Oral Roberts (9-2, 0-0 Summit) vs. Wichita State (5-7, 0-0 American)
Tuesday, March 8 | 3:00 pm | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN Plus | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Andrew Roach (0-0, 1.80) vs. RHP Cameron Bye (1-0, 0.00)Â
SCENE SETTER: The Shockers take on Oral Roberts in the 2022 home opener at Eck Stadium on Tuesday following 12 consecutive contests away from home. Wichita State is coming off a Frisco Classic championship, sweeping through Iowa, Washington State and Texas A&M over the course of three days at Riders Field to become the first team from The American to win the prestigious early season tournament. The Shockers trailed 4-0 in two of the three games, completing the comeback on Sunday against Texas A&M thanks to a Payton Tolle go-ahead home run in the seventh and a Jack Sigrist go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth. Wichita State opened the season dropping their first six games, the worst start to a campaign since the 1953 season, but have since won five of their last six. 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 of today's game against the Golden Eagles, then will rejoin 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 former Shocker All-American pitcher Shane 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: Tuesday represents the 70th all-time meeting between the Shockers and Golden Eagles, with Wichita State holding a 38-31 lead in the series. WSU has claimed four of the last five matchups, with a modest four-game series winning streak snapped last Tuesday in Tulsa via an 11-6 defeat. Sawyre Thornhill ripped a go-ahead grand slam to give Wichita State a 5-3 lead in the fifth inning, but ORU responded with an eight-run bottom of the sixth to claim the victory. The two teams alternated wins and losses over the course of seven games in the series from 2015 to 2018.
SCOUTING ORAL ROBERTS: The Golden Eagles roll in to Wichita red hot, having won eight consecutive games powered by an offense that is hitting .335 as a team. ORU has 41 extra-base hits in their 11 games, good for a team slugging percentage of .514. After a 1-2 start to the season in Mobile, Alabama, ORU now stands at 9-2, having scored six or more runs in every game since opening weekend. The Golden Eagles are the preseason favorite to win the seven-team Summit League after going 31-23 (19-7) a year ago, dropping the Summit League championship game to North Dakota State. ORU's last regional appearance came in 2018. The Golden Eagles return five First Team all-conference selections from 2021, highlighted by league Pitcher of the Year Isaac Coffey. Head Coach Ryan Folmar is the reigning Summit League Coach of the Year, boasting a 290-192 record over the course of ten seasons with four regional appearances. The Golden Eagles have a challenging non-conference schedule that includes three games in Oxford, Mississippi against Ole Miss and midweek battles with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Nebraska. Mac McCroskey leads the way offensively with a .500 average, going 22-for-44 with ten RBI to start the season. Andrew Roach will once again start against the Shockers after allowing one run over four innings last Tuesday.
MVPAYTON: Shocker freshman Payton Tolle impressed in all facets of the game in Frisco, earning Frisco Classic MVP honors after a weekend in which he recorded two multi-hit games and went seven strong innings on the mound in a victory over Washington State. Tolle provided arguably the two biggest hits of the weekend for the Shockers, slicing an opposite-field, game-tying three-run double against Iowa on Friday to help erase a 4-0 deficit, and then connecting for his first collegiate home run in the seventh inning against Texas A&M to give WSU their first lead of the game. He was named to the Frisco Classic All-Tournament team as both Starting Pitcher and Designated Hitter, and selected to the American Weekly Honor Roll for his efforts.
SPOT START: The Shockers will turn to right-hander Cameron Bye on Tuesday, making his first career start. The sophomore from Euless, Texas has been brilliant this season operating out of the WSU bullpen, allowing just three hits over 6.1 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. He earned his first career win on Friday against Iowa with 2.2 shutout innings and five punchouts, both personal bests. Bye made ten appearances in relief last season, fashioning a 4.97 ERA over 12.2 innings.
HIT PARADE: Junior college transfer Sawyre Thornhill has recorded at least one hit in each of his first 12 games with the Shockers, extending the streak with a third-inning single on Sunday against Texas A&M. He was selected to the Frisco Classic All-Tournament team as an outfielder, joining Payton Tolle on the squad. Thornhill leads WSU in batting average (.354), hits (17), doubles (4), RBI (11) and is tied for the team lead in home runs (3). His last long ball came a week ago against Oral Roberts, when he connected for the Shockers first grand slam of the season.
TAKE A WALK: Outfielder Chuck Ingram reversed several trends over the weekend in Frisco. Heading into Saturday's game against Washington State, Ingram had not drawn a walk in 2022 and had never drawn two walks in a single game. He then proceeded to draw two walks in back-to-back games, adding three hits and three RBI for good measure. The sophomore from Kansas City finished the weekend 4-for-9, raising his season average to .317.
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 1,266-376-2, including an 856-273-2 mark at Tyler Field (first season 1988). Since taking over as head coach in 2020, Eric Wedge has put together a 30-8 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 five scoreless appearances as the Shocker closer, Holden has allowed just five baserunners on three hits and a pair of hit by pitches. He picked up the win on Sunday against Texas A&M by retiring all four Aggies he faced, and already has three saves. 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.
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 San Marcos, three in Corpus Christi, three in Frisco, three in Houston).
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.
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.
ON DECK: The Shockers host the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State for three games at Eck Stadium over the weekend, with first pitch times of 3:00, 2:00 and 1:00 pm.
