Wichita State (13-23, 2-7 American) vs. Oklahoma (21-13, 4-5 Big 12)
Tuesday, April 19 | 6:30 pm | Norman, Oklahoma (L. Dale Mitchell Park)
TV: Sooner Sports ($) | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Caden Favors (0-1, 3.22) vs. LHP Braden Carmichael (3-0, 7.54)

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State looks to return to winning ways with a midweek matchup at Oklahoma on Tuesday night. Following a Monday night defeat at the hands of Kansas State, the Shockers have lost 10 of the last 11 games, and have not held a lead for the last 50 innings of play dating back to the series finale at East Carolina. From the eighth inning on Saturday to the ninth inning of Monday's loss, the Shockers lineup produced just seven singles over 24 innings. The five consecutive home defeats is the longest such stretch for the WSU program since the 1970 club dropped seven straight games at home. 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 Sooners have met 31 times, with Oklahoma holding an 18-13 lead in the all-time series. Tuesday was originally scheduled as the last of three meetings between the two programs in 2022, but the March 22 matchup at Eck Stadium was postponed due to rain and is now scheduled for May 16. The first game this season yielded a 6-2 Oklahoma win on February 22, highlighted by 11 Sooner stolen bases. Each of Wichita State's last three wins in the series (2018, 2017, and 2015) have come by two or fewer runs.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA: The Sooners bring an overall record of 21-13 into play on Tuesday, including a 4-5 mark good for sixth in the Big 12 conference standings. Oklahoma played a split non-conference series over the weekend, hosting Pacific for two games and Lamar for one. The Sooners beat Pacific in both games, but allowed 20 hits in a 14-11 loss to Lamar on Friday night. Led by a balanced offensive attack that features four individual hitters in the top 20 of the conference in batting average, the Sooners are averaging 6.6 runs per game. Oklahoma has stolen 80 bases in 102 attempts, second-best in the Big 12, and three different Sooners have stolen 13 or more bases. Oklahoma pitchers have struggled to a 5.53 ERA, despite issuing the second-fewest walks in the conference (128). The Sooners will start left-hander Braden Carmichael on Tuesday, a southpaw who picked up the win against Wichita State earlier this season with five innings of one-run ball. Carmichael has not lasted more than four innings in any other start this season. Closer Trevin Michael headlines the pitching staff, with five saves and a 2.67 ERA over 27.0 frames so far this season. Defensively, the Sooners have committed 42 errors, second-most in the conference. Oklahoma is led by fifth-year head coach Skip Johnson, who brings a record of 133-93 into play on Tuesday. A former assistant coach at Texas under Augie Garrido, Johnson spent one season as the Sooners pitching coach before succeeding Pete Hughes, who is now head coach at Kansas State. Six-year major leaguer and OU alum Reggie Willits is in his first season on the staff as volunteer assistant coach. Oklahoma was picked sixth in the Big 12 Preseason Poll following a 27-28 (11-13) season a year ago.

COLD STRETCH: One of the main culprits of Wichita State's 1-10 record over the last 11 games is a scuffling lineup that has combined for a .226 batting average. The Shockers are averaging just 3.5 runs per game during the stretch. With runners in scoring position and two outs, WSU has produced a .195 batting average.

ROGERS RAKES: One of the bright spots from the weekend against Cincinnati was the emergence of redshirt freshman Jordan Rogers, who notched a pair of career firsts. On Thursday night he produced his first career three-hit game, including a pair of doubles, and then followed it up Saturday with his first collegiate home run. Rogers continued his hot hitting with two more hits Monday, including an RBI double. The native of Robinson, Texas has raised his batting average 83 points over the last two weeks to its present .259 mark.

WALK IT OUT: Saturday's marathon 14-inning defeat featured just the fifth occurrence in program history of a Wichita State player drawing five walks in a single game, as Sawyre Thornhill accomplished the feat over the course of seven plate appearances. It was the first instance since the 2006 season a WSU player has walked five times, when Derek Schermerhorn drew five free passes in a game against Northern Colorado.

NOT SO WILD THING: Closer Connor Holden put together his best outing of the season on Friday night against Cincinnati, firing four scoreless frames out of the Shocker bullpen with six strikeouts, both season bests. For the season, Holden has not issued a walk over 20.0 innings of work, while piling up 25 punchouts. Despite the sterling overall numbers, Holden has not recorded a save since Wichita State's home opener on March 8 against Oral Roberts.

AIN'T NO LIE: Despite taking the loss in Saturday's series finale against Cincinnati, Cameron Bye continued his incredible start to the 2022 season with another quality outing. Bye conceded just four hits and two runs over 7.0 innings, striking out six and walking five. Despite surrendering season highs in both hits and earned runs, Bye's ERA remains a nation-best 0.61, and his 3.65 hits allowed per nine innings ranks second. Over 44.0 total innings this season, Bye has given up just two extra-base hits.

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 35 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 Monday with a fourth-inning single.

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 .224 with runners in scoring position, and only .212 with two outs. Opponents, meanwhile, are hitting .278 and .258 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 29 bases in 42 attempts, Cornblum is now 9-for-9 after swiping second base in Saturday's loss vs. Cincinnati For his career, the sophomore has been successful on 28 of 33 stolen base attempts (85%).

LINEUP JUGGLING: Eric Wedge continues to tinker with the starting lineup in search of consistent production. Through 36 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 .183 and .176 through the first 35 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 1,272-386-2, including an 862-283-2 mark at Tyler Field (first season 1988). Since taking over as head coach in 2020, Eric Wedge has put together a 36-18 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 head right back home to Eck Stadium for a three-game conference series against UCF beginning Friday night.