Kansas (8-10, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Wichita State (9-10, 0-0 American)
Wednesday, March 23 | 6:00 pm | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN Plus | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Jake Adams (1-0, 6.75) vs. RHP Matt Boyer (0-1, 7.88)

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SCENE SETTER: The Shockers renew their in-state rivalry against Kansas on Wednesday night, after Tuesday's scheduled contest against Oklahoma was postponed due to inclement weather. Last weekend Wichita State dropped two of three games against New Mexico, including their first shutout defeat of the season on Friday at the hands of Lobos ace Riley Egloff. The bats came to life over the course of the final two games, as the Shockers banged out a combined 22 runs on 26 hits, including six home runs. Sunday's 13-7 slugfest featured a combined 12 pitchers, as the two starters combined to issue 11 walks.  Wichita State opened the season dropping their first six games, the worst start to a campaign since the 1953 season. 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. "The Voice of the Shockers" and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kennedy will have the call on Wednesday, with the pregame show beginning approximately 20 minutes prior to first pitch. All WSU home games at Eck Stadium in 2022 will air live on ESPN Plus (WatchESPN.com) with former Shocker All-American pitcher Shane Dennis handling the broadcast. 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 Jayhawks have met 82 times, with Wichita State holding a 48-34 lead in the all-time series. The two teams have not met since the 2019 season, with the last meeting on April  ending in a 9-1 Wichita State victory. The Shockers have claimed the last five meetings in the series, and have not lost at home to the Jayhawks since the 2015 season. The last game against Kansas at Eck Stadium in 2019 produced a 3-2 WSU win in 13 innings, punctuated by a Hunter Gibson walk-off home run. The Shockers struck out 20 Jayhawks in the game, tied for the second-most in a game in program history. From 2013-2016, Kansas won seven consecutive games in the series.

SCOUTING KANSAS: The Jayhawks enter the weekend with a record of 8-10 coming off a series loss on the road at Indiana State. Kansas has played just one home game so far this season, a midweek loss at the hands of Missouri State. Otherwise, the Jayhawks have played weekend series in Corpus Christi (vs. Illinois), New Orleans, Minneapolis (Minnesota, Michigan State, Illinois), Greenville (Western Carolina, Michigan State) and Terre Haute. The Jayhawks open Big 12 play this weekend against Oklahoma State, then battle the Shockers at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence the following Tuesday. Through 18 games, Kansas ranks last in the Big 12 in ERA (5.86), fielding percentage (.965) and next-to-last in batting average (.254). The offense is led by the talented Maui Ahuna, who is hitting .463 with 12 extra-base hits to open the season. Nolan Metcalf (.318) and Casey Burnham (.309) are also regulars batting better than .300, but the next closest qualifier after that trio has an average of .264. The Jayhawks pitching staff is highlighted by the live arm of closer Jonah Ulane, who has four saves and has yet to allow a run in five appearances. Longtime head coach Ritch Price is now in his 20th season at the helm of the Jayhawks, with an overall record of 569-533 in Lawrence. He is the all-time winningest coach in program history. Kansas is in search of their first NCAA regional appearance since the 2014 season, and their first super regional appearance under Price. The Jayhawks finished 30-27 a year ago, good for a tie for the 8th in the Big 12. They were picked last in the conference's preseason poll in 2022.

TRIPLE THREAT: The trio of Xavier Casserilla, Chuck Ingram, and Brock Rodden each homered in the final two games of the series against New Mexico, including back-to-back homers from Casserilla and Ingram in the sixth inning on Saturday. Should any of them homer against Kansas, it would be the first time a Wichita State player has homered in three straight games since future big leaguer Alec Bohm had a long ball in all three games of a series vs. Nebraska in 2018.

HIT MAN: In addition to his power surge, Ingram added another career-best mark over the weekend. In the series finale against New Mexico, the sophomore outfielder went 5-for-5, becoming the first Wichita State player to record five hits in a game since Daniel Kihle accomplished the feat in 2016. Ingram's previous career best for hits in a game was three.

BIZARRE BASEBALL: Sunday's series finale also featured one of the strangest plays in recent memory. In the fifth inning with the bases loaded, Sawyre Thornhill skied a ball over the fence in center for an apparent grand slam. However, on his trip around the bases Thornhill passed Brock Rodden at first base, who then went to the dugout instead of touching home plate. After a lengthy review, the umpires determined Thornhill was out for passing the runner, and Rodden was out for going out of the baseline. The result was a two-run single and an inning-ending double play, putting the Shockers in front by the score of 12-0. 

STILL STREAKING: The other element to Sunday's bizarre grand slam-turned double play involved Thornhill, who extended his season-opening hitting streak to 18 games on the play. Strangely enough, has just one hit in each of the last seven games of the streak, dating back to a two-hit game against Washington State on March 5. The only game Thornhill has missed this season was at home against Oral Roberts on March 8, which he was suspended for following an ejection late in the prior game against Texas A&M.

RODDEN RAKING RIGHTIES: Junior college transfer Brock Rodden has taken over the team lead in batting average thanks to a two-week stretch where he went 12-for-25 with three home runs and 10 RBI. Almost all of that damage has come against right-handed pitching, as the switch-hitting Rodden is crushing righties to the tune of a .373 average (19-for-51). Against southpaws, however, Rodden is just 5-for-24 (.208).

SHOCKERS IN THE RPI: Wichita State tumbled to 123 in the latest RPI rankings following the series loss vs. New Mexico. The Shockers entered the weekend at 54, buoyed by a strong non-conference schedule. Wichita State has played Texas State (29), Oklahoma (37), Louisiana Tech (44) and Oral Roberts (58) in the non-conference portion of the schedule, with three future matchups against Oklahoma State (13) on the way.

RARIFIED AIR: Sophomore Cameron Bye's impressive start to the 2022 season is rapidly approaching historic territory. With 3.1 hitless, scoreless innings on Sunday against New Mexico, Bye has now opened the season with 15.2 innings and no earned runs. Strangely enough, all nine of Bye's walks on the season have come in his two spot starts, with no other free passes allowed over the course of 9.1 innings out of the bullpen.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: Eck Stadium, home of Tyler Field, has consistently been one of the toughest places for opponents to win in its storied history. The Shockers own an all-time home record of 1,270-379-2, including an 860-276-2 mark at Tyler Field (first season 1988). Since taking over as head coach in 2020, Eric Wedge has put together a 34-11 record at Eck, highlighted by a spotless 10-0 mark during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

HOLDEN IT DOWN: Grad transfer Connor Holden has solidified the back end of the Wichita State bullpen. Through eight scoreless appearances as the Shocker closer, Holden has allowed just seven baserunners on five hits and a pair of hit by pitches. Of the four saves that Holden has snagged, he has had to pitch around a runner at second with less than two outs in three of them, including last Tuesday against Oral Roberts when he struck out the side following a leadoff double. The native of Louisville, Kentucky was 5-1 with a 4.43 ERA and nine saves in four years at Murray State.

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.

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.

ON DECK: The Shockers welcome old rival Creighton to Eck Stadium for a three-game series this weekend.