Baseball | 5/21/2021 6:36:00 AM
Tommy Barnhouse pitched in Wichita State's final baseball game as a Missouri Valley Conference member. He started his college career traveling to the small Midwestern towns and cities that make up the MVC and ended it five years later flying to places such as Florida, North Carolina and Connecticut for games.
Barnhouse and
Preston Snavely are the last remaining Shockers from that 2017 season, the two fifth-year seniors who lived through the transition to the American Athletic Conference during the 2017-18 school year, the 2018 season for baseball.
"They all call me old man," Barnhouse said. "Sometimes you forget we were ever in the Valley and I have to remind them, the bus drives up to good ol' Terre Haute (Ind.) and all those places. Not many people get to experience playing in two conferences."
On Thursday, Barnhouse pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in an 8-5 win over Memphis that gave the Shockers (29-20, 17-12 American) a doubleheader sweep. They defeated the Tigers (16-36, 6-24) 12-5 in the first game.
Barnhouse is one of the seniors playing their final home games this weekend. Snavely is scheduled to start Friday's (6 p.m.) game, before which the seniors will take their bows at 5:30.
It's a pretty emotional weekend," Barnhouse said. "Playing the last couple times at Eck Stadium, it gets you. You spend five years at a program it becomes your life, it becomes who you are. You spend so many hours here. You spend blood, sweat and tears."
Wichita State will finish with a winning record in the American for the first time in its three seasons (no games in 2020) as a member. It needs one more win to secure third place, its highest finish.
Coach
Eric Wedge's career record is 42-22 at Wichita State, so after the shortened 2020, he is now at a full season of games. That is the kind of winning percentage that used to be routine at Eck Stadium. Barnhouse expects it to continue.
"It's in great hands right now," he said. "This program is doing to do big things and it's going to come pretty fast. You've got great leaders as our coaching staff."
Since a late April slump, the Shockers are 9-5 with a series win at UCF and splits with first-place ECU and USF. They have won seven of their past 10 and are positioned to feel confident entering next week's American Championship in Clearwater, Fla.
They are again playing clean baseball – three errors in the past 10 games. In the past 13 games, they scored seven or more runs eight times.
The offense is boosted by the return of first baseman
Garrett Kocis, back after missing a month with a broken right wrist. He went 3 for 8 with a home run in the doubleheader after going 0-for-8 last weekend.
He bunted in the first game, taking advantage of a shift that abandoned third base. He singled later in the first game to drive in a run on scored on
Seth Stroh's triple. In the second game, Kocis hit his 11
thhome run of the season to give the Shockers a 6-3 lead in the seventh inning.
"Today was a big day for me," he said. "I felt good at the plate. That bunt I laid down kind of got everything started for me, got everything clicking. I just saw a free hit there."
If momentum exists in baseball, the Shockers are doing what they can to build.
"It's a real thing, but ultimately, talking to the guys after the game (Thursday) tonight, it's about us and how we play," Wedge said. "It's not about who we play. It's important for them to understand that."
On Thursday, the Shockers got their momentum early in the game from defense.
Third baseman
Paxton Wallace, who homered and went 3 for 4, turned in a variety of sparkling plays. He hustled to grab ground balls and threw accurately. He snagged a hot line drive and made a nice play to tag out a runner at third on a throw from catcher
Ross Cadena.
Wallace was involved in five of the game's first six Tigers outs and it provided a sharp contrast to Memphis' sloppy fielding.
"The way they bunched together early on, that was special," Wedge said. "We talk about making plays, being a playmaker, and he most definitely was."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
