Cincinnati (13-18, 3-3 American) vs. Wichita State (13-19, 2-4 American)
Thursday, April 14 | 6:00 pm | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN Plus | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Conner Linn (2-1, 3.60) vs. RHP Jace Kaminska (2-3, 4.03)

Friday, April 15 | 6:00 pm | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN Plus | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Beau Keathley (3-1, 4.93) vs. LHP Jace Miner (0-2, 9.69)

Saturday, April 16 | 12:00 pm | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN Plus | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
TBA vs. RHP Cameron Bye (3-0, 0.24)

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SCENE SETTER: The Shockers are back at Eck Stadium for a three-game series against American Athletic Conference foe Cincinnati. The series runs Thursday-Saturday rather than the typical Friday-Sunday with Easter on Sunday. The series also features a rare Saturday night game, with a 6:00 pm first pitch for the first two contests of the set. The Shockers will then play their first Monday game of the season against Kansas State. Wichita State dropped an 8-5 decision on Tuesday night at #5 Oklahoma State, the program's first-ever game at newly constructed O'Brate Stadium in Stillwater. Oklahoma State led 8-1 into the ninth inning before Seth Stroh hit a grand slam, helping the Shockers eventually get the tying run into the on-deck circle before a strikeout ended the game. Wichita State has scored more than five runs just once in the last 12 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 over the 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 Bearcats have played just ten games in the series history, with all ten meetings occurring since Wichita State joined The American in 2017. Cincinnati leads the all-time series 8-2, with lone WSU victories in 2018 at home and 2021 in Cincinnati. The 2018 series is the only set that has been played at Eck Stadium; the two programs played three games at UC Baseball Stadium in 2019 and four more in 2021. Wichita State has been outscored over the course of the ten games by a combined score of 65-39.

SCOUTING CINCINNATI: The Bearcats bring an overall record of 13-18 into play on Thursday, standing at 3-3 in American conference action after winning a series against Houston last weekend. Cincinnati lost a high-scoring midweek affair at #3 Louisville on Tuesday, falling by the score of 18-10 on the road. That contest perhaps sums up a Bearcats team with arguably the league's most potent offense but also a pitching staff that has struggled to find consistency. Offensively, Cincinnati leads the AAC with an average of 7.3 runs per contest, highlighted by the slugging trio of Griffin Merritt, Paul Komistek and Joe Powell, all of whom have an OPS of 1.000 or better. Five different Bearcats have five or more home runs, resulting in a team slugging percentage of .491 that paces the conference. Cincinnati pitchers, however, have combined for a 6.92 ERA that is nearly a full run worse than the next closest team in the league. Bearcats hurlers have the fewest strikeouts (237) and the most walks (156) and have gotten little help from a defense that has committed the second-most errors in the league (37). Cincinnati opened the season at 6-4 before a six-game losing skid, five of which came away from home. The Bearcats check in at 163 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings. Head Coach Scott Googins is in his fifth season at the helm in 2022, coming off a 29-26 season a year ago for the program's first winning season since 2011. In 2019, Googins led the Bearcats to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 45 years, winning the AAC tournament and later knocking off defending CWS champion Oregon State in the Corvallis regional.

ALL OR NOTHING: Tuesday was a small example of the offensive season thus far for Wichita State outfielder Seth Stroh, who struck out twice but also launched a ninth-inning grand slam. The sophomore has struck out in exactly half his at-bats this season (26 of 52) but also has six extra-base hits among his ten total hits for the season. Six of his last seven hits (three doubles, three home runs) have gone for extra bases.

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, best in the country. The sophomore also ranks second 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 ten games on Tuesday with a ninth-inning double. Ingram is slashing .312/.358/.616 for the year after finishing at .225 a year ago. He leads the club with nine home runs, three times his 2021 total in one less game.

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 31 games played. Oddly enough, despite leading Wichita State with nine multi-hit games this season, Thornhill has not recorded a three-hit game. He extended the streak with a ninth-inning walk on Tuesday at Oklahoma State.

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 .229 with runners in scoring position, and only .216 with two outs. Opponents, meanwhile, are hitting .277 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 25 bases in 36 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 32 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 Kansas State on Monday night at Eck Stadium.