Wichita State (0-4, 0-0 American) at Texas State (3-1, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Thursday, February 24 | 4:00 pm | San Marcos, Texas (Bobcat Ballpark)
TV: None | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Robert Cranz (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Trevis Sundgren (0-0, 9.00)
 

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        SCENE SETTER: Wichita State continues their season-opening 12-game road swing on Thursday afternoon with a midweek matchup at Texas State. The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, but the threat of winter weather forced the game to be moved to San Marcos. The Shockers aim to bounce back from a 6-2 loss on Tuesday at Oklahoma, dropping their season record to 0-4. 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 Bobcats have met only four times, a single game in San Marcos in 2012 and a three-game series in Wichita in 2015. Texas State won the lone meeting in 2012, 7-4, part of a three-game season-opening invitational for the Shockers that also included games against Louisiana and Santa Clara. Wichita State took two of three games in 2015, sweeping a doubleheader 6-1 and 14-1 before dropping the series finale 7-5. Future major leaguer Sam Hilliard started on the mound for Wichita State in the final game of the series, taking a no-decision. 

        SHOCKER NOTES: Oklahoma went 11-for-11 on stolen base attempts in Tuesday's victory over the Shockers...Wichita State has not attempted a stolen base yet this season after swiping 67 in 54 games a year ago...The Shockers had five doubles in the season opener at Louisiana Tech, but have produced just three extra-base hits over the next three games (all doubles)...the Shockers have not yet hit a triple or home run...Wichita State hit into three double plays on Tuesday...Sawyre Thornhill and Chuck Ingram each recorded a two-hit game against Oklahoma...Thornhill has notched a hit in all four games, joining Xavier Casserilla and Brock Rodden as Shockers who have reached base in each contest...WSU pitching fanned 13 Sooners, including eight in just 3.1 innings from three Wichita State relievers.

        SCOUTING TEXAS STATE: The Bobcats bring in a 3-1 record into play on Thursday after opening the 2022 season with four games against Utah Valley at Bobcat Ballpark. Texas State scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to claim the season opener, 5-3, then split a Saturday doubleheader with a 14-4 win in eight innings and a 5-3 defeat. The Bobcats rolled to another run-rule victory on Sunday, besting UVU, 14-2. Texas State homered six times in the four games, including a pair from Jordan Shuffield. Bobcats pitching struck out 38 over 34.0 innings, walking 11 while surrendering 28 hits. Opening night starter Zeke Wood led the way with 12 punchouts in just six innings, settling for a no-decision. The Bobcats went 21-36 (9-15) a year ago, though they did pick up wins against #9 TCU and Oklahoma. Texas State is picked seventh in the 12-team Sun Belt preseason poll. Right-hander Trevin Sundgren makes the start on the mound for Texas State, his second appearance of 2022. He made six starts a year ago, going 0-4 with a 7.89 ERA, but tossed five strong innings against Texas on May 4, allowing only three hits and one run in a 4-1 defeat. Head Coach Steven Trout is in his third season at the helm in San Marcos, though his time with the program dates back to 2009 when he served as a volunteer assistant coach. Trout led the Bobcats to a 14-4 start in 2020 before the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also helped Texas State to a Sun Belt regular season title in 2019 as associate head coach.

        MONKEY OFF THE BACK: Wichita State has started a season 0-4 for the first time since the 1953 season, a year in which WSU played only 10 games. The Shockers began 0-3 in both 2012 and 2013, including three losses in San Marcos in 2012, but in each case defeated Oral Roberts in the subsequent midweek game. 

        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 continue the Texas trip with three games at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi, beginning Friday at 6:00 pm against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.