WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State continues its homestand this weekend when they host the Wichita State Tournament at Wilkins Stadium.

QUICK HITS
• Wichita State is coming off a 5-0 weekend in Arlington, Texas at the Boerner Invitational.
• Home Run Watch: Madison Perrigan became Wichita State's all-time home run leader vs. Missouri State on March 5 with her 40th career home run.
• Wichita State is 9-1 in its last 10 games.
• Wichita State is 19-25 in season openers and 7-3 under 10th-year head coach Kristi Bredbenner.
• Wichita State is 31-12 in home openers and 5-4 under Bredbenner.
• The Creighton series was Wichita State's first home game since May 6, 2019.
• Wichita State has won seven of its last eight season openers.
• Wichita State picked up where it left off at the end of 2020 at the plate. The Shocker bats have been busy through the first two weekends of play. Wichita State ranks in the top 25 nationally in home runs per game (2nd), slugging percentage (3rd), scoring (6th), on base percentage (7th), batting average (9th) and doubles per game (24th).
• Sophomore Lauren Mills set the single game home run record vs. Lamar on Feb. 20 when she hit three home runs - two in the same inning.
• Wichita State returns nine starters from a season ago and 16 letterwinners in all.
• Wichita State was picked to finish fifth by the league's coaches in the 2021 preseason poll.
• Wichita State led the American Athletic Conference in batting average, runs scored, hits, RBI, doubles, total bases and walks in 2020. On the defensive side, the Shockers topped the conference in assists and double plays.
• Wichita State had six players in the lineup hitting .345 or better in 2020.
• Sydney McKinney ranked fifth in The American in batting average and third in on-base percentage, hits and walks.
• Madison Perrigan led The American in total bases and walks, ranked third in home runs, doubles and fourth in slugging percentage.
• Wichita State returns four All-Conference performers from 2019: Madison Perrigan (First Team), Ryleigh Buck (First Team), Sydney McKinney (First Team, All-Rookie Team) and Erin McDonald (Second Team).
• No postseason awards were handed out in 2020 due to the shortened season.

LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State is coming off a 5-0 weekend at the Boerner Invitational in Arlington, Texas. The Shockers defeated Missouri State (8-1), Texas A&M Corpus Christi (5-4), North Texas (13-2), UT Arlington (6-3) and No. 23 Iowa State (3-1). Wichita State extended its winning streak to eight straight and is off to its second best start in program history. Ryleigh Buck and Madison Perrigan both homered twice over the weekend driving in a combined 13 runs. Bailey Lange was 2-0 with a save in 14.1 innings. The Shockers then split their midweek doubleheader vs. South Dakota State on Tuesday.

SCOUTING OMAHA
Omaha enters the tournament at 4-10 so far this season. The Mavericks were picked to finish fourth in the preseason Summit League Preseason Poll. Lexi Burkhardt is hitting a team-best .389, while Diana Murtha has two home runs and eight RBI. As a team, Omaha is hitting .267 with seven home runs. Sydney Hampton is 1-5 with a 4.72 ERA in 10 appearances.

SERIES HISTORY
Wichita State and Omaha have met on the diamond five times with the Mavericks owning a 3-2 record. Wichita State is 2-1 against the Mavericks under head coach Kristi Bredbenner.

LAST MEETING WITH THE MAVERICKS
Wichita State and Omaha last met back in 2015 for a midweek doubleheader at Wilkins Stadium. The Shockers swept the two games by scores of 7-5 and 4-1.

SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE
Missouri State enters the tournament at 8-6 so far this season. The Lady Bears own a win over No. 23 Iowa State. Missouri State's 2021 roster includes a pair of returning All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team selections in senior pitcher Steffany Dickerson and senior catcher Darian Frost. Daphne Plummer is hitting a team-best .342 with eight runs scored, while Kelly Metter has a team-best two home runs and nine RBI. As a team, Missouri State is hitting just .226 with six home runs. Gracie Johnston is 2-1  in 27.2 innings with a 1.27 ERA. Madison Hunsaker is 4-1 with a 1.62 ERA and 33 strikeouts.

SERIES HISTORY
Wichita State and Missouri State have a storied history going back to the many years as Missouri Valley Conference foes. Wichita State holds a slim 53-52 in the all-time series, but Wichita State is 13-7 against the Lady Bears under Kristi Bredbenner. The two programs have met three times since Wichita State joined the American Athletic Conference.

LAST MEETING WITH THE LADY BEARS
Wichita State and Missouri State just met last weekend in Arlington at the Boerner Invitational. The Shockers downed the Lady Bears in the opener, 8-1. Ryleigh Buck homered twice, including a grand slam to go with six RBI.

SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
North Texas is 10-6 entering the weekend after going 2-3 at the Boerner Invitational last weekend in Arlington. North Texas defeated Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Missouri State, but fell to Iowa State, Wichita State and UT Arlington. Tarah Hilton is hitting .378 and Tuesday DerMargosian is right behind at .375. Molly Rainey leads with 13 RBI to go with two home runs. Tayla Evans has a team-high three home runs. GiGi Wall is 5-3 in 35.1 innings with a 1.58 ERA. Hope Trautwein has a 2.31 ERA and a 3-3 record in 36.1 innings.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 18th meeting in the series. The Shockers lead the all-time series, 12-6, but are just 2-3 vs. the Mean Green under Bredbenner.

LAST MEETING WITH THE MEAN GREEN
Wichita State and North Texas just met last weekend in Arlington at the Boerner Invitational. The Shockers run-ruled North Texas in six innings, 13-2. Bailee Nickerson drove in four runs behind a home run, while Addison Barnard and Madison Perrigan both homered as well. Bailey Lange gave up just one earned run in a complete game.

DOWN GOES NO. 23
Wichita State's win over No. 23 Iowa State last Sunday in Arlington was its first victory over a ranked foe since May 2019 when the Shockers took two games of a weekend series vs. No. 25 USF.

LANGE NABS THIRD HONOR ROLL, BUCK FIRST
Senior Ryleigh Buck and redshirt senior Bailey Lange were both named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll on March 8. For Lange, it marked her third straight week on the Honor Roll, while Buck picked up her first of the season. Lange went 2-0 with a save during Wichita State's 5-0 week in Arlington. Buck hit .357 with 2 HR, 3B and 6 RBI.

BARNARD TABBED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Addison Barnard was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week on March 1. Barnard started all three games vs. Creighton at second base and went 5-for-9 (.556) at the plate with three home runs, a triple, three runs scored and eight RBI. Additionally, redshirt senior Bailey Lange recorded her second straight American Weekly Honor Roll nod. Lange made two appearances in the circle, both complete games, and went 2-0 with a 0.58 ERA on five hits and one earned run. She struck out 13 batters and allowed only four walks in 12.0 innings of work.

BOMB SQUAD
Wichita State belted 13 home runs last weekend in the series vs. Creighton. The Shockers hit five in game one, six in game two and two in the finale. The six home runs in game two were tied for the second-most in school history for homers in a single game. Addison Barnard (3), Madison Perrigan (2), Neleigh Herring (2), Lauren Mills (2), Ryleigh Buck (1), Jessica Garcia (1), Bailee Nickerson (1) and Sydney McKinney (1) all hit long balls in the three-game sweep.

BACK-TO-BACK 2X IN THE SAME INNING
In Wichita State's 13-3 run-rule of Creighton in game two of the series, Addison Barnard and Madison Perrigan hit back-to-back home runs twice in the same inning. Barnard started the third inning with a two-run shot followed by Perrigan's solo homer. After the lineup batted around, Barnard drove in three on a blast to left, immediately followed by Perrigan's second solo shot of the inning.

YOLO LOLO
No Shocker had ever hit three home runs in a single game... until Feb. 20, 2021. Sophomore Lauren Mills stamped her name into the record book in a big way vs. Lamar. The Topeka, Kan., native set a new school record with three bombs in the game, including two in the same inning, while also driving in a career-high six RBI.

STAYING IN THE LOOP
Follow the Shocker softball program on Twitter (@GoShockersSB) for content and in-game updates. You can also become a fan of Wichita State Softball on Facebook (GoShockersSB) and Instagram (goshockerssb).

UP NEXT
Wichita State travels to Stillwater for the Mizuno Classic next weekend, March 18-20. The Shockers will face nationally-ranked Oklahoma State, UTSA and Kansas City.