The RoundHouse | 2/26/2020 9:20:00 PM
Wichita State baseball coach
Eric Wedge talked about playing crisp, clean baseball all summer, fall and spring. He talked about throwing strikes, playing catch like a big-leaguer and told his catchers to call pitches.
It is early in the season. It is cold. The Shockers haven't played an overwhelming schedule. Things will get tougher. Still . . . it appears we can say they listened.
"We take it more seriously – every pitch that crosses the plate, we're ready to go," Wichita State third baseman
Alex Jackson said. "All nine guys out there want to make the play at all times."
Wichita State is 6-2 after Wednesday's 2-1 win over Kansas State (3-5) at Eck Stadium in two hours and 31 minutes. The numbers indicate they are about as crisp and clean as can be expected in February.
"Tempo is an important thing for us," Wedge said. "That's why we have Ross (Cadena) calling pitches back there and taking responsibility. There's been teaching moments every single game with that, but fewer than I what I would have thought."
It is early in the season. It is cold. Starting pitcher
Tommy Barnhouse expressed no delight in the 6-2 start, saying the next game is all that matters.
Still . . .. the numbers must say something.
Wichita State finished its eight games this season in under three hours. While low-scoring games speed by, the Shockers are helping by throwing strikes and making plays on defense.
Last season, it took three hours or more to complete eight of their first nine games. They played 21 of their 59 games in under three hours. In 2018, the Shockers played 57 games and 22 lasted under three hours.
After walking 12 in the opener, Shocker pitchers haven't issued more than four walks and their average is 3.8 a game. Last season, they averaged 5.2.
The story is similar on defense – errorless in three games, one in three games a high of two. The Shockers haven't allowed more than two runs in their past five games.
"It's tempo and that's main thing," Barnhouse said. "If you keep a good tempo on the mound, your fielders are going to be more engaged in the game than if you're taking your time up there."
The Shockers showed off that sharpness in the field against the Wildcats.
"Defense really picked us up today," Wedge said.
Barnhouse struck out a career-high nine in 5 2/3 scoreless innings. Catcher
Ross Cadena grabbed a pitch that bounced in front of the plate and sailed away and threw out a runner at second in the sixth, a play that impressed his coach. Jackson ended the seventh with a runner on by smoothly fielding a chopper in front of him. Center fielder
David VanVooren, in his season debut after an injury sidelined him, made a running, over-the-shoulder, catch to rob a hitter of extra bases to open the eighth.
"That shows you what kind of athlete (Cadena) is," Wedge said. "You have to be one hell of an athlete to make that play. To pick the ball, first and foremost, and then to have the awareness and then the arm strength to throw that ball to second base the way he did – that was a big play for us."
Crisp and clean baseball starts at practice, Jackson said, where coaches expect that style, correct sloppy play immediately and design drills to make the Shockers play fast.
"When we make mistakes in practice, we take it just as seriously as in a game," Jackson said. "We do quick fungoes, a lot of repetition, a lot of modified games, hard-hit balls at us. We do a lot of things that make it feel like more game-like than just your regular fungo."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
