The RoundHouse | 9/11/2021 10:44:00 AM

 
Wichita State softball is just more than four months removed from its best moments. It is six months away from trying to follow up on that success – national rankings, conference regular-season and tournament titles, two wins over Texas A&M in NCAA play and a spot in the regional championship round vs. No. 1 Oklahoma.
 
The Shockers started fall practice this week with all that in mind – what those wins meant and how to sustain that momentum. Wichita State went 41-13-1 last season and won the American Athletic Conference with an 18-5-1 record. It ended the season No. 25 in the NCAA's RPI, No. 24 in the USA Today coaches poll and tied for No. 23 in ESPN's ranking.
 
Plus, so many hitting records detailed here.
 
Here are five questions for Wichita State softball.
 
How does the roster pass down the feel of success from NCAA runs in 2018 and 2021?
 
There is a strong feel of a changing generation at Wilkins Stadium.
 
Consider this four-season story arc: regional title round at Arkansas in 2018, followed by a disappointing end to 2019 and the shortened 2020. All those experiences helped fuel the landmark 2021 season.
 
Most of the Shockers who went through all that are departed.
 
Coach Kristi Bredbenner will lean on veterans such as first baseman Neleigh Herring and pitcher Caitlin Bingham, both of whom played in 2018.
 
"You've got to thrive on your returners that are coming back," Bredbenner said. "We've got a lot of time to grow as a team and it's just going to take everybody buying into the process to get ourselves prepared to defend the American title."
 
The losses are significant. Wichita State career home run leader Madison Perrigan, who started almost every game at catcher since 2017, pitcher Bailey Lange, third baseman Ryleigh Buck, second baseman Kaylee Huecker and centerfielder Bailee Nickerson are gone. All of them played significant roles in 2018 and 2021.
 
However, plenty of returners from last season can help maintain that momentum, led by conference Player of the Year Sydney McKinney at shortstop and Rookie of the Year Addison Barnard in right field. Wichita State returns its top three batting averages in McKinney, Herring and Barnard, three of the six returners who started 20 or more games.
 
 

That's a good start!

Neleigh smokes one off the wall, scoring Butters from first to push the lead to 5-3!

💻 ESPN3 pic.twitter.com/3LeT7Zb2Kw

— Wichita State Softball (@GoShockersSB) May 23, 2021

"Those are people you just don't snap your finger and replace," Bredbenner said. "Part of the reason they were so good was because they had the experience. Now it's just about filling in those holes and getting those people the experience and confidence to be successful."
 
The Shockers play eight fall scrimmages. How does that competition help this fall?
 
Wichita State opens its fall schedule vs. Pittsburg State on Sept. 19. Kansas visits Wilkins Stadium on Sept. 25 and the Shockers travel to Oklahoma State on Oct. 20.
 
"It's huge because we were such a veteran team last year," Bredbenner said. "We've got some youngsters, some returners, that didn't get a lot of playing time and will now get quite a bit of playing time in those fall games."
 
Scrimmages are also a time to emphasize to returners and newcomers what coaches want beyond the field of play. Bredbenner wants the opponent to see a team that is vocal, bouncing around and enjoying the game, no matter the situation.
 
"We talked a lot at practice (Thursday) about energy and talk and creating confidence by how we play and the energy we can give off," Bredbenner said. "We've got some kids that need to get out of their comfort zone a little bit with that."
 
Two of the newcomers are expected to play significant roles immediately because of their college experience.
 
Houston transfer Arielle James, who plays the middle infield, earned all-conference honors in 2019. Third baseman Zoe Jones, a transfer from Texas Tech, started 38 games for the Red Raiders last season
 
What does catcher look like with Perrigan and her 58 career home runs gone?
 
Bredbenner, herself a former catcher, regards the position as one that demands good defense and an ability to work with pitchers. She also doesn't want to write that spot off as a source of offense.
 
Whoever starts this season is following in a long line of two-way threats.
 
Perrigan started 243 of 245 games since her freshman season in 2017.
 
In 2016, Mackenzie Wright earned a spot on the Missouri Valley Conference's All-Defense team at catcher before returning to third base. Before that, Melanie Jaegers started 218 games over four seasons, almost all at catcher, and grabbed MVC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2015.
 
That's a lot of stability and talent behind the plate.
 
This fall, Bredbenner will evaluate redshirt freshman Lainee Brown and sophomore Jessica Garcia.
 
Brown gets the defensive edge. Garcia, who hit pinch-hit home runs against East Carolina and Oklahoma State last season, is better with the bat.
 
"That's going to be interesting," Bredbenner said. "They both need work on the other side. They're going to get very equal opportunities to show what they can do."
 
How will the pitching staff look?
 
Lange, an NFCA All-Central Region Third Team pick in 2021 and an all-conference pick in 2018, started almost every big game during her career.
 
Bingham (10-3 last season with a 3.00 earned run average) and Erin McDonald (9-1, 4.79) are seniors with plenty of conference experience.
 
"They've got the tools to do it," Bredbenner said. "It's going to be about consistency and understanding our opponents."
 
Jordyn Pipkin redshirted last season. Freshmen Kenzie Schopfer and Alison Cooper round out the staff.
 
"Jordyn Pipkin, to me, is the wild card," Bredbenner said. "She's got some nasty stuff. She needs to work on her competitiveness and understanding you've got have fire and grit and you've got to want the ball. She's got some great movement and good speed. She can do some things with the ball that none of our other pitchers can."
 
What's next for Barnard?
 
Barnard, from Beatrice, Neb., enjoyed a freshman season that ranks with any in any sport at Wichita State.
 
She hit 22 home runs and drove in 61 runs, both tops on the program's season list. She earned NFCA Third Team All-American and all-conference softball and academic honors. In the conference tournament, she went 4 for 6 with a two-run homer and four runs to claim Most Outstanding Player honors.
 
"Addie's going to have to understand that she isn't going to get the same pitches she got last year," Bredbenner said. "They're going to be a lot more careful. She can't get down on herself, she can't get outside of the strike zone. Maybe walk a little bit more. Then take advantage of those walks by using her speed to move around the bases."
 
 

T3 | SYDNEY "HITS A LOT" MCKINNEY!

Syd has us on the board with an RBI double down the left field line! pic.twitter.com/m8oCOLq7gX

— Wichita State Softball (@GoShockersSB) May 23, 2021

Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.