WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State travels to Arlington, Texas, for the 2nd Boerner Invitational, March 5-7. The Shockers will face Missouri State, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, North Texas, UT Arlington and Iowa State over three days.

QUICK HITS
• Wichita State is coming off a weekend sweep of Creighton, its first home sweep since March 2018 vs. Nebraska.
• The Creighton series was Wichita State's first home game since May 6, 2019.
• Home Run Watch: Madison Perrigan is one home run shy of becoming Wichita State's all-time home run leader.
• 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.
• 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 swept Creighton in a weekend series at Wilkins Stadium. The Shockers run-ruled the Bluejays in games one and two, 14-2 and 13-3, and then edged out a 4-0 win in the finale. Bailey Lange threw two complete games, including a four-hit shutout in game three to go with eight strikeouts. Addison Barnard was 5-for-9 at the plate with three home runs, a triple and eight RBI on the weekend.

SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE
Missouri State enters the tournament at 6-3 so far this season. 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 .444 with eight runs scored, while three different Lady Bears have five RBI, which are a team high. Madison Hunsaker is 3-1 with a 1.47 ERA and 25 strikeouts.

SERIES HISTORY
Wichita State and Missouri State have a storied history going back to the many years as Missouri Valley Conference foes. The all-time series is tied 52-52, but Wichita State is 12-7 against the Lady Bears under Kristi Bredbenner. The two programs have met twice since Wichita State joined the American Athletic Conference.

LAST MEETING WITH THE LADY BEARS
Wichita State won both matchups in 2018 when the Shockers hosted the Wichita State Tournament. Wichita State won two closely-contested games by scores of 3-1 and 7-6. Bailey Lange picked up a win in game one and a save in the second meeting.

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M CORPUS CHRISTI
Texas A&M Corpus Christi is 6-4 entering the weekend with wins over Wichita State, Tarleton State, Texas Southern, UT Arlington and UTSA. Their four losses have come against No. 11 Oklahoma State (twice), UT Arlington and Kansas. Ashleigh Sgambelluri is hitting .370 with two home runs, six runs and six RBI. Sammi Thomas has a team-high three home runs and 12 RBI to go with a .323 batting average. Beatriz Lara has made five starts and is 3-1 in 23.1 innings with a 2.10 ERA.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 10th meeting in the series. The Shockers trail the Islanders in the all-time series, 3-6. Wichita State is 2-2 against Texas A&M Corpus Christi under Bredbenner after the Islanders defeated Wichita State two weeks ago in Houston.

LAST MEETING WITH THE ISLANDERS
Wichita State and Texas A&M Corpus Christi have already met once this season in the season-opening tournament down in Conroe, Texas (Scrap Yard Blizzard Challenge). The Islanders came out with a 5-1 win after scoring four runs in the fifth inning. Sydney McKinney (4-4) and Bailee Nickerson (3-3) were the only Shockers to record a hit in the game.

SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
North Texas is 8-3 entering the weekend with wins over Southeastern Louisiana, Lamar (twice), Abilene Christian, Incarnate Word (twice) and Stephen F. Austin (twice). Their three losses are to Nicholls State, No. 10 Oklahoma State and No. 7 Texas. Molly Rainey leads the Mean Green offensive attack, hitting .429 with two home runs and 13 RBI. The UNT pitching staff is sporting a 1.94 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 65.0 innings. Hope Trautwein is 3-1 with 42 of those strikeouts in 22.2 innings.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 18th meeting in the series. The Shockers lead the all-time series, 11-6, but are just 1-3 vs. the Mean Green under Bredbenner.

LAST MEETING WITH THE MEAN GREEN
Wichita State and North Texas last faced each other in 2017 at the Texas Tech Invitational. North Texas won both matchups, 7-2 and 14-10. Mackenzie Wright was 4-for-4 at the plate for the Shockers with a double and three RBI, while Mauriana Jamele was 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.

SCOUTING UT ARLINGTON
UT Arlington is 1-7 entering the weekend having faced a challenging schedule to this point. The Mavs have played ranked teams in Arkansas and Baylor, as well as two games against Kansas. Jessica Carreon is hitting .500 (6-12) followed by Aileen Garcia at .320. Three different players share the team-lead in home runs with two. The pitching staff currently has a 10.28 ERA and has allowed 22 home runs.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 18th meeting in the series. The Shockers hold a slim lead in the all-time series, 9-8, including a 2-1 record under Bredbenner.

LAST MEETING WITH THE MAVERICKS
Wichita State and UTA last met on the diamond in 2019 at the Maverick Invitational. Wichita State won a low-scoring affair, 3-1. All three of Wichita State's runs came in the first inning on a Madison Perrigan three-run home run.

SCOUTING IOWA STATE
Iowa State is off to a fast start in 2021, owning a 13-2 record and ranked No. 25. The Cyclones defeated No. 21 Missouri, but fell to No. 13 Arizona State in their ranked matchups. Offensively, Sami Williams is on fire at the plate, pacing Iowa State with a .490 average, nine home runs and 21 RBI. Karlie Charles is 6-1 in 11 appearances with a 2.22 ERA.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 13th meeting in the series. The Shockers and Cyclones have split the first 12 matchups with each team winning six.

LAST MEETING WITH THE CYCLONES
Wichita State and Iowa State haven't met since 2014 when Wichita State won a slugfest, 18-16, in Wichita.

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.

HERRING, LANGE CLAIM FIRST HONOR ROLL
Junior Neleigh Herring and redshirt senior Bailey Lange were both named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 22 after their play at the Scrap Yard Blizzard Challenge. Herring was 6-for-11 (.545 avg.) at the plate with a home run, four doubles, four runs scored and six RBI. Lange made two appearances in the circle, posting a 1-0 record in 9.2 innings pitched. She had a 1.45 ERA, 12 strikeouts, while allowing just three runs on 11 hits and walking none.

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 will host South Dakota State for a midweek doubleheader on Tuesday, March 9 at Wilkins Stadium. Game one will have a 3 p.m. first pitch.