Game 1: Wichita State (22-17, 10-9 American) at UCF (22-22, 12-8 American)
Friday, May 7 | 1 p.m. CT | Orlando, Fla. (John Euliano Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
Game 2: Wichita State at UCF
Friday, May 7 | 4 p.m. CT approx. | Orlando, Fla. (John Euliano Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
Game 3: Wichita State at UCF
Saturday, May 8 | 3 p.m. CT | Orlando, Fla. (John Euliano Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
Game 4: Wichita State at UCF
Sunday, May 9 | 11 a.m. CT | Orlando, Fla. (John Euliano Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
SCENE SETTER: Wichita State baseball (22-17, 10-9 American) is scheduled to travel to Orlando, Fla., for a four-game American Athletic Conference series against the UCF Knights (22-22, 12-8 American) May 7-9 at John Euliano Park. The series is slated to open with a doubleheader Friday, May 7, at 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET), before a 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET) contest Saturday, May 8, and the series finale at 11 a.m. CT (noon ET) Sunday, May 9.
SHOCKER BASEBALL ON THE RADIO AND ESPN PLUS: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM will air the series at UCF. "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 four games of the series will air live on ESPN Plus (WatchESPN.com) ... 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 at UCF will mark meetings 7-10 in the all-time series that dates back to 2018. The series is tied, 3-3. The last time the two teams met was during the 2019 season when the Shockers won two of three games against the Knights at Eck Stadium, claiming game one, 8-6, before dropping game two, 11-3, and winning the series finale, 6-4.
SHOCKER NOTES: The Shockers enter the week with an overall record of 22-17 and a 10-9 mark in The American after spitting a four-game series with then eighth-ranked East Carolina April 30 through May 2 at Eck Stadium ... Through 39 games, WSU is paced at the plate by senior outfielder
Corrigan Bartlett (.349 avg., 33 R, 51 H, 9 2B, 4 HR, 32 RBI, 13 BB, .493 SLG%, .404 OB%, 3 SB), junior infielder
Paxton Wallace (.309 avg., 34 R, 46 H, 9 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 33 RBI, 12 BB, .523 SLG%, .361 OB%), sophomore infielder
Jack Sigrist (.306 avg., 30 R, 49 H, 11 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 15 BB, .374 OB%, 13 SB), junior designated hitter
Hunter Gibson (.306 avg., 16 R, 30 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 16 BB, .469 SLG%, .424 OB%, 1 SB) and junior catcher
Ross Cadena (.303 avg., 26 R, 40 H, 10 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 22 RBI, 10 BB, .372 OB%, 1 SB) ... Bartlett is fifth in The American in batting average while Sigrist is fifth in stolen bases ... On the mound, WSU is led by freshman RHP
Jace Kaminska (5-0, 1.18 ERA, 2 CG, 38.0 IP, 31 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 13 BB, 33 SO), sophomore RHP
LJ McDonough (1-0, 1.38 ERA, 13.0 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 22 SO), redshirt sophomore RHP
Ryan Stuempfig (5-0, 1.98 ERA, 27.1 IP, 19 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 16 BB, 14 SO) and sophomore RHP
Aaron Haase (0-1, 1.37 ERA, 8 SV, 19.2 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 18 SO) ... Haase leads The American and is 11th in the country in saves ... As a team, Wichita State is hitting .275 (fourth in American) with a 4.79 ERA (sixth in American) and .974 fielding percentage (third in American).
SCOUTING UCF: The UCF Knights enter the week at 22-22 overall and are 12-8 in The American after winning three of four home games against Memphis April 30 through May 2 in Orlando, dropping game one, 12-2, before winning the final three contests, 12-10, 13-6 and 17-5 ... Through 44 games, the Knights are paced by redshirt senior utility player
Jordan Rathbone (.304 avg., 41 R, 51 H, 8 2B, 2 3B, 11 HR, 39 RBI, 19 BB, .571 SLG%, .428 OB%, 8 SB) and sophomore catcher/utility player
Ben McCabe (.264 avg., 36 R, 43 HR, 10 2B, 11 HR, 45 RBI, 23 BB, .528 SLG%, .368 OB%, 6 SB) ... Rathbone and McCabe are both tied for second in the conference in homers, while McCabe leads the AAC in RBI and Rathbone is second ... On the mound, UCF is led by redshirt sophomore LHP
Colton Gordon (5-2, 2.77 ERA, 1 CG, 55.1 IP, 54 H, 21 R, 17 ER, 13 BB, 72 SO) and redshirt junior RHP
David Litchfield (3-2, 2.86 ERA, 5 SV, 28.1 IP, 24 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 7 BB, 20 SO) ...Gordon is third in The American in strikeouts and fourth in ERA, while Litchfield is third in saves ... As a team, the Knights are hitting .265 (sixth in American) with a 4.63 ERA (fourth in American) and .964 fielding percentage (eighth in American) ... UCF is under the direction of fifth season head coach
Greg Lovelady.
WEEKLY HONORS: Freshman
Chuck Ingram was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll for his performance on the field during the week of April 26 through May 2. Ingram, who hails from Kansas City, Mo., received his first-career weekly honor after hitting a team-best .455, helping the Shockers earn a four-game, series split with eighth-ranked and conference preseason favorite East Carolina. He tallied five hits in 11 at bats, including a pair of homers while posting three runs scored, four RBI, two walks, a perfect 1.000 slugging percentage and a .571 on-base percentage in four games.
RETURNING THE FAVOR: After the Shockers were run-ruled, 10-0 in seven innings, in game one of a doubleheader April 30 vs. No. 8 ECU, they returned the favor in game two, scoring eight runs in the bottom of the seventh to roll to a 12-2, run-rule victory over the Pirates. WSU scored seven of its eight runs in the inning with no outs. It marked the first time ECU dropped a game via the run-rule in 2021.
GOING THE DISTANCE: Jace Kaminska tossed his second complete-game of the season in the Shockers' 12-2, seven-inning, run-rule victory over No. 8 ECU in game two of a doubleheader April 30. Kaminska went the full seven innings, allowing just two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and one walk on 107 total pitches, improving to a perfect 5-0 on the mound. In eight appearances and six starts this season, Kaminska has a 1.18 ERA with 33 Ks and only 13 walks in 38 innings of work.
HEATING UP: Hunter Gibson and
Ross Cadena have surged at the plate during American Athletic Conference play. Gibson is hitting a team-high .347 with 17 hits in 49 at bats, including a pair of doubles, a triple, two homers and 12 RBI, while Cadena is hitting .338 with a team-best 22 hits in 65 at bats, including six doubles, two home runs and 12 runs driven in.
MCDONOUGH EXCELLING: LJ McDonough is 1-0 and has yet to allow an earned run in four appearances out of the bullpen in Wichita State's 19 American Athletic Conference games. McDonough has surrendered just five hits and two unearned runs while striking out 13 and walking only three in 6 2/3 innings in conference play.
SHOCKERS IN THE RPI: Wichita State enters the four-game series at UCF ranked 65th in the latest NCAA Division I Baseball RPI. The Shockers are the second-highest ranked team in The American in RPI, trailing only ECU (16th). Tulane (71st), Cincinnati (94th) and UCF (98th) round out the AAC teams in the top-100.
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.
CLOSING THE DOOR: Aaron Haase leads The American and is 11th in the latest NCAA national statistics with eight saves in 14 appearances in 2021. Haase has a 1.37 ERA and has allowed three earned runs on eight hits with 18 strikeouts and two walks in 19 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 35-23 in the first inning and 36-14 in the third inning this season. When WSU gets on the board in the first, they are 14-3. Overall, when scoring first in games, Wichita State is 16-6.
NOTABLE STREAKS: On-Base: Jack Sigrist has reached base in 33 straight contests, while
Couper Cornblum has reached in 12 straight ...
Hitting: Sigrist is on a seven-game hitting streak, while Cornblum and
Chuck Ingram have at least one hit in their last four contests.
GOING FOR THREE: Through 39 games, Wichita State leads The American and ranks 30th in the country in triples with 12.
Jack Sigrist leads the team, ranks 42nd in the country and is tied for first in the conference with three, while
Couper Cornblum and
Ross Cadena have two triples each, and
Hunter Gibson, Garrett Kocis, Chuck Ingram,
Seth Stroh and
Paxton Wallace each have one triple.
TURNING TWO: The Shockers are second in The American and 37th in the country in double plays turned with 32 in 39 games.
DON'T RUN ON ROSS: Catcher
Ross Cadena has thrown out 10 runners attempting to steal through 39 games in 2021. He has been 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.
GETTING IT DONE ON AND OFF THE FIELD: Preston Snavely has been named a candidate for the 2021 Senior CLASS Award. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. Snavely graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice in May 2020, with a 3.88 GPA. He currently has a perfect 4.0 GPA in his pursuit of a graduate degree in sport management. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists in May, and those 10 names will be placed on the final ballot. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2021 College World Series® in June.
THE FRIENDLY CONFINES: The Shockers have an all-time record of 850-270-2 at Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field, dating back to 1988.
ON DECK: The Shockers return home to Eck Stadium for a four-game conference series against South Florida May 14-16.
