Wichita State (0-3, 0-0 American) at Oklahoma (2-1, 0-0 Big 12)
Tuesday, February 22 | 2:30 pm | Norman, Okla. (L. Dale Mitchell Park)
TV: SoonerSports.tv | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Matt Boyer (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Braden Carmichael (0-0, 0.00)
 

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State continues their season-opening 12-game road swing on Tuesday afternoon with a midweek matchup at Oklahoma. First pitch was originally scheduled for 4:00 pm, but has been moved up to 2:30 to account for sub-freezing temperatures expected to make their way across the region on Tuesday evening. The Shockers dropped three straight games at Louisiana Tech over the weekend to open the 2022 season, falling by scores of 7-3, 9-6, and 5-3. WSU led 3-0 on Friday and 6-1 on Saturday, but were unable to hold the leads against a Louisiana Tech team fresh off hosting a regional in 2021. The Shockers are coming off a 31-23 season a year ago, including an 18-13 mark in the American Athletic Conference that produced a third-place finish, WSU's best since joining the AAC in 2017. Wichita State is seeking their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since the 2013 season, a regional bid that was later vacated by the NCAA.

SHOCKER BASEBALL ON THE RADIO AND ESPN PLUS: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM will once again serve as the radio home for all Wichita State baseball broadcasts in 2022. Denning Gerig will have the call of this week's games, with former Shocker All-American pitcher Shane Dennis back on the mic beginning next Tuesday at Oral Roberts. "The Voice of the Shockers" and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kennedy joins the team later in the season following the conclusion of the men's basketball season. Pregame show begins approximately 20 minutes prior to first pitch. All WSU home games will air live on ESPN Plus (WatchESPN.com) with Dennis on the call. Live audio, in addition to live statistics, will be available for all games at GoShockers.com/listen and ShockerStats.com.

SERIES HISTORY: The Shockers and Sooners have met 30 times, with Oklahoma holding a 17-13 lead in the all-time series. The two programs have not met since the 2019 season, with the Sooners claiming a 9-4 victory on April 23 at Eck Stadium. Ryan Stuempfig made one of his six career starts on the mound for Wichita State, taking a no-decision. Jacob Katzfey and Hunter Gibson homered in defeat for the Shockers. WSU claimed the previous two meetings, a 2-1 decision in Wichita in 2018, and a 4-2 win in Norman in 2017 against the then-13th-ranked Sooners. Each of Wichita State's last three wins in the series (2018, 2017, and 2015) have come by two or fewer runs.

SHOCKER NOTES: Wichita State had five doubles in the season opener at Louisiana Tech, but produced just two extra-base hits for the remainder of the series (both doubles)...the Shockers did not have a home run or a triple in the three games in Ruston...Friday's opener yielded a combined 28 strikeouts, 14 from each team...Wichita State struck out 38 times over the course of the three games...only two stolen bases were attempted the entire series, both by Louisiana Tech on Friday night (1-for-2)...13 players made their Wichita State debut over the three games in Ruston...Couper Cornblum was the only Shocker with multiple hits in more than one game, recording two doubles on Friday and a pair of singles Sunday.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA: The Sooners went 2-1 at Globe Life Field in Arlington to begin the 2022 season, blanking Auburn 3-0, losing 14-4 to Arizona and downing Michigan 6-1. Oklahoma pitching was outstanding in the two victories, limiting Auburn to just three hits and Michigan to four. In between, 15th-ranked Arizona pounded out 14 runs on 15 hits, including a seven-run bottom of the seventh to blow open a close game. Offensively, Diego Muniz and Jimmy Crooks produced a strong opening weekend, notching three hits apiece, while Peyton Graham hit the Sooners only home run of the trip, a tie-breaking two-run blast in the seventh inning of the win over Auburn. Left-handed starters Jake Bennett and Chazz Martinez allowed just one unearned run over 9.2 combined innings to lead the way on the mound. Oklahoma is picked sixth in the Big 12 Preseason Poll following a 27-28 (11-13) season a year ago. Graham was OU's lone selection to the Preseason All-Big 12 team after hitting .288 with 11 home runs in 2021. The Sooners will start left-hander Braden Carmichael on Tuesday, a southpaw who bested two top-10 teams last year. The transfer from Grayson College allowed four runs over six innings on March 16 to knock off #1 Arkansas, then hurled seven innings of one-run ball on March 28 to beat #9 Texas. Later in the year, Carmichael fanned 10 over seven shutout frames against West Virginia. Oklahoma is led by fifth-year head coach Skip Johnson, who brings a record of 114-81 into play on Tuesday. A former assistant coach at Texas under Augie Garrido, Johnson spent one season as the Sooners pitching coach before succeeding Pete Hughes, who is now head coach at Kansas State. Six-year major leaguer and OU alum Reggie Willits is in his first season on the staff as volunteer assistant coach.

HOW SWEEP IT IS: Wichita State and Louisiana Tech have now met for three three-game series, each resulting in a sweep by the home team. The Bulldogs won all three in Ruston in 2017, the Shockers returned the favor in Wichita in 2020, and La Tech claimed all three contests to begin 2022.

THE PEN IS MIGHTY: After WSU relievers struggled in the first two games in Ruston, four bullpen arms put together an excellent performance in Sunday's series finale. The combination of Caden Favors, Cameron Bye, Creighton Hansen and Connor Holden allowed just three hits and one unearned run over six innings of work, notching five strikeouts along the way. Bye's performance highlighted the quartet, as the sophomore righty retired all six batters he faced with three punchouts.

POWER OF WILL: Sunday starter Will Stevens suffered the loss in his season debut, allowing four runs over two innings. However, the strong-armed righty made an immediate impression with an electric fastball that reached 99 miles per hour on four of his first five offerings. Originally a Wichita State commit out of high school, Stevens is in his first season with the Shockers after spending two seasons at Iowa Western Community College.

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLES: Freshman lefty Payton Tolle put together the best start of the weekend for Wichita State on Saturday afternoon, flipping six innings of one-run baseball on just four hits. No other starter for either side completed more than five innings in any of the three games. Tolle then made his season debut at DH the following day, going 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.

SAVE THAT BASEBALL: Shocker freshmen Xavier Casserilla and Jordan Rogers each recorded their first collegiate hit over the weekend, with Casserilla lining a double in the fourth inning on Friday and Rogers banging a double of his own in the fifth inning on Sunday.

TRANSFER TRACKER: The Shockers added 12 transfers to the 2022 roster, including six from Division-I programs. RHP Connor Holden (Murray State),  LHP Austin Wallace (Texas), LHP Adam Ketelsen (Iowa), INF Will Carpenter (Penn State), RHP Matt Boyer (Saint Louis) and RHP Grayson Jones (James Madison) all make their way to Wichita for 2022.

LEANING ON THE LONE STAR STATE: 14 Shockers on the roster hail from Texas, easily the most of any one state. Oklahoma is next closest with nine, then four from Kansas. The Texans will have plenty of opportunities to shine in front of friends and family, as Wichita State plays ten games in the state of Texas in 2022 (one game in Arlington, three in Corpus Christi, three in Frisco, three in Houston).

POLL POSITION: The Shockers were picked fourth in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll, the highest preseason projection for Wichita State since joining the AAC in 2017. First baseman Garrett Kocis and RHP Jace Kaminska were both selected to the AAC Preseason All-Conference Team.

KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY: Shocker coaches Eric Wedge, Mike Pelfrey, Mike Sirianni and Director of Operations Loren Hibbs all have ties to the WSU baseball program. Wedge powered the Shockers to a national championship as the starting catcher in 1989, earning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors along the way. Pelfrey was an All-American starter who ranks second in program history in ERA (2.18) and strikeouts (366). Sirianni was a volunteer assistant coach for the Shockers in 2015 and 2016 before taking the head coaching position at Regis University. Hibbs helped WSU to the program's first-ever CWS appearance in 1982, and still holds the NCAA record for single-season runs scored with 125.

SUPPLEMENTING THE STAFF: The Shockers added volunteer assistant coach Conor Behrens (pronounced BEAR-enns) to the staff in late January after previous volunteer Easton Herring accepted a position with the Virginia Tech softball program. Behrens comes to Wichita after stops at Point Loma Nazarene and Central Missouri, where he helped the Mules to a national runner-up finish in 2021.

GLOVE LOVE: Shortstop Andrew Stewart committed just two errors in 178 chances last season, good for a .989 fielding percentage. Had he recorded 22 more chances to qualify for the program record book, it would have been the best fielding percentage by a Shocker shortstop in WSU history.

CARRYING A BIG STICK: First baseman Garrett Kocis returns to the middle of the WSU order after an impressive 2021 campaign. The senior was leading the nation in home runs before injuring his wrist against Houston on April 10. From February 27-March 20, he went 18-for-43 (.419) with nine home runs and 24 RBI in just 11 games. His .654 slugging percentage leads all AAC returners.

ON DECK: The Shockers head to Globe Life Field on Wednesday for a matchup with Texas State before three games over the weekend in Corpus Christi, Texas.