Wichita State (20-32, 8-13 American) vs. South Florida (26-26, 6-15 American)
Thursday, May 19 | 1:00 pm CT | Tampa, Florida (USF Baseball Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Caden Favors (1-1, 2.66) vs. LHP Ethan Brown (3-2, 5.01)

Friday, May 20 | 8:00 am CT | Tampa, Florida (USF Baseball Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
TBA vs. TBA

Saturday, May 21 | 8:00 am CT | Tampa, Florida (USF Baseball Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
TBA vs. TBA

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State travels to Tampa for the final series of the regular season, a three-game set on the road at South Florida beginning Thursday afternoon. The three games have been moved up to 1:00 pm, 8:00 am, and 8:00 am due to forecasted inclement weather in the area. The Shockers will stay in Florida for the next several days with the American conference tournament beginning Tuesday in Clearwater. Wichita State is coming off an emphatic 18-0 win over #24-ranked Oklahoma on Monday night at Eck Stadium. The win was the largest margin of victory in the history of the series against Oklahoma, as well as the most runs the Shockers have ever scored in a game against the Sooners. The Wichita State pitching staff carried a no-hitter through 7.2 innings, and allowed just one hit on the evening. 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 against South Florida, 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 Bulls have met 16 times, with Wichita State holding a 9-6-1 lead in the all-time series. Since Wichita State joined the American Athletic Conference in 2017, the series is even at 6-6-1. The lone tie is the last deadlock in Wichita State program history, a 9-9 tie at Eck Stadium on May 13, 2018 that was called due to South Florida's travel schedule. The two teams have alternated wins and losses in each of the other 12 meetings. South Florida bested Wichita State in the last matchup, a 7-2 Bulls win in the American conference tournament. In non-conference action, the Shockers downed USF in Hawaii in 2005 to claim the First Hawaii Title Rainbow Tournament title, and twice to open the 1985 season in New Orleans.

SCOUTING SOUTH FLORIDA: The Bulls bring an overall record of 26-26 into play on Thursday, including a 6-15 mark in American Athletic Conference play. South Florida's record stood at 18-7 heading into conference play, including wins over Louisville and Boston College, but the Bulls have gone just 8-19 since, including four consecutive losses entering the series against the Shockers. Despite ranking second-to-last in the conference in batting average (.264), the Bulls are tied for tops on the circuit in on-base percentage at .378 due to a league-leading 250 walks and a league-leading 76 hit by pitches. South Florida has stolen just 29 bases, fewest in The American. On the mound, USF is sixth in the league with a 5.77 ERA, allowing more than 10 hits per nine innings. The staff has been hampered by the loss of Jack Jasiak, a unanimous Preseason All-Conference pick who has not pitched since March 26. The Bulls .962 fielding percentage is the worst in the conference, six points lower than the next closest team. South Florida is led by former Tulane and Illinois State assistant coach Billy Mohl, now in his eighth season in Tampa. He led the Bulls on a remarkable postseason run in 2021, surging to an AAC Tournament title before stunning Florida, Miami and South Alabama to win the Gainsville regional. USF became just the seventh Regional No. 4 seed to ever advance to a Super Regional under the current NCAA format.

BOOMER BLOWOUT: Monday's 18-0 victory over #24 Oklahoma was a significant one in the Wichita State program record book. The win represented the largest margin of victory in the history of the series against Oklahoma, as well as the most runs the Shockers have ever scored in a game against the Sooners. It was Wichita State's first shutout of a ranked team since March 12, 2011, when the Shockers blanked #24 Tulane 1-0. The Shockers set a new season high with 18 hits, five home runs, and 35 total bases. On the mound, the Shockers carried a no-hitter through 7.2 innings before a double from Kendall Pettis. All told, the combination of Caden Favors, Jace Miner and Robert Cranz allowed just four baserunners on the night, none of which reached third base.

BOMB SQUAD: After hitting five more home runs on Monday, the Shockers have now launched 63 long balls on the season, second most in the conference behind Cincinnati. That's the most home runs in the BBCOR era, and the most in a season since the 2010 Shockers hit 64. Six different Wichita State hitters have blasted six or more, led by Brock Rodden's 15.

CLEANING IT UP: The Shockers defense is currently riding a stretch of 39 consecutive innings without committing an error dating back to the final game of the series against Houston. One of the biggest contributing factors has been consistency in the starting lineup, as the Shockers have used the same starters at six of eight defensive positions in each of the last seven games.

MIXED BAG: The Shockers utilized an opener on both Friday and Saturday, deviating from the traditional Jace Kaminska-Cameron Bye pairing the typically starts a weekend series. On Friday, Caden Favors fired three scoreless innings to kickstart a 2-0 shutout, but on Saturday Adam Ketelsen recorded just one out while allowing three runs. Kaminska and Bye came on in relief Friday and Saturday, respectively, each picking up the win.

STANDINGS SHAKEUP: Thanks to last weekend's three-game sweep of Tulane, Wichita State has moved out of the cellar into sole position of sixth place in the conference standings entering play on Thursday. With just one series remaining against last-place South Florida, the Shockers could theoretically end as high as fourth place with a sweep and losses by Tulane and Cincinnati. Wichita State has the tiebreaker against Tulane, while the Bearcats swept the Shockers earlier this season.

OFFENSE AWAKENING: One of the primary culprits in Wichita State's losing streak was an offense that averaged just 3.55 runs per game over the course of an 18-game stretch from March 25 through April 22. The Shockers slashed .222/.318/.349 as a team during the stretch. Beginning on April 19 against Oklahoma, the Shocker bats have produced a .312/.397/.525 slash line in the succeeding 16 games, averaging 7.94 runs per contest.

RODDEN RAKING: The catalyst to the Wichita State offensive resurgence has been second baseman Brock Rodden, who has slashed .422/.506/.844 over the last 16 games with eight home runs. Perhaps most impressively, Rodden has struck out just five times in 64 at-bats while drawing 12 walks. The switch-hitter now has 15 home runs on the season, most since future first rounder Alec Bohm launched 16 in 2018.

JUST WANTED TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK: Wichita State has scored 22 runs this season in the first inning, hitting .212 as a team with only 14 extra-base hits. The second time through the order against an opposing starter has proven statistically significant, as the Shockers are hitting .306 and .322 in the third and fourth innings, respectively. Wichita State has homered 15 times in the 4th inning this season, most of any one frame.

STAT PADDING: Freshman infielder Xavier Casserilla entered Saturday's game against Tulane with four home runs and 11 RBI in 45 games. After starting the day 0-for-2, Casserilla blasted a grand slam and three-run homer in successive at-bats, finishing the day with two home runs and seven RBI, most by a Shocker in a single-game the season. The seven runs batted in represented 39 percent of his season RBI total.

SAWYRE SWINGS: Shockers infielder Sawyre Thornhill added another individual accolade to his growing list of accomplishments in 2022. The junior college transfer set a new career high with five hits, four RBI and three runs scored in Wichita State's 18-0 win over Oklahoma. Thornhill already has a 19-game hitting streak to open the season, and added a career-high five walks in an extra-inning game against Cincinnati on April 15.

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 open the American Athletic Conference tournament on Tuesday in Clearwater.