CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Payton Tolle allowed just one unearned run over 6.1 innings, and Wichita State picked up their first win of the 2022 season with a 5-2 victory over Pepperdine on Saturday afternoon at Whataburger Field.
 
Tolle (1-0) struck out seven and issued just one walk, surrendering six singles while pitching into the seventh. He retired the first seven hitters he faced, then stranded an opposing runner in scoring position in the third, fourth, and fifth innings.

Wichita State (1-6) supported Tolle offensively with a ten-hit attack, scoring twice in the third, once in the fifth, and twice more in the ninth. Garrett Kocis got the scoring started with a towering two-run home run to right field off Pepperdine starter Trevor Kniskern (1-1), his first home run of the season. Pepperdine (4-2) sliced the lead in half in the bottom of the inning after a two-out error prolonged the frame, grabbing a run on a Tolle wild pitch that scored Quintt Landis. 

Sawyre Thornhill homered for the second consecutive day with a line drive solo homer in the fifth, pushing the margin back to 3-1.

Pepperdine threatened in the eighth against the Shocker bullpen. Back-to-back one-out walks brought reliever Connor Holden into the game to face pinch-hitter Charles Masino, who flew out to the wall in right field on the first pitch to advance the lead runner to third. Holden then committed a balk to score Connor Bradshaw from third, but struck out pinch-hitter Jacob Rebrook to preserve the 3-2 Wichita State advantage.

In the top of the ninth, Chuck Ingram provided the big swing with a two-out, two-run triple to center, plating Jack Sigrist and Brock Rodden with a pair of valuable insurance runs. It was the first triple of the season for Wichita State.

In the bottom of the ninth, Holden set the side down in order on two ground outs and a fly out to nail down his first save of the season.

Sigrist, Rodden and Thornhill each had two hits to pace the Shocker lineup. 

The Shockers conclude the Kleberg Bank College Classic on Sunday at 11:00 am against Iowa.