As the No. 4 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship, Wichita State will look to claim its first conference tournament championship since 2016. The Shockers open with quarterfinal action against No. 5 UCF at 11:30 a.m. or 37 minutes after game one on Thursday. 

SCOUTING UCF
UCF is coming into the American Athletic Conference tournament having swept its last conference series at Memphis to cap off the regular season. The Knights have only allowed four runs in the last three games, with pitching being the story to the success of winning 34 games this season. Alea White is UCF's ace, having a 23-13 record with a 1.59 earned run average. She has led the team in strikeouts with 170, with Breann Vasquez adding quality depth to the pitching staff by adding 115 strikeouts with a 1.72 ERA. On offense, the Knights have seven players hitting .282 or better. Cassady Brewer leads the charge with 46 hits and 16 doubles with a .341 batting average. Tamesha Glover and Karissa Ornelas are also weapons on offense, having combined for 65 hits and 31 RBIs.

LAST MEETING
After Wichita State split the series with a 6-3 extra innings win, the Shockers only allowed one run to UCF in the series finale. With the game tied at one, Madison Perrigan hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth to push the Shockers past UCF and give them the series victory.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first time UCF will meet Wichita State in the conference tournament. The Shockers have dominated the series so far, having won five of the six meetings between the two teams.

DEFENSE WINS GAMES
The Shockers have not only executed on offense, but have produced one of the best fielding teams in program history. Wichita State has a .976 fielding percentage, the 10th highest in the nation. Coming up with 1,094 putouts, the Shockers have only committed 38 errors as a team.

DON'T COUNT US OUT
When the Shockers have been down to their last out, the party has just gotten started for them at the plate. Wichita State has scored 83 runs with two outs, hitting 18 home runs during that stretch.

GETTING 'EM AROUND
Senior Laurie Derrico needs one home run to claim the program's home run record by herself. Currently tied for the most home runs with 39, Derrico would pass Cacy Williams (2014-16). Derrico has reached double figures in home runs in the previous two seasons.

MOVING ON UP
In addition to closing in on Wichita State's home run record, Laurie Derrico recently moved to second on the Shockers' all-time RBIs list with 141. Derrico passed Cacy Williams (2014-16) and 13 more to pass Paige Luellen (2013-18) for the record.

TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE
Double plays have been key to Wichita State's defensive success. Ryleigh Buck leads the American Athletic Conference in double plays with 19, with Kaylee Huecker (13) and Laurie Derrico (16)not far behind. Wichita State leads the conference with 25 double plays, four away from tying a program record.

LAYING DOWN THE BUNTS   
The Shockers are not shy about sacrificing an at-bat to advance a runner to the next base. Wichita State has five players hitting .500 or better when bunting. Wylie Glover leads the American Athletic Conference in sacrifice bunts with eight while Ryleigh Buck is third in the conference with seven.

LATE INNING MAGIC    
In addition to outscoring its opponents 88-72 in the final three innings, Wichita State batters have hit at their best when the game is coming down to the wire. Lauren Mills is hitting .600 while Laurie Derrico has had a .529 batting average with nine hits in the sixth inning. Wylie Glover has added a .412 batting average in the fifth inning this season, leading the Shockers with seven hits.

SECOND INNING POWER
Wichita State has dominated its opponents in the second inning this season, outscoring the opposition 40-14. In Saturday's game against USF, the Shockers used a five-run second inning to take a commanding 8-0 lead. The Shockers eventually won the game by run-rule 10-0.

STARTING ON A HIGH NOTE    
When Wichita State has its first batter at the plate, that has resulted in positive offense for the Shockers. The Shockers have eight players hitting .321 or better when they are the first batter due up. Madison Perrigan has hit .474 when she's in that position while Ryleigh Buck has hit two of her home runs this season in that spot. Mauriana Jamele leads the team in that category with a .667 batting average and Sydney McKinney has collected 19 hits when she is the leadoff hitter.

ONE LAST HONOR ROLL
Erin McDonald and Madison Perrigan collected the final conference weekly honors this season, being named to the honor roll on Monday. McDonald had a 0.47 ERA in the series against USF, only giving up one earned run in 15 innings pitched. Perrigan was 5-for-9 at the plate, hitting .556 while coming up with two home runs and driving in four runs.