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Home Plate Celebration

Shockers Host Houston April 9-11, Open Riverfront Stadium

4/8/2021 11:00:00 AM

Game 1: Wichita State (15-9, 3-1 American) vs. Houston (13-14, 1-3 American)
Friday, April 9 | 1 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM

Game 2: Wichita State vs. Houston
Friday, April 9 | 6 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM

Game 3: Wichita State vs. Houston
Saturday, April 10 | 2 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Riverfront Stadium)
Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM


Game 4: Wichita State vs. Houston
Sunday, April 11 | 11 a.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Eck Stadium)
Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM

SCENE SETTER: Wichita State baseball (15-9, 3-1 American) is scheduled to conclude a span of eight consecutive games against the Houston Cougars (13-14, 1-3 American) with a four-game series in Wichita April 9-11. The Shockers and Cougars are slated to open the series with a split doubleheader at Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field, Friday, April 9, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., before playing the inaugural baseball game at Riverfront Stadium in downtown Wichita Saturday, April 10, at 2 p.m. and returning to Eck Stadium for the series finale Sunday, April 11, at 11 a.m.

SHOCKER BASEBALL ON THE RADIO AND ESPN PLUS: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM will air the series against Houston. "The Voice of the Shockers" and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kennedy will call the action, beginning with the pregame show approximately 20 minutes prior to first pitch ... Friday's doubleheader against the Cougars will air live on ESPN Plus with former WSU standout pitcher (1991-94) and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Shane Dennis providing play-by-play ... Live audio, in addition to live statistics will be available for all games at GoShockers.com/listen and ShockerStats.com. 

SERIES HISTORY: The four-game series against the Cougars in Wichita will mark meetings 48-51 in the all-time series that dates back to 1951. Houston leads the series, 32-15. The Shockers took three of four games from the Cougars in Houston, Texas, last week, dropping game one, 5-3, before winning the final three contests, 3-2, 2-1 and 3-2. It was the first series victory over Houston since Wichita State joined The American prior to the 2018 season. 

SHOCKER NOTES: Wichita State enters the week at 15-9 overall and 3-1 in The American after winning three of four games at Houston April 1-3 ... WSU has won seven of its last eight contests ... Through 24 games, WSU is paced at the plate by senior outfielder Corrigan Bartlett (.370 avg., 21 R, 34 H, 8 2B, 2 HR, 19 RBI, .522 SLG%, .422 OB%, 2 SB),  junior infielders Paxton Wallace (.355 avg., 20 R, 33 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 27 RBI, .613 SLG%, .410 OB%) and Garrett Kocis (.322 avg., 25 R, 28 H, 9 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 32 RBI, .793 SLG%, .388 OB%), and sophomore infielder Jack Sigrist(.316 avg., 21 R, 30 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 10 BB, .389 OB%, 8 SB) ... Kocis leads the American Athletic Conference and ranks seventh in the nation in home runs ... Bartlett is second in the conference in batting average ... On the mound WSU is led by junior RHP Liam Eddy (2-4, 5.83 ERA, 41.2 IP, 48 H, 30 R, 27 ER, 8 BB, 40 SO), redshirt sophomore RHP Ryan Stuempfig (5-0, 0.92 ERA, 19.2 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 12 BB, 12 SO), senior RHP Preston Snavely(2-1, 3.52 ERA, 30.2 IP, 26 H, 13 R, 12 ER, 9 BB, 23 SO) and sophomore RHP Aaron Haase (0-1, 2.08 ERA, 7 SV, 13.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 13 SO) ... Haase leads The American and is third in the country in saves ... As a team, Wichita State is hitting .273 (third in American) with a 4.69 ERA (fifth in American) and .976 fielding percentage (tied for third in American).

SCOUTING HOUSTON:  The Houston Cougars enter the week at 13-14 overall and 1-3 in The American after dropping three of four games to the Shockers in Houston April 1-3 ... Through 27 games, the Cougars are paced offensively by junior first baseman Ryan Hernandez (.330 avg., 13 R, 30 H, 3 2B, 7 HR, 18 RBI, .593 SLG%, 10 BB, .398 OB%), senior outfielder Tyler Bielamowicz (.321 avg., 18 R, 27 H, 3 2B, 5 HR, 18 RBI, .536 SLG%, 9 BB, .398 OB%, 3 SB), freshman third baseman/catcher WIll Pendergrass (.295 avg., 19 R, 26 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 14 RBI, .523 SLG%, 4 BB, .351 OB5, 1 SB) and junior outfielder Steven Rivas (.275 avg., 18 R, 28 H, 7 2B, 9 HR, 25 RBI, .608 SLG%, 9 BB, .345 OB%, 5 SB) ... Rivas is tied for second in The American in homers ... On the mound, Houston is paced by junior LHP Robert Gasser (4-2, 1.65 ERA, 43.2 IP, 26 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 13 BB, 57 SO), sophomore RHP Jacob Deese (2-2, 3.86 ERA, 1 SV, 32.2 IP, 39 H, 14 R, 14 ER, 9 BB, 26 SO) and sophomore RHP Derrick Cherry (1-2, 2.14 ERA, 2 SV, 21.0 IP, 18 H, 9 R, 5 ER, 13 BB, 29 SO) ... Gasser is second in the conference in strikeouts ... As a team, the Cougars are hitting .257 (sixth in American) with a 5.31 ERA (sixth in American) and .979 fielding percentage (tied for first in American) ... Houston is under the direction of 11th season head coach Todd Whitting

WEEKLY HONORS: Junior infielder Paxton Wallace and freshman RHP Jace Kaminska were both named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll Monday, April 5, for their performances in WSU's series win at Houston April 1-3. Wallace hit .417 (5-12) with four runs, two home runs and three RBI in four games at Houston. He had the go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth in game two of the series and had the game-tying home run in the series finale on Saturday. Kaminska pitched a career-best seven scoreless innings with four strikeouts, five hits and only one walk in a 2-1 Shocker win over Houston on Friday to earn the victory and improve to 2-0 on the mound in 2021.

CLOSING THE DOOR: Sophomore right-hander Aaron Haase leads The American and is third in the latest NCAA national statistics with seven saves in 10 appearances in 2021. Haase has a 2.08 ERA and has allowed three earned runs on six hits with 13 strikeouts and one walk in 13 innings. Haase earned saves in both of the Shockers' victories at Houston Friday, April 2.

 STEADY STUEMPFIG: Redshirt sophomore RHP Ryan Stuempfig leads the Shockers and The American and ranks fourth in NCAA Division I in wins on the mound this season with five. Stuempfig, who is 5-0 in 10 relief appearances and 19.2 innings pitched with a 0.92 ERA, made two appearances in WSU's series win at Houston April 1-3, going 2-0 and throwing three scoreless innings against the Cougars. 

SHOCKERS IN THE RPI: Wichita State enters the four-game series against Houston ranked 58th in the latest NCAA Division I Baseball RPI. The Shockers are the second-highest ranked team in The American in RPI, trailing only ECU, which checks in at eighth. Other American Athletic Conference teams in the top-100 include Tulane (97th) and Memphis (98th). 

MILESTONE WATCH: Junior catcher Ross Cadena sits at 98 career hits -- two shy of 100 ... On the mound, senior RHP Preston Snavely tallied his 150th career striketout in WSU's 3-2 win at Houston in game one of a doubleheader Friday, April 2. Snavely, who K'ed seven in the contest over seven innings, sits at 153 career strikeouts going into the weekend.  

NOTABLE STREAKS: On-Base: Jack Sigrist has reached base in 18 straight contests, while Garrett Kocis has successfully gotten on-base in his last 16 games and Paxton Wallace has reached in his last 13 contests.

GOING FOR THREE: Through 24 games, Wichita State leads The American and ranks 23rd in the country in triples with nine. Couper Cornblum and Ross Cadena rank 29th nationally with two triples each, while Garrett Kocis, Chuck IngramJack SigristSeth Stroh and Paxton Wallace each have one triple. 

DON'T RUN ON ROSS: Junior catcher Ross Cadena has already thrown out six runners attempting to steal through 24 games in 2021. Last season, Cadena threw out five runners in 15 games. He has been named to the 2021 Buster Posey Catcher of the Year Award watch list. 

TURNING TWO: The Shockers are second in The American and 26th in the country in double plays turned with 21 in 24 games. 

DOWNTOWN BASEBALL: Wichita State's third game of the four-game series against Houston on Saturday, April 10, will be played at Riverfront Stadium in downtown Wichita. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. It will be the first game in the new, state-of-the-art stadium that was completed in March 2020. The Wichita Wind Surge, then a Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, were scheduled to open play in spring 2020, but the minor league season was canceled due to COVID-19. The Wind Surge, now a Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, will open at home on May 11, 2021.

THE FRIENDLY CONFINES: The Shockers have an all-time record of 845-268-2 at Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field, dating back to 1988. 

ON DECK: The Shockers begin a two-week road swing with a four-game conference series at Tulane April 16-18 in New Orleans, La. 
 
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