Stetson (9-5, 0-0 ASUN) vs. Wichita State (6-6, 0-0 American)
Friday, March 10 | 3:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Clark Candiotti (0-2, 6.08 ERA) vs. RHP Austin Amaral (2-1, 1.65 ERA)

Saturday, March 11 | 1:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Payton Tolle (2-0, 2.65 ERA) vs. LHP Anthony DeFabbia (2-0, 2.70 ERA)

Sunday, March 12 | 11:00 am CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Grant Adler (3-0, 3.32 ERA) vs. TBA

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State returns home to Eck Stadium this weekend for a three-game series against the Stetson Hatters following a pair of midweek defeats. The Shockers dropped a heartbreaking 6-5 decision at home against Oral Roberts on Tuesday before falling 4-0 on the road at Kansas on Wednesday. The shutout against the Jayhawks was the first time WSU has been blanked in a midweek contest since the 2019 campaign, when Oklahoma State downed the Shockers 1-0. Stetson makes their way to Wichita as part of a home-and home series dating back to the 2021 season, when the Shockers played the Hatters and Florida International twice apiece in Deland.

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. Blake Cripps will handle the play-by-play duties on Friday, with former Shocker pitcher (1991-94) and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Shane Dennis on the call Saturday and Sunday. All three games of the series will also be streamed live on ESPN+, with Denning Gerig calling the action on Friday and Cripps taking over the mic on Saturday and Sunday. 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 Hatters have met just three times in program history, with Wichita State holding a 2-1 edge in the series. This weekend will be the first games between the two in Wichita. Wichita State defeated Stetson 8-3 at the Coca-Cola Classic in Mobile, Alabama in 2006, then the two sides split a two-game set in 2021 in Deland. Among the current Wichita State roster, only junior outfielders Chuck Ingram and Seth Stroh played in the 2021 series against the Hatters; Ingram connected for his first collegiate homer in Wichita State's 11-8 win. Stetson claimed the first contest 9-4 thanks to a strong start from right-hander Nick Durgin, who is now the Hatters closer.

SCOUTING STETSON: Stetson enters play on Friday with a record of 9-5 following a 5-0 midweek loss at Florida International on Wednesday. The Hatters opened the season with a three-game sweep against Manhattan and most recently took three of four games at home against Pittsburgh and Mount St. Mary's. This will be the first road weekend series of the year for Stetson, who lost their only other true road contest of the season at Miami. The Hatters are led by a talented pitching staff that has held opponents to a .223 batting average so far this season, racking up 12.0 strikeouts per nine innings. Stetson has also connected for 22 home runs in 14 games, fueled by hot starts from Andrew Estrella (5) and Christian Pregent (4). The offense was limited to just two hits in Wednesday's loss at FIU after averaging nine runs per game in the previous six contests. The Hatters were selected sixth in the 14-team ASUN preseason poll. Stetson finished 26-29 (10-20) in 2022, snagging ranked wins against Liberty, Miami and Florida State. Head coach Steve Trimper is in his sixth season leading the Hatters and 25th overall, bringing a 655-602-3 record into the weekend. Prior to arriving in Deland, Trimper coached seven seasons at Manhattan and 11 at Maine.

'PEN PROWESS: Three Wichita State relievers shined out of the Shocker bullpen in Wednesday's loss at Kansas. Lefty Michael Mulhollon and right-handers Matt Wilkinson and Nate Snead kept the Shockers within striking distance with four scoreless innings of work, allowing just three singles while combining for seven strikeouts. Mulhollon and Wilkinson have now totaled 14 punchouts in seven innings of relief this season.

RALLY KILLERS: The Shockers mustered two late inning scoring threats in Wednesday's loss, both of which were thwarted by untimely double plays. In the seventh, Payton Tolle singled and Alex Birge coaxed a one-out walk. Chuck Ingram followed with a hard smash to shortstop that turned into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. The eighth inning began with a Seth Stroh walk and consecutive one-out singles from Brock Rodden and David Herring to load the bases for Garrett Pennington. Kansas reliever Stone Hewlett induced a tap back to the mound that resulted in a 1-2-3 double play, turning aside WSU's best scoring threat of the day.

PUMP THE BRAKES: Opposing basestealers have had success running against the Shockers in 2023. Wichita State has cut down a runner only twice over the course of 20 stolen base attempts so far this season. Stetson enters the game on Friday with 26 steals in 29 tries, led by Evan Griffis and his perfect 8-for-8 mark.

LOT OF STRIKES: Wichita State enters the weekend with the 15th-best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the nation (3.29), good for the top mark in the American Athletic Conference. Shocker hurlers have recorded 112 strikeouts while handing out just 34 walks.

MAKING THE MOST OF IT: Redshirt freshman catcher Alex Birge has been an effective offensive weapon over the course of two starts and six total games played. With two more walks on Wednesday, Birge has now reached base in 8 of 13 plate appearances (four walks, three hits, one hit by pitch), good for a .615 on-base percentage.

CHARITY DECLINED: Wichita State drew a season-high seven walks and were hit twice on Tuesday against Oral Roberts. Combined with an ORU error, WSU received 10 baserunners from the Golden Eagles, but were only able to turn two of those free passes into runs. Wichita State earned four more walks on Wednesday against Kansas, but all four runners were stranded.

RED (HOT) HERRING: After a slow start on the season-opening road trip, Wichita State infielder David Herring is on a torrid stretch over his last six games. The junior college transfer is hitting .440 (11-for-25) with nine RBI, raising his batting average 159 points in the process.

CUTTING DOWN ON THE K'S: If Wichita State is to take a major step forward offensively in 2023, a key metric to monitor will be the Shockers contact rate. WSU struck out 514 times last season, the most in a single campaign in program history. 10 different Shockers fanned more than 30 times. Through 12 games, Wichita State is averaging 7.7 strikeouts per contest, down from 9.0 a year ago.