Wichita State (1-2, 0-0 American) vs. Utah Tech (1-3, 0-0 WAC)
Wednesday, February 22 | 3:00 pm CT | St. George, Utah (Bruce Hurst Field)
TV: WAC International | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Cameron Bye (0-0, 27.00) vs. RHP Dakoda West (0-0, 0.00)

Thursday, February 23 | 3:00 pm CT | St. George, Utah (Bruce Hurst Field)
TV: WAC International | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Clark Candiotti (0-1, 4.50) vs. RHP Brett Porthan (0-1, 24.30)

Friday, February 24 | 5:00 pm CT | St. George, Utah (Bruce Hurst Field)
TV: WAC International | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Payton Tolle (0-0, 3.00) vs. RHP Jake Dahle (0-0, 30.00)

Saturday, February 25 | 1:00 pm CT | St. George, Utah (Bruce Hurst Field)
TV: WAC International | Radio: KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM
RHP Grant Adler (1-0, 7.50) vs. RHP Ryan Hardman (0-1, 7.36)

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State continues a season-opening seven-game road swing with four road contests at Utah Tech in St. George, Utah. The series was originally scheduled for Thursday-Saturday with a Friday doubleheader, but has been rescheduled for four single games beginning on Wednesday. The Shockers bring a 1-2 record to Utah after claiming the series finale of a three-game set at Long Beach State on Sunday. Wichita State scored eight runs in the third inning to blow the game open, including a stretch of 10 of 11 batters reaching base safely. Earlier in the series, WSU was held to two hits in the season opener on Friday before falling to a Rocco Peppi walk-off home run on Saturday. Wichita State does not play a midweek contest until March 7 following three weekend series. WSU aims to rebound from a 21-36 season a year ago, the second-most losses in program history. Interim head coach Loren Hibbs was appointed to lead the Shockers in December following the departure of Eric Wedge, who compiled a 65-61 record in three seasons at the helm. Wichita State is hunting 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 Wichita State baseball broadcasts in 2023. Saturday's game against Utah Tech will be broadcast on KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM. Former Shocker pitcher (1991-94) and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Shane Dennis and Denning Gerig will have the call of the action against Utah Tech, with "The Voice of the Shockers" and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kennedy returning to the airwaves following the conclusion of the Wichita State men's basketball season. Live video for all four games of the series will be streamed live on WAC International. 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 Trailblazers have met just three times in program history, a series at Eck Stadium in Wichita during the 2021 season. Wichita State swept the set by scores of 2-1, 15-3 and 15-7. Among the WSU active roster, only Seth Stroh, Cooper Harris, Chuck Ingram and Cameron Bye saw action in the series, highlighted by Harris's first collegiate home run in the series finale. Stroh went 2-6 in the series, Ingram finished 0-for-4 in his lone start, and Bye closed out the series finale with an inning in relief. The Friday matchup was a pitcher's duel between the Trailblazers Jimmy Borzone and the Shockers Liam Eddy. A solo home run from Corrigan Bartlett in the seventh proved to be the difference. Garrett Kocis was the star in games two and three, hitting two homers in each contest and combining for 12 RBI.

SCOUTING UTAH TECH: Utah Tech is in their first season competing under their current name after rebranding from Dixie State. The Trailblazers are also in the third year of their transition to the Division I level, having made five straight trips to the NCAA Division II West Regionals from 2013-17. Utah Tech finished 22-33 overall in 2022, but a 14-16 record was good for fourth in the WAC. The Trailblazers are picked eighth in the 13-team conference in the 2023 preseason poll. The series against Wichita State is part of a 13-game season-opening homestand at Bruce Hurst Field, a 29-year old facility that seats 2,500. Utah Tech lost three of four games in their opening series against Portland, allowing 45 runs in the process. The Trailblazers pitching staff surrendered 17 runs in Friday's season opener and 21 in the second game of a Saturday doubleheader, but bounced back to hold the Pilots to just one run in an 11-1 run-rule victory on Sunday. Senior outfielder Tyson Fisher homered twice to become Utah Tech's career home run record-holder with 34 long balls. Utah Tech is led by head coach Chris Pfatenhauer, who won his 300th game in last year's season finale and is entering his 11th season at the helm of the Trailblazers.

IT'S BEEN AWHILE: The series against Utah Tech will be just the second trip to the state of Utah for the Shockers in program history. The only other voyage to The Beehive State came in 1990, a two-game series at BYU in Provo. The Shockers lost both games of the series, including a 23-3 defeat in the first contest that is the worst defeat since the program resumed play in 1978.

SAVOR THE FAVORS: Left-handed pitcher Caden Favors showcased his versatility over the weekend in Long Beach, delivering two strong outings in different roles. On Friday night, he entered in the fifth inning of a 1-0 game with the bases loaded and nobody out, escaped the jam allowing just one run, and then kept the Dirtbags off the scoreboard for the remainder of the evening in a 2-0 loss. On Sunday, he closed out the Shockers 11-6 win with three strikeouts in the bottom of the ninth, allowing just one unearned run.

NO FREE PASSES: Shocker hurlers combined to issue just eight walks over the course of three games in Long Beach, the fewest walks handed out by any pitching staff in the American Athletic Conference on opening weekend. None of the seven Wichita State pitchers who saw action had more than two walks. 

BLAIR BOMBS: Long Beach State's Blair Field is one of the most notoriously pitcher-friendly ballparks in the country, with spacious outfield dimensions and weather conditions that typically hurt long fly balls. Heading into the series finale on Sunday, Wichita State had played eight straight games in the ballpark without homering, dating back to a solo shot from Bret Bascue in 2010. The Shockers flipped the script with two blasts in the first three innings, getting two-run jacks from Garrett Pennington and Mauricio Millan.