Creighton (9-6, 0-0 Big East) vs. Wichita State (10-10, 0-0 American)
Friday, March 25 | 6:00 pm | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN Plus | Radio: KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM
RHP Dylan Tebrake (2-1, 3.20) vs. RHP Jace Kaminska (1-1, 4.44)

Creighton (9-6, 0-0 Big East) vs. Wichita State (10-10, 0-0 American)
Saturday, March 26 | 2:00 pm | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN Plus | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Dominic Cancellieri (2-1, 4.76) vs. LHP Payton Tolle (2-1, 2.17)

Creighton (9-6, 0-0 Big East) vs. Wichita State (10-10, 0-0 American)
Sunday, March 27 | 1:00 pm | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN Plus | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Cade Lommel (0-2, 9.00) vs. RHP Cameron Bye (1-0, 0.00)

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SCENE SETTER: The Shockers welcome in old Missouri Valley Conference rival Creighton for a three-game series at Eck Stadium beginning on Friday night. Wichita State is coming off a 7-5 win over Kansas in 10 innings Wednesday night, a game in which the Shockers trailed 5-0 entering the sixth inning. WSU scored three times in the sixth, once in the eighth and once in the ninth to force extra innings, before Garrett Kocis launched a walk-off, two-run home run in the bottom of the tenth. The Shocker bullpen was excellent, holding the Jayhawks off the board for the final six innings to help WSU snag their sixth consecutive win in the series.  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. Friday's contest will air on KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM. "The Voice of the Shockers" and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kennedy will have the call this weekend, 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 broadcasting duties. 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 Bluejays have met 164 times times, the most frequent opponent in program history for Wichita State. The Shockers lead the all-time series 114-49-1, the most victories against any one opponent. The last meeting came in 2019, when WSU swept a Friday doubleheader, 4-3 and 7-5 (the third game of the series was canceled due to rain). The Shockers have claimed six of the last eight games, including Creighton's final game as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference in 2013, when Wichita State eliminated the Bluejays from the MVC tournament with an 11-4 win. Perhaps the most famous meetings between the two came in the 1991 College World Series, with Wichita State defeating Creighton twice to advance to the CWS Championship Game. "The Throw" from WSU centerfielder Jim Audley preserved a 3-2 Wichita State win in the first meeting, and is considered one of the most famous plays in program history.

SCOUTING CREIGHTON: The Bluejays enter the weekend with a record of 9-6, having won five consecutive games following a three-game sweep of Minnesota last weekend. Creighton has only played one true midweek game so far this season, losing to in-state foe Omaha on March 8. The Bluejays bring a .266 team batting average into play on Friday, led by Alan Roden's .358 mark. Eight different Creighton players have homered this season, but only Brant Voth (3) has more than two big flies. The Bluejays pitching staff has combined for a 4.29 ERA through 15 games, highlighted by the bullpen performances of Tommy Steier (2-0, 1.35 ERA in 20.0 innings) and Marc Lidd (2-0, 0.00 ERA in 9.1 innings). Steier has recorded the only save of the season thus far for Creighton. Known for their consistently strong defensive play, Creighton has another slick-fielding roster in 2022, with 15 errors in 15 games for a .972 fielding percentage. In 2021, the Bluejays finished 24-15, including a 15-6 mark in Big East play good for second place in the conference standings. Head Coach Ed Servais returns for a 19th season at the helm, already the program's all-time leader in career victories. He has taken Creighton to the NCAA tournament five times, most recently in 2019. Former Wichita State pitcher Mitch Mormann (2012) is in his first season as Creighton pitching coach. The Bluejays were picked second in the Big East preseason poll behind defending champion UConn.

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN: Wednesday night's walk-off home run from Garrett Kocis was the first walk-off long ball for Wichita State since the 2019 season. In the kind of coincidence only baseball can provide, that home run occurred nearly three years to the day (March 20, 2019) against the same opponent (Kansas), also in extra innings (13th). Hunter Gibson provided the heroics that night with a walk-off solo shot to give the Shockers a 3-2 win.

THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM: Thanks to his eighth inning home run on Wednesday night against Kansas, sophomore outfielder Chuck Ingram has now homered in three consecutive games and four of his last five. It is the first time a Wichita State player has accomplished the feat since future Major Leaguer Alec Bohm homered in four straight games against Omaha and Nebraska in 2018. The school record for consecutive games with a home run is five, set by Jeff Ryan back in 1998.

FANCY SEEING YOU HERE: This weekend's series will be a reunion of sorts for members of both coaching staffs. Wichita State assistant Mike Sirianni played two seasons at Creighton in 2002-2003 before finishing his college career at Arkansas State, and first-year Creighton pitching coach Mitch Mormann spent one season with the Shockers in 2012 after transferring from LSU.

LINEUP JUGGLING: Eric Wedge continues to tinker with the starting lineup in search of consistent production. Through 20 games, the Shockers have not used the same starters and batting order in consecutive games. Three different players (Chuck Ingram, Xavier Casserilla and Couper Cornblum) have gotten starts at six different spots in the order already this season.

BIZARRE BASEBALL: Sunday's series finale against New Mexico 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: With a fourth inning single on Wednesday night against Kansas, Sawyre Thornhill extended his season opening hitting streak to 19 games. With a hit on Friday, Thornhill can become the 18th player in Wichita State history to record a hit in 20 straight contests (last: Casey Gillaspie, 2014). Strangely enough, has just one hit in each of the last eight 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.

SHOCKERS IN THE RPI: Wichita State jumped to 107 in the latest RPI rankings following the victory over Kansas, a 16-spot bump from Monday's position. Weekend opponent Creighton enters the series at 169. Wichita State has played Texas State (38), Oklahoma (44), Louisiana Tech (29), Oral Roberts (64) and Texas A&M (69) in the non-conference portion of the schedule, with three future matchups against Oklahoma State (28) 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 1,271-379-2, including an 861-276-2 mark at Tyler Field (first season 1988). Since taking over as head coach in 2020, Eric Wedge has put together a 35-11 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 nine scoreless appearances as the Shocker closer, Holden has allowed just seven baserunners on five hits and a pair of hit by pitches. He produced a season-best outing on Wednesday to pick up the win against Kansas, retiring all seven hitters he faced with a pair of strikeouts. The native of Louisville, Kentucky was 5-1 with a 4.43 ERA and nine saves in four years at Murray State.

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 wrap up the 12-game homestand with a midweek contest against Missouri State on Tuesday.