Wichita State (12-16, 1-2 American) vs. East Carolina (16-14, 2-1 American)
Friday, April 8 | 5:30 pm | Greenville, North Carolina (Clark-LeClair Stadium)
TV: ESPN Plus | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Jace Kaminska (2-2, 3.38) vs. RHP Ryder Giles (2-0, 0.00)
Wichita State (12-16, 1-2 American) vs. East Carolina (16-14, 2-1 American)
Saturday, April 9 | 3:00 pm | Greenville, North Carolina (Clark-LeClair Stadium)
TV: ESPN Plus | Radio: KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM
LHP Payton Tolle (2-3, 2.90) vs. TBA
Wichita State (12-16, 1-2 American) vs. East Carolina (16-14, 2-1 American)
Sunday, April 10 | 11:15 am | Greenville, North Carolina (Clark-LeClair Stadium)
TV: ESPN Plus | Radio: KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM
RHP Cameron Bye (2-0, 0.31) vs. TBA
SCENE SETTER: The Shockers return to American Athletic Conference play with a three-game series against preseason league favorites East Carolina. It's the first trip to Greenville for Wichita State since the 2018 season, when the Shockers routed ECU 14-3 on Friday night but the Pirates responded with consecutive wins to take the series. Wichita State has lost three consecutive games entering the weekend, the last two with a 3-1 lead entering the eighth inning. On Tuesday against sixth-ranked Oklahoma State, the Cowboys scored three times with two outs in the eighth to take a 4-3 lead, later adding an insurance run in the ninth. Wichita State has scored more than four runs just once in the last eight 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. Saturday and Sunday's game will be broadcasted on KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM due to scheduling conflicts. "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 Pirates have met 13 times in the all-time series, with Wichita State holding a slim 7-6 lead. The two teams split a four-game series in Wichita in 2021, swapping run-rule victories in the series opener before alternating wins the final two days. In 2019, the Shockers knocked the top-seeded Pirates out of the American Athletic Conference tournament, defeating them twice in the span of three days down in Clearwater. The only matchup prior to 2018 came in the 1991 Midwest Regional in Wichita, when the Shockers opened the regional with a 10-5 victory over the Pirates.
SCOUTING EAST CAROLINA: The Pirates enter the weekend with a 16-14 overall record, opening conference play last weekend by taking two of three games at Cincinnati. On Wednesday, East Carolina dropped an 8-7 decision at home to Old Dominion, as the Monarchs scored four times in the top of the ninth to erase a 7-4 deficit. The game featured 18 combined pitchers, 10 from ODU and eight from East Carolina. The Pirates have now played four ranked teams this season, a three-game series against North Carolina (26), and single games against Maryland (21) and North Carolina State (22). East Carolina ranked fourth in the conference in ERA and fifth in batting average, but boasts a very sound defensive squad that has committed only 19 errors and 30 games, leading the conference with a .982 fielding percentage. The Pirates have allowed an AAC-worst 40 stolen bases in 49 attempts. Friday night starter Ryder Giles has not allowed a run in 18.1 innings so far this season, with 15 strikeouts and only four walks. Offensively, the Pirates have five qualified hitters with a batting average over .293, but the next closest following that group is the .259 mark of Justin Wilcoxen. Head Coach Cliff Godwin is now in his eighth season at the helm of the Pirates, returning to his alma mater after a stellar playing career as a catcher at ECU. Since returning to Greenville, Godwin has led the Pirates to five Regionals and three Super Regionals, in addition to a pair of AAC regular season and tournament titles. In 2021, East Carolina went 44-17, hosting a regional that they promptly swept through before dropping a pair of closely contested games in the Super Regionals at Vanderbilt.
STAR TURN: One of the most promising developments for Wichita State's lineup is the improvement of sophomore outfielder Chuck Ingram. After hitting .225 with 34 strikeouts in 89 at-bats a season ago, Ingram has established himself as the Shockers best hitter in 2022, slashing .315/.356/.602. The Kansas City native has an extra-base hit in nine of the last eleven games, including all three games of the series in Houston. His two-out, three-run home run in the ninth inning on Friday proved the decisive blow in Wichita State's 4-0 win.
CAGING COUGARS: Wichita State Friday night starter Jace Kaminska continued his incredible dominance of Houston over the weekend, fanning a career-best 12 hitters over the course of eight shutout innings. With the win, Kaminska improved to 4-0 in four career starts against the Cougars, and has allowed just two runs in 32.1 total innings (0.56 ERA). He was named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week for his efforts.
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 .230 with runners in scoring position, and only .220 with two outs. Meanwhile, opponents are hitting .259 and .253, respectively, in those same two categories.
STILL STREAKING: Junior Sawyre Thornhill already has a 19-game hitting streak to his credit during the 2022 season, and has reached base successfully in all 27 games played. He extended the on-base streak with a second inning single on Tuesday.
BRILLIANT BYE: Cameron Bye began the season operating out of the Wichita State bullpen due to an injury in the early spring. He has since worked his way into the weekend rotation as the Sunday starter and put together one of the most dominant stretches for a Shocker pitcher in recent memory. The sophomore right-hander has allowed just a single earned run over 29.0 innings, good for a 0.31 ERA that ranks second in the country. Perhaps just as impressively, Bye has only surrendered 12 hits for an opponent batting average of .122.
RUNNING MAN: Outfielder Couper Cornblum has established himself as Wichita State's primary baserunning threat. On a team that has stolen just 22 bases in 30 attempts, Cornblum is now 7-for-7 after setting a new career high last Sunday with three swipes against Creighton. For his career, the sophomore has been successful on 26 of 31 stolen base attempts.
LINEUP JUGGLING: Eric Wedge continues to tinker with the starting lineup in search of consistent production. Through 28 games, the Shockers have not used the same starters and batting order in consecutive games. Couper Cornblum and Chuck Ingram have already started at seven different spots in the batting order, while two others players (Xavier Casserilla and Ross Cadena) have starts at six different spots.
SHOCKERS IN THE RPI: Wichita State stands at 120 in the latest RPI rankings following the defeat on Tuesday against Oklahoma State. Upcoming opponent East Carolina enters play on Friday at 77. Wichita State has played Oklahoma (19), Louisiana Tech (34), Texas State (41), Texas A&M (49) and Creighton (105) and in the non-conference portion of the schedule. Tulane currently leads The American with an RPI of 57, the only AAC team in the top 75..
NO MINER ACCOMPLISHMENT: Tuesday starter Jace Miner became the eighth different Shocker pitcher to start a game in 2022, six of whom had never started a game at the Division-I level before this season. Entering the game with just 7.0 innings pitched, Miner went 5.0 excellent innings against the Cowboys, allowing just one run with a career-best four strikeouts.
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 visit newly constructed O'Brate Stadium in Stillwater for the first time to take on Oklahoma State on Tuesday.
