Wichita State (13-28, 2-10 American) vs. Memphis (19-19, 4-8 American)
Friday, April 29 | 6:00 pm | Memphis, Tennessee (FedExPark)
TV: None | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Jace Kaminska (2-5, 4.88) vs. RHP Landon Gartman (5-1, 3.61)

Saturday, April 30 | 6:00 pm | Memphis, Tennessee (FedExPark)
TV: None | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Cameron Bye (3-1, 1.52) vs. LHP Dalton Fowler (2-2, 6.40)

Sunday, May 1 | 1:00 pm | Memphis, Tennessee (FedExPark)
TV: None | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Payton Tolle (2-5, 3.83) vs. TBA

---

SCENE SETTER: Wichita State returns to American Athletic Conference play with a three-game series on the road at Memphis beginning Friday night. The Shockers are coming off a 12-6 loss to #8 Oklahoma State on Tuesday night, a game played downtown at Riverfront Stadium. Wichita State held a 5-3 lead entering the top of the fifth, but the Cowboys scored six times in the inning and led the rest of the way. WSU enters play on Friday having lost ten consecutive games, and 15 of the last 16. The ten straight defeats is the longest losing streak in program history, breaking the previous mark of nine games set in both 1970 and 1950. The Shockers have also lost nine in a row at home, the longest such streak in school history. 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. Tuesday night's game at Riverfront Stadium will not be streamed on ESPN Plus. 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 Tigers have met just ten times in the all-time series history, with every game taking place after Wichita State joined the American Athletic Conference. The Shockers hold a 7-3 lead in the series, winning three of four at Eck Stadium in the most recent meeting in 2021. WSU has won all three series against Memphis, taking two of three in the other two matchups. This will be Wichita State's first trip to FedExPark since the 2018 season, when the Tigers won the first-ever meeting 4-3 but the Shockers bounced back to take the next two, 8-4 and 13-6.

SCOUTING MEMPHIS: The Tigers enter the weekend with an overall record of 19-19, including a 4-8 mark in American Athletic Conference play. Memphis split a pair of midweek games against SWAC opposition earlier this week, downing Mississippi Valley State 13-4 on Tuesday before being no-hit by Arkansas Pine-Bluff in a 2-0 defeat Wednesday night. Last weekend, the Tigers rallied for a Friday night win at Houston but then lost the next two games to drop the series. Memphis previously took two of three at South Florida, lost two of three vs. UCF, and was swept by Tulane in other AAC action. Four different Tigers are hitting .300 or better, led by fifth year senior Ian Bibiloni (.324) who homered twice against Wichita State last season on May 21. The Tigers have stolen just 30 bases in 38 games, and do not have an individual baserunner with more than six thefts. Jacob Compton paces Memphis in the power department, leading the club with eight home runs and ten doubles. The Tigers have hit the fewest home runs in the American, with just 34 round-trippers. They have also struck out a league-fewest 270 times, 38 fewer than the next-closest team. Memphis hurlers have allowed the second-fewest hits in the league (328) but have handed out the second-most walks (187). The Tigers have already bested their win total from a season ago, when they finished 18-39 (7-25 AAC). Memphis stunned top-seeded East Carolina in the first round of the conference tournament, run-ruling the Pirates 11-1 in seven innings before losing two straight to end their season. Head Coach Daron Schoenrock has led the Tigers since the 2005 season, and has announced 2022 will be his final season in Memphis.

TWO-OUT TROUBLE: After allowing 22 two-out runs over the weekend to UCF, the Shockers continued to have issues in two-out situations in the Tuesday night loss to Oklahoma State. The Cowboys struck for five two-out runs, including a two-run homer from Ian Daugherty that capped a six-run fifth inning. Wichita State has allowed seven two-out home runs over the last four games.

OWE HIM A FAVORS: Sophomore left-hander Caden Favors has established himself as Wichita State's most reliable middle relief option, putting together another strong outing on Tuesday night. The southpaw allowed just one hit and one unearned run over three solid innings, the fourth time this season Favors has gone three or more frames. His 3.09 ERA is third-best on the staff, though Favors has allowed a team-high six home runs.

SOMETHING ABOUT THE SOONER STATE: Infielder Brock Rodden inched his way back to a .300 season batting average with a three-hit night on Tuesday against Oklahoma State, the first time he has been at the .300 mark since the series opener against Creighton on March 25. Rodden has homered four times in the last ten games after going 11 games without homering. The Oklahoma native has also hit four of his ten long balls against Oklahoma schools, blasting home runs against Oral Roberts, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State (2x).

STROH KNOWS: Despite the 16-12 defeat on Saturday vs. UCF, sophomore outfielder Seth Stroh put together the best game of his young career at the plate. Stroh reached base all five times via four hits and a walk, and among his hits were two doubles and a home run. The result was nine total bases, not only a career high by the highest total by any Shockers hitter this season. The game raised Stroh's batting average from .188 entering the day to .235. It marked the second time in his last five games that Stroh has driven in four after he slugged a grand slam against Oklahoma State April 12.

MR. JONES AND ME: In a Wichita State bullpen searching for dependable candidates, the emergence of veteran right-hander Grayson Jones has been a welcome sign. The graduate transfer from James Madison has allowed just one run over his last six relief appearances, lowering his ERA from 11.57 to 6.10 in the process. Over his last 5.2 innings, Jones has eight strikeouts and has allowed only three hits.

RIVERFRONT RETURN: The Shockers hosted Tuesday night's contest at Riverfront Stadium, the home of the Wichita Wind Surge, Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. It was Wichita State's second-ever game at the facility; when the Wind Surge's 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Shockers had the opportunity to play the first-ever game at the brand-new ballpark on April 10, 2021. In front of 7,509 fans (7th most in program history) Wichita State routed Houston 10-1. Jace Kaminska tossed a complete game to earn the victory, and both Paxton Wallace and Hunter Gibson homered in the win.

BACK-TO-BACK: After going 37 games without utilizing the same starting lineup (including positions and batting order) on consecutive days, the Shockers trotted out the same nine on both Friday and Saturday of the UCF series. Eight individual Shockers have batted in at least five different spots in the batting order this season, and  eight have played at least three different positions.

TOUGH ASSIGNMENT: Freshman Jace Miner has been issued a tall task over the last several weeks, making three separate starts against top-10 ranked Oklahoma State. The southpaw has been up to challenge, exiting with the lead in two of those three starts, including on Tuesday when he surrendered three earned runs in four innings.

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 .169 and .167 through the first 40 games of the season, with five combined extra-base hits.

WALK IT OUT: The marathon 14-inning defeat to Cincinnati on April 15 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.

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 play their final midweek road game of the season, making the short trip north on Tuesday to battle in-state foe Kansas State.