American Athletic Conference Championship | Opening Round
Tuesday, May 25 | Clearwater, Fla. (BayCare Ballpark) | 6:03 p.m. CT (approx.)
No. 3 Wichita State (30-21) vs. No. 6 South Florida (24-26)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5FM/1240 AM

SCENE SETTER: Wichita State baseball (30-21) is the number three seed in the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship and will face sixth-seeded South Florida (24-26) in the opening round Tuesday, May 25, 47 minutes after the conclusion of the No. 2 seed Tulane and No.  7 seed Houston contest, which starts at 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET) at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla.

SHOCKER BASEBALL ON THE RADIO AND ESPN PLUS: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM will air all Wichita State games in the AAC tournament. "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 ... All tournament contests will air on ESPN Plus, and live audio (GoShockers.com/listen) and stats (ShockerStats.com) will be available for all games.

SERIES HISTORY VS. USF: Wichita State and South Florida will meet for the fifth time this season and 16th time in the all-time series when they face each other in The American Baseball Championship Tuesday evening. The series dates all the way back to the first meeting in 1985, and WSU leads USF in the series, 9-5-1. The Shockers and Bulls split a four-game series in Wichita May 14-16. In AAC tournament play, Wichita State is 1-1 vs. South Florida. In the 2018 tournament, WSU defeated USF in the opening round, 4-2, before falling to South Florida in an elimination game, 7-2.

SHOCKERS IN THE POSTSEASON: Wichita State will be making its 43rd-consecutive appearance in conference tournament play. WSU has won 17 tournament titles and owns a record of 103-56-1 in tournament play and is 17-8 in the championship game. In The American-only, the Shockers will be making their third tournament appearance. Wichita State is 3-4-0 all-time in the AAC tournament.

SHOCKER NOTES: The Shockers enter the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship with an overall record of 30-21 ... Through 51 games, WSU is paced at the plate by senior outfielder Corrigan Bartlett (.342 avg., 40 R, 65 H, 9 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 47 RBI, 16 BB, .495 SLG%, .400 OB%, 7 SB), junior infielder Paxton Wallace (.328 avg., 43 R, 65 H, 11 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 47 RBI, 20 BB, .545 SLG%, .388 OB%, 5 SB), sophomore infielder Jack Sigrist (.327 avg., 45 R, 68 H, 14 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 25 RBI, 21 BB, .481 SLG%, .397 OB%, 15 SB), junior designated hitter Hunter Gibson (.303 avg., 26 R, 43 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 31 RBI, 25 BB, .493 SLG%, .424 OB%, 1 SB) and junior infielder Garrett Kocis (.298 avg., 31 R, 37 H, 10 2B, 1 3B, 12 HR, 44 RBI, .685 SLG%, .364 OB%, 13 BB, 1 SB) ... Bartlett is sixth in The American in batting average, is tied for the conference lead in sac flies (7) and is tied for third in RBI, while Wallace is tied for third in RBI, and Sigrist is tied for fourth in doubles and tied for fifth in stolen bases ... On the mound, WSU is led by freshman RHP Jace Kaminska (7-1, 2.52 ERA, 2 CG, 53.2 IP, 48 H, 17 R, 15 ER, 18 BB, 45 SO), sophomore RHP LJ McDonough (1-0, 0.86 ERA, 21.0 IP, 15 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 31 SO), redshirt sophomore RHP Ryan Stuempfig (6-0, 3.12 ERA, 34.2 IP, 31 H, 14 R, 12 ER, 18 BB, 18 SO) and sophomore RHP Aaron Haase (2-1, 1.09 ERA, 8 SV, 24.2 IP, 12 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 24 SO) ... Haase leads The American and is 27th in the country in saves, while Kaminska is third in the conference in ERA ... As a team, Wichita State is hitting .279 (third in American) with a 4.89 ERA (fifth in American) and .979 fielding percentage (first in American).

RECORD FIVE SHOCKERS GARNER AAC REGULAR SEASON AWARDS: Five Wichita State University baseball student-athletes garnered American Athletic Conference regular season accolades. Jace Kaminska was voted the conference's Newcomer Pitcher of the Year and All-Conference First Team, while relief pitcher Aaron Haase, first baseman Garrett Kocis, third baseman Paxton Wallace and outfielder Corrigan Bartlett joined Kaminska on the All-Conference First Team. The five student-athletes recognized marks a program record since the Shockers joined The American prior to the 2018 season. All five Shockers are first-time all-conference honorees.

AMERICAN MILESTONE: Wichita State's 18 conference wins during the 2021 regular season marks its most victories since joining the AAC prior to the 2018 season.

DRIVING 'EM IN: Corrigan Bartlett and Paxton Wallace lead Wichita State and are tied for third in The American with 47 RBI in 51 games.

TOPS AMONG FRESHMEN: Jace Kaminska leads all American Athletic Conference freshmen starting pitchers with a 2.52 ERA and seven wins in 11 appearances and nine starts on the mound in 2021.

GLOVE WORK: As a team, the Shockers have committed just one error in their last five games and three miscues in their last 10 contests. WSU leads The American with a .979 fielding percentage going into the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship.

FINDING HIS SWING: Garrett Kocis has hit two homers and has driven in six runs in his last five games after missing 17 contests due to an injury between April 11 and May 14. Going into the AAC Baseball Championship, he leads the team with 12 round trippers and a .685 slugging percentage.

GOING FOR THREE: Through 51 games, Wichita State leads The American and ranks ninth in the country in triples with 19. Couper Cornblum and Seth Stroh are both tied for the conference lead and rank 27th in the nation with four triples each. 

BATTING LEADOFF: Jack Sigrist has been the leadoff hitter in 66 consecutive games going back to 2020. He's batted first in the order in all 51 games this season and hit leadoff in WSU's 15 games during the shortened 2020 season.

RECORD BREAKER: Corrigan Bartlett set a new Wichita State single-game record with three sacrifice flies in the Shockers' suspended game at Tulane April 17-18. The previous record was two, last set by Jordan Boyer in 2019. He leads WSU and The American and is eighth nationally with seven sacrifice flies on the season. His seven sac flies is currently tied for 12th in Wichita State single-season history.

SMALL BALL: Andrew Stewart ranks second in The American and 15th nationally in sacrifice bunts with nine sac bunts in 47 games.

MILESTONE WATCH: Liam Eddy is just nine strikeouts shy of 200 in his Wichita State career.

MCDONOUGH EXCELLING: LJ McDonough is 1-0 with a 0.86 ERA and has allowed just two earned runs on 15 hits with six walks and 31 strikeouts in 14 appearances out of the bullpen in 2021. He did not allow an earned run in eight appearances in WSU's 31 conference games.

SHOCKERS IN THE RPI: Wichita State enters tournament play ranked 85th in the latest NCAA Division I Baseball RPI. The Shockers are the fourth-highest ranked team in The American in RPI, trailing ECU (11th), Cincinnati (71st) and Tulane (77th). UCF (94th) rounds out the AAC teams in the top-100.

CLOSING THE DOOR: Aaron Haase is tied for first in The American and is 27th in the latest NCAA national statistics with eight saves in 17 appearances in 2021. Haase has a 1.09 ERA and has allowed three earned runs on 12 hits with 24 strikeouts and two walks in 24 2/3 innings. He has been named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Midseason Watch List.

SCORING EARLY: The Shockers have outscored their opponents 44-32 in the first inning and 48-21 in the third inning this season. When WSU gets on the board in the first, they are 18-4. Overall, when scoring first in games, Wichita State is 21-7.

NOTABLE STREAKS: On-Base: Paxton Wallace has reached base in his last 15 games, while Corrigan Bartlett in on an 11-game on-base streak and Andrew Stewart has successfully reached in his last 10 contests ... Hitting: Ross Cadena is on a five-game hitting streak, while Jack Sigrist, Wallace, Stewart and Seth Stroh have at least one hit in their last four contests.

TURNING TWO: The Shockers are second in The American and 54th in the country in double plays turned with 38 in 51 games.

DON'T RUN ON ROSS: Catcher Ross Cadena has thrown out 15 runners attempting to steal through 51 games in 2021, ranking second in The American. He was named to the 2021 Buster Posey Catcher of the Year Award watch list.

RIVERFRONT MAGIC: The Shockers opened Riverfront Stadium -- the new downtown Wichita ballpark and home of the Wichita Wind Surge minor league team -- in style Saturday, April 10, rolling to a 10-1 win over Houston. Paxton Wallace hit the first homer in the new stadium's history with a towering two-run shot to right in the bottom of the first, before Hunter Gibson smashed the first grand slam in stadium lore in the fifth inning. On the mound, Jace Kaminska spun the first complete game for a WSU freshman since 2009, going the full nine and allowing one earned run with a career-high seven Ks. The announced attendance of 7,509 marked the seventh-largest crowd in WSU baseball history and was the 14th-largest crowd in NCAA Division I in 2021.