The RoundHouse | 4/16/2021 7:02:00 AM

 
 Listen to Shane Dennis discuss Shocker baseball
 
By Paul Suellentrop
 
Wichita State coach Eric Wedge says every game tells a story. The story of the season's first 16 games foreshadowed a sad baseball ending, written by unconvincing curveballs and changeups.
 
Then the Shocker pitchers talked after returning from a trip to Florida. The team's foundation in the abbreviated 2020 season had fallen into bad habits in 2021. They gathered as a group with a 6.04 earned run average and an average of 4.1 walks per nine innings.
 
"After we got back from Florida, we had a couple different skull sessions, mental talks," Pelfrey said. "I rattled off seven or eight guys that threw, in Florida, over 20 pitches and threw less than two breaking balls for strikes. We had guys throwing as many as 55 (pitches) and not commanding any off-speed pitches. As a hitter, if you're not commanding any off-speed pitches, I feel pretty confident."
 
The Shockers talked about all those baseball clichés that ring true: trusting your stuff, pounding the zone, pitching instead of throwing. 
 
Wichita State's last 12 games tell a different story, one full of strikeouts, pitches thrown with purpose and 0-1 counts. The Shockers are 11-1 in those games and that stretch propelled them to a 19-9 record (7-1 American Athletic Conference) and a No. 45 spot in the NCAA power rankings. 
 
The Shockers travel to Tulane (14-13, 3-1) for a series starting Friday with a 10 a.m doubleheader (ESPN+).
 
"Smother guys with strikes," lefty Spencer Hynes said. "The ability to locate off-speed has been a big emphasis. It keeps hitters off balance and before you know it you've got weak contact and strikeouts and you're winning games."
 
In those 12 games – starting with a 5-1 win over Kansas State on March 23 – the Shockers own a 1.89 ERA. Opponents are hitting .183 and walks dropped to 2.6 per nine innings.
 
"We've got to make sure we pound the zone and put the offense on defense, if you will," Wedge said. "Early in the year, we were picking a little bit. We've got to do a better job of getting ahead and going ahead and finishing off (at-bats)."
 
The difference, Pelfrey says, is the effectiveness of curveballs, sliders and changeups. In the first 16 games, pitchers threw those pitches without confidence in their movement. They threw breaking pitches that didn't look like strikes, which gave the hitter the advantage early in the count and allowed hitters to sit on fastballs.
 
The message reinforced by Pelfrey – challenge hitters and send them back to the dugout in three pitches. Stop nibbling at the outer edges of the strike zone. Stop worrying about getting hit and let the pitch and the defense do the job. 
 
Throw your breaking pitch down the middle of the plate, Pelfrey told them.
 
"If they hit, I'll take the blame," he said. "There's power to being able to command multiple pitches and putting that in the hitter's head. If you try to go to the corners, you end up doing too much with it and you end up yanking it for a ball. That's thing – if my focus becomes throwing it down the middle, most likely you're not going to throw it down the middle. You'll get it to the corner."
 
The Shockers started rolling up strong pitching performances. 
 
Freshman Jace Kaminska started by holding Kansas State to three hits over five innings. Hynes held Houston to five hits and worked around four walks over seven innings in a 3-2 win at Houston. Preston Snavely struck out seven and walked one over seven innings in a 10-2 win over Houston at Eck Stadium. 
 
Liam Eddy struck out 11 and held the Cougars to two hits over eight innings in a 7-1 win. Kaminska followed with a complete-game win over Houston, scattering six hits, in a 10-1 win at Riverfront Stadium. 
 
Since returning from Florida, Snavely is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA with 19 strikeouts and four walks. Kaminska is 3-0 with a 0.43 ERA with 15 strikeouts and five walks. Eddy is 2-1 with a 4.22 ERA with 18 strikeouts and six walks. Hynes registers a 2.65 ERA with 12 strikeouts and 10 walks.
 
If the cliché about contagious pitching is real, Hynes said it happened over the past 12 games.
 
"It's really fun to watch and really fun to be a part of," Hynes said. "Guys see people pitching before them being successful and they're like 'OK' and they feel more confident. It raises the bar for the whole staff."
 
The bullpen also excelled over the past 12 games – allowing two earned runs in 21 1/3 innings. Ryan Stuempfig allowed four hits and no runs over 10 innings. Closer Aaron Haase earned three saves by striking out five and allowing two hits over five innings.
 
A solid start usually leads to Stuempfig, who has excelled in the middle innings. He pitched three shutout innings in Wichita State's best win of the season, 10-9 at Arizona, ranked No. 5 in the RPI. He struck out five in 2 2/3 scoreless innings against Kansas State. He pitched two or more innings in seven of his 12 appearances. 
 
"It's a spot where you've always got to stay locked in, ready to go," Stuempfig said. "I'm just going out there and just having fun and throwing the baseball. That's all there is to it for me right now."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.