WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State hit a season-high four home runs, including two from Brock Rodden, and got a brilliant relief appearance from Caden Favors to rock Houston 12-4 on Saturday afternoon at Eck Stadium.

The Shockers (16-31) trailed 2-0 entering the bottom of the third inning after the Cougars got a pair of two-out RBI singles from Zach Arnold and Anthony Tulimero. The Wichita State bats then roared to life, scoring in five of the final six innings, beginning with a pair of runs in the home half of the third. Chuck Ingram ripped an RBI single to score Couper Cornblum, who had doubled, and later in the inning Jordan Rogers dumped an RBI single into shallow right to score Ingram, tying the game at 2-2. 

After Houston (31-16) retook the lead with two more runs in the top of the fourth, the Shockers roared back with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Ingram had the big blow in the inning, a mammoth three-run home run to left field that traveled a Trackman-confirmed 420 feet. On the next pitch, Brock Rodden lined a solo shot over the wall in left; the back-to-back blasts gave Wichita State a 6-4 lead heading to the fifth.

That's where Favors (1-1) took over. The sophomore left-hander twirled a career-best 4.1 scoreless innings, matching his career high with five strikeouts while allowing only three hits. The Cougars got just one runner to third base against Favors, who picked up his first Wichita State win with the performance.

The Shockers offense continued the bombardment in the sixth when Rodden slammed an opposite-field, two-run homer off reliever Jackson Dannelley. Rodden became the first Shocker with a multi-homer game in 2022, and the first WSU player to homer from both sides of the plate since Casey Gillaspie accomplished the feat on May 3, 2014.

A Cornblum sacrifice fly in the seventh made it 9-4, and Sawyre Thornhill put the finishing touches on the rout with a three-run shot of his own in the bottom of the eighth.

Connor Holden breezed through a scoreless ninth to close out the game for Wichita State.

Kyle Lacalameto (2-2) took the loss for Houston, allowing ten hits and six runs over 3.1 innings.

The Shockers and Cougars conclude the series on Sunday morning. First pitch from Eck Stadium is scheduled for 11:00 am.