Wichita State (13-18, 2-4 American) vs. Oklahoma State (23-9, 7-2 Big 12)
Tuesday, April 12 | 6:00 pm | Stillwater, Oklahoma (O'Brate Stadium)
TV: ESPN Plus | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Jace Miner (0-1, 9.00) vs. RHP Trevor Martin (1-2, 4.50)

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SCENE SETTER: The Shockers make the short trip south to Stillwater on Tuesday night for a midweek matchup against Oklahoma State, the second of three meetings between the two programs in 2022. Tuesday will be Wichita State's first game at newly constructed O'Brate Stadium, which opened in 2021. Oklahoma State scored three times with two outs in the eighth inning of the first meeting last Tuesday night in Wichita to erase a 3-1 deficit, holding on to knock off the Shockers, 5-3. Over the weekend, Wichita State dropped two of three games on the road at East Carolina, eventually snapping a five-game losing streak on Sunday with a 5-0 shutout of the Pirates. It the second shutout win of the season for WSU. Wichita State has scored more than five runs just once in the last 11 games. 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 Tuesday, 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 Cowboys will be meeting for the 101st time on Tuesday, with Oklahoma State holding a 63-37 lead in the all-time series. The Cowboys have won nine of the last eleven matchups, including a come-from-behind 5-3 win over the Shockers one week ago in Wichita. Wichita State last triumphed in 2018, when the Shockers swept the season series with a 7-5 win in Wichita and a 10-7 victory in Stillwater. Prior to the WSU program's rebirth in 1978, the Shockers were just 2-25 against the Cowboys. The two programs have battled 15 times in postseason play, including a pair of matchups in the College World Series. Wichita State beat the Cowboys in Omaha in 1982 and 1993.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE: The Cowboys enter the week with an overall record of 23-9, including a 7-2 mark in Big 12 play good for second place in the conference standings. Over the weekend, Oklahoma State took two of three games in their Bedlam rivalry series against Oklahoma, continuing a hot streak of 16 wins in their last 19 games since a 7-6 start. It was the seventh series win against the Sooners in the last nine tries for the Cowboys. Oklahoma State is a consensus top-10 team in this week's polls, checking in at No. 3 according to Baseball America and Perfect Game. The Cowboys are ranked No. 4 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 5 by D1Baseball, No. 6 in the USA Today coaches poll and No. 7 by the NCBWA. The Cowboys are led by strong pitching and defense, with a .984 fielding percentage that ranks second nationally entering play on Tuesday. Opponents are hitting just .226 against Oklahoma State pitching, best in the Big 12, while the Cowboys rank second in the conference in both strikeouts (348) and ERA (3.98). Offensively, Oklahoma State is hitting .274 as a team, paced by a pair of transfers in Jake Thompson (South Dakota State/Palomar CC/Kentucky) and David Mendham (South Carolina/Connors State CC). The Cowboys are led by head coach Josh Holliday, a former Oklahoma State player who has led OSU to three Super Regionals and one College World Series appearance (2016) in his eight seasons in Stillwater. Josh is the older brother of former MLB All-Star Matt Holliday, who now serves as a volunteer assistant on the Cowboys staff. Oklahoma State was picked second in the Big 12 preseason poll, following a 36-19-1 season in 2021 that ended with a pair of defeats to UC Santa Barbara in the Tucson regional.

SETTLING IN: Tuesday starter Jace Miner allowed three runs in the first inning of his first career start on March 30 at Kansas. Since that opening frame, however, Miner has limited opponents to just two runs over the next eight innings spanning the remainder of the Kansas start and his outing last Tuesday against Oklahoma State. He has totaled 9.0 innings over the course of those two starts after recording just nine total outs in his first five relief appearances.

AIN'T NO LIE: Sunday's dominant outing was just the latest in a series of remarkable performances from right-hander Cameron Bye, who blanked East Carolina over eight innings while racking up a career-best eight strikeouts. The stellar start trimmed Bye's season ERA down to a microscopic 0.24, second best in the country. The sophomore also ranks third nationally in hits allowed per nine innings at just 3.65, having conceded 15 hits (two for extra bases) in 37.0 innings. Bye was named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week for his efforts, the second different WSU hurler to snag the award after Jace Kaminska was honored on April 4.

CHUCK AND DUCK: Wichita State's hottest hitter is sophomore outfielder Chuck Ingram, who extended his career-best hitting streak to nine games on Sunday with a go-ahead, two-run home run in the third inning. Ingram is slashing .317/.364/.625 for the year after finishing at .225 a year ago. He leads the club with nine home runs, three times his 2021 total in two fewer games.

GLOVE LOVE: During a critical moment in Sunday's series finale at East Carolina, junior shortstop Andrew Stewart turned in one of the most impressive defensive highlights of the season to date. In the bottom of the sixth, a double and a single put runners at the corners with one out. Pinch hitter Joey Berini lofted a pop up into shallow left center field on the first pitch he saw against starter Cameron Bye. Stewart raced back to make an incredible over-the-shoulder catch, then spun and fired to the plate to cut down the tagging ECU runner for an inning-ending double play. The twin killing was tabbed the American Baseball Play of the Week, and the #3 play on D1Baseball's Plays of the Week.

STILL STREAKING: Junior Sawyre Thornhill already has a 19-game hitting streak to his credit during the 2022 season, and has reached base via a hit or a walk in all 30 games played. Oddly enough, despite leading Wichita State with nine multi-hit games this season, Thornhill has not recorded a three-hit game.

ALLERGIC TO WALKS: Closer Connor Holden continued his mastery of the strike zone in polishing off Sunday's shutout win over East Carolina. The graduate transfer from Murray State has not issued a walk in 13 appearances covering 16.0 innings of work, all while striking out 19. Holden has hit four opposing batters.

PRESS THE CLUTCH: Wichita State's recent offensive struggles have been exacerbated by a lack of success in high-leverage situations. The Shockers are hitting just .232 with runners in scoring position, and only .215 with two outs. Opponents, meanwhile, are hitting .272 and .262 respectively in those same two categories.

RUNNING MAN: Outfielder Couper Cornblum has established himself as Wichita State's primary baserunning threat. On a team that has stolen just 23 bases in 34 attempts, Cornblum is now 8-for-8 after pilfering second base in Saturday's loss at East Carolina. For his career, the sophomore has been successful on 27 of 32 stolen base attempts (84%).

LINEUP JUGGLING: Eric Wedge continues to tinker with the starting lineup in search of consistent production. Through 31 games, the Shockers have not used the same starters and batting order in consecutive games. Couper Cornblum, Chuck Ingram and Xavier Casserilla have all started at seven different spots in the batting order this season.

SENIOR SLUMPS: Two of Wichita State's most productive hitters during the 2021 season have gotten off to slow starts during the 2022 campaign. Garrett Kocis led the Shockers with 12 home runs in only 36 games played last season, while Jack Sigrist was the leading returning hitter after a .321 average a season ago. The tandem is hitting .186 and .183 through the first 31 games of the season, with five combined extra-base hits.

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 1,272-382-2, including an 862-279-2 mark at Tyler Field (first season 1988). Since taking over as head coach in 2020, Eric Wedge has put together a 36-14 record at Eck, highlighted by a spotless 10-0 mark during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

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 host their first American Athletic Conference home series of 2022 this weekend, welcoming in the Cincinnati Bearcats for three games beginning Thursday night.