Wichita State (4-3, 0-0 American) vs. Oakland (1-6, 0-0 Horizon)
Friday, March 3 | 3:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Clark Candiotti (0-1, 4.82) vs. RHP Hunter Pidek (0-0, 0.00)

Saturday, March 4 | 1:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM
LHP Payton Tolle (1-0, 4.09) vs. RHP Brett Hagen (0-1, 4.00)

Sunday, March 5 | 1:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: None | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
TBA vs. LHP Travis Densmore (0-1, 11.74)

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State returns to the friendly confines of Eck Stadium for the 2023 home opener this week, hosting a three-game series against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies out of the Horizon League. The Shockers went 4-3 on the season-opening road trip, dropping two of three contests at Long Beach State before claiming three of four at Utah Tech. WSU won the final three games of the series against the Trailblazers, rallying for an extra-inning win on Friday before sweeping a Saturday doubleheader. The Shockers were not above .500 at any point in the 2022 campaign.

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 Oakland 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 will have the call of the action on Friday and Sunday, with "The Voice of the Shockers" and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kennedy returning to the airwaves for Saturday's contest. Friday and Saturday's games will be streamed live on ESPN+, though Sunday will be radio only due to conflicts with home men's basketball and softball. Pat Strathman will handle the play-by-play on Friday, with Dennis on the microphone for Saturday. 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 Golden Grizzlies have never played.

SCOUTING OAKLAND: Oakland enters this week's series with a record of 1-6, suffering a three-game sweep at Lamar before dropping three of four games against Kansas in Cleburne, Texas. All three of the Golden Grizzlies losses to Lamar came by a single run, including walk-off defeats in each of the first two contests. Oakland gave up 26 runs in Saturday's loss to Kansas, but bounced back for their first win of the season the following day. Through seven games, Oakland has mustered just 21 total runs (3.0 per game) while homering only twice. The pitching staff has worked to a 7.87 ERA, holding opponents to a .268 batting average. After finishing top-15 nationally in stolen bases a year ago, Oakland has stolen just five in 12 attempts thus far in 2023. The Golden Grizzlies are coming off their best season since transitioning to the Division 1 level in 1998, winning 31 games and advancing to the Championship Series of the Horizon League Tournament for the first time in school history. Oakland was picked second in the Horizon League preseason poll, led by the return of reigning conference Freshman of the Year Brandon Nigh. Head coach Jordon Banfield is in his third season at the helm of the Golden Grizzlies and was rewarded with a five-year contract extension after he was tabbed Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2022.

TATER TRIO: Infielder Sawyre Thornhill became the latest Shocker to homer in three consecutive games over the weekend in St. George, blasting a solo home run on Friday and adding solo shots in both games of the doubleheader on Saturday. The oddity for Thornhill is that he nearly accomplished the same feat exactly a year ago, homering in three of four games from February 25-March 1. With a home run on Friday against Oakland, Thornhill would become the first Shocker since Alec Bohm in 2018 to launch a long ball in four straight.

HE'S UP THERE TO HIT: Newcomer Garrett Pennington is off to a red-hot start after joining the Shockers as a transfer from Central Missouri. The junior infielder totaled 10 hits over the final three games of the Utah Tech series, including a stretch of nine hits in 10 at-bats. Through his first 32 at-bats this season, Pennington has only struck out once, the fifth-best rate in the country entering play on Friday. He is also in search of his first walk of the season and has not been hit by a pitch.

IN CONTROL: Wichita State pitchers put together an excellent road trip in terms of limiting free passes. Over the course of seven games and 57.1 innings, Shocker hurlers combined to issue just 19 walks (2.9 per nine innings), the lowest rate in the American Athletic Conference. That rate represents a significant improvement for a group that issued 4.2 walks per nine a year ago.

CAN'T HIT GRANT: Junior college transfer Grant Adler has wasted little time making an impression in the Wichita State weekend rotation. After winning his first WSU start on the road at Long Beach State, Adler turned in a dominant outing on Saturday at Utah Tech. The right-hander allowed just one single over six innings of work while striking out 11, including two hitters in every inning for each of the first five frames. The Trailblazers did not get a single runner to third base against Adler, who was recognized as the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week for his efforts.

BREAKING OUT: Two Wichita State returners shook off a slow start in the Long Beach State series with big weeks against Utah Tech. Junior outfielder Chuck Ingram went 0-for-11 against the Dirtbags, but bounced back with five hits in 11 at-bats against the Trailblazers, including his first home run of the season. Senior infielder Sawyre Thornhill erased a 1-for-12 California trip with five hits (four for extra bases) in St. George.

CADEN CARVING: Left-handed pitcher Caden Favors continued his excellent start to the 2023 season with arguably his best outing as a Shocker on Friday afternoon at Utah Tech. He tossed a career-best 4.2 innings of scoreless relief to earn his first win of the season, stranding eight runners in the process. The junior southpaw has now logged 9.2 innings out of the Shocker bullpen, allowing just four hits and a single unearned run.