, Conn. ... Through 47 games, WSU is paced offensively by redshirt senior infielder Jordan Boyer (.337 avg., 31 R, 56 H, 12 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 35 RBI, .536 SLG%, 16 BB, 12 HP, .416 OB%, 3 SB) and senior infielder Luke Ritter (.328 avg., 39 R, 59 H, 13 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 30 RBI, .556 SLG%, 25 BB, 13 HP, .443 OB%, 10 SB) ... Boyer ranks ninth in The American in overall hitting going into the week ... Wichita State is slated to start junior right-hander Tommy Barnhouse (5.35 ERA, 2-2, 35.1 IP, 39 H, 32 R, 21 ER, 19 BB, 34 SO) Tuesday at Hammons Field ... The Shockers primary relievers are junior right-handed closer Mitchell Walters (4.50 ERA, 1-3, 7 SV, 28.0 IP, 27 H, 17 R, 14 ER, 11 BB, 35 SO) and freshman right-hander Aaron Haase (4.55 ERA, 2-2, 27.2 IP, 27 H, 16 R, 14 ER, 18 BB, 32 SO) ... As a team, WSU is hitting .268 with a 5.73 ERA and .966 fielding percentage.

            ANALYZING THE BEARS: The Missouri State Bears enter the week at 15-31 overall and 6-9 in the Missouri Valley Conference after winning two of three home games against Dallas Baptist (L, 6-1; W, 4-3; W, 6-0) May 2-4 at Hammons Field in Springfield ... Through 46 games, the Bears are paced at the plate by freshman outfielder/first baseman Dakota Kotowski (.304 avg., 19 R, 31 H, 3 2B, 10 HR, 20 RBI, .627 SLG%, 8 BB) and junior infielder Ben Whetstone (.256 avg., 28 R, 42 H, 10 2B, 6 HR, 30 RBI, .427 SLG%, 24 BB, 9 HP) ... Missouri State is slated to start sophomore right-hander Zach Gibbs (13.94 ERA, 0-0, 10.1 IP, 13 H, 19 R, 16 ER, 10 BB, 16 SO) ... The Bears' primary reliever is sophomore right-hander Connor Sechler (3.73 ERA, 2-4, 4 SV. 41.0 IP, 28 H, 18 R, 17 ER, 24 BB, 47 SO) ... As a team, Missouri State is hitting .237 (7th in MVC) with a 6.59 ERA (8th in MVC) and .958 fielding percentage (8th in MVC) ... The Bears are under the leadership of 37th season head coach Keith Guttin.

            O'BRIEN ON POINT AT THE PLATE: Redshirt senior Mason O'Brien hit a team-best .400 in the Shockers' three-game series at UConn May 3-4. The Owasso, Okla., native tallied four hits in 10 at bats, including a pair of solo homers in WSU's 12-5 victory in game two of a doubleheader Saturday, May 4. O'Brien was the second Wichita State player to go yard twice in a game this season, as fellow redshirt senior Jordan Boyer accomplished the feat at Cincinnati April 27.

            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.

            A TRIO OF QUALITY STARTS: All three Wichita State starting pitchers tossed at least six innings in the three-game series at UConn May 3-4. In Friday's 4-0 series opening loss to the Huskies, sophomore Liam Eddy went six innings and gave up three earned runs on six hits with four walks and two strikeouts, before senior Clayton McGinness pitched seven innings in the 2-1 setback in game one of a doubleheader Saturday. McGinness allowed only two earned runs on five hits with one walk and two strikeouts. In Wichita State's 12-5 triumph in game two, freshman Connery Peters threw a career-high seven innings, allowing just one earned run on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts to earn his first collegiate victory on the mound.

            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: Sophomore Garrett Kocis has reached base safely in a team-best 10 straight contests ... Jordan Boyer is on a six-game reached base safely streak.

            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 eighth in pitching appearances (92).

            NOTABLE CONFERENCE RANKINGS: Luke Ritter - 1st in hit by pitch (13), tied for 9th in hits (59), 10th in slugging percentage (.556), tied for 8th in homers (8); Jordan Boyer - 2nd in hit by pitch (12), 1st in sac flies (8), tied for 5th in triples (3), 10th in batting average (.337); Jacob Katzfey - tied for 5th in triples (3); Mitchell Walters - tied for 4th in saves (7); Alex Segal - tied for 6th in appearances (23); Liam Eddy - 9th in innings pitched (64.1).

            TURNING TWO: Through 47 games, the Shockers are tied for second in The American and rank 32nd in the country in double plays turned with 40. 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 50 double plays.

            REACHING BASE...THE PAINFUL WAY: The Shockers lead The American and rank 39th nationally with 66 hit by pitches entering Tuesday.

            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: Wichita State wraps up its 2019 home schedule with a three-game series against conference leader and eighth-ranked ECU May 10-12 at Eck Stadium.

            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 Missouri State Tuesday