The RoundHouse | 4/24/2021 7:33:00 PM

 
When Wichita State pitcher Caitlin Bingham reflects on previous seasons, she thinks about getting two strikes on hitters.
 
"Alot of 0-2 walks in my past," she said. "That's the frustrating thing, that I know as a pitcher I can't do that."
 
With each start in 2021, the formerly frustrated Bingham recedes farther into the past. She is 9-1 with a team-leading 1.42 earned run average. 
 
On Saturday, she delivered a crucial win for No. 23 Wichita State by holding USF to two hits and no runs over four innings in a 14-3 run-rule victory in the first game of a doubleheader at Wilkins Stadium.
 
The Bulls won the second game 3-0 to take a 2-1 series lead. The teams end the series at noon Sunday with Bingham scheduled to pitch for the first-place Shockers (33-8-1, 15-3-1 American Athletic Conference). The Bulls (23-12, 11-3) are tied with Tulsa in second place.
 
"It's hard to score 14 runs and then the next game come out, and you know what your offense can do, and whenever it doesn't produce it's frustrating," catcher Madison Perrigan said. "All the hitters go home and push the reset button. Come back tomorrow with a new mindset and make the adjustments needed."
 
Bingham is a groundball pitcher who thrives on getting hitters to make weak contact. Wichita State's reliable infielders and swift outfielders take care of most of the rest. 
 
She held the Bulls to three singles, walked two and struck out three. She gave up a single and walk to start the game. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners up, Bingham ended the threat with a foul out and a flyball. 
 
"Caitlin is confident . . . trusting herself and knows her game-plan going in," Perrigan said. "(USF) is more of a short-ball team and they're really quick. We're trying to keep the ball low and get groundballs and really make sure we're keeping them off-balance with the changeup."
 
The Bulls – with a conference-low 12 home runs – are a team that wants to make contact and use its speed to score. They rank second in the American with 74 stolen bases.  
 
"I'm a down-ball pitcher and it's not a secret," Bingham said. "They're a contact team. They're not going to swing for the fences and hit a bunch of home runs. That gives me confidence – 'OK, they're going to play into my game. I just have to execute it.'"
 
In 2019, she started strong before control problems limited her effectiveness. She finished the season with 90 strikeouts and 99 walks in 122 2/3 innings. This season, she has 40 strikeouts and 32 walks in 78 2/3 innings.
 
"She's doing an amazing job of hitting her spots, mixing speeds," Wichita State coach Kristi Bredbenner said. "She's minimizing her walks, which has always been her downfall. She's really doing a great job of pounding the zone and getting groundballs."
 
That means being aggressive early in the count. When Bingham gets ahead of hitters, she comes at them instead of wasting pitches. When she falls behind early, she doesn't fall too far behind. On Saturday, she reached a three-ball count three times in four innings. She faced 16 batters and retired nine on three or fewer pitches.
 
"What I've gotten in trouble in the past with is not getting ahead early in the count, or getting ahead and trying to play with them and losing them," she said. "If I'm going to be ahead, I need to continue to attack them. That's been my mindset this year, not lay off."
 
The Shockers hit five home runs to give Bingham a short day in the circle, two by Perrigan. Wichita State scored six in the third inning to take an 11-0 lead. 
 
USF pitcher Georgina Corrick dominated the second game by striking out 12 and limiting the Shockers to three hits. Wichita State leadoff hitter Sydney McKinney singled twice to lead off innings and did not reach second base. 
 
Corrick held the Shockers to two hits and struck out 10 in a 2-1 win Friday.  While the Shockers would likely see her only in a short relief role in the finale, Bredbenner hopes her team is learning from their struggles against Corrick, who throws a riseball that is difficult to lay off and often ends up popping harmlessly into the air.
 
"We've got to try to make some sort of adjustment," she said. "We have to believe we can hit her. That has to be the first step that we take, is having confidence that you can actually pull the trigger and hit her. You've got to get out of your comfort zone a little bit with someone that's working belt up. We've got too many people that are trying to hit it at an up angle and the ball's going up."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.