FRIDAY, MARCH 17

TIME	MATCHUP	LIVE STATS	TV
11:00 a.m.	South Dakota State vs. Northern Colorado	Live Stats	None
1:15 p.m.	Minnesota vs. South Dakota State	Live Stats	None
3:30 p.m.	Wichita State vs. Northern Colorado	Live Stats	ESPN+
5:45 p.m.	Wichita State vs. Minnesota	Live Stats	ESPN+

 

SATURDAY, MARCH 18

TIME	MATCHUP	LIVE STATS	TV
2:30 p.m.	Wichita State vs. South Dakota State	Live Stats	ESPN+
4:45 p.m.	Northern Colorado vs. South Dakota State	Live Stats	None

 

SUNDAY, MARCH 19

TIME	MATCHUP	LIVE STATS	TV
1:30 p.m.	Wichita State vs. Northern Colorado	Live Stats	ESPN+

QUICK HITS
• Wichita State is ranked No. 23 in the NFCA Top 25.
• Wichita State is 8-2 in its last 10 games.
• Wichita State defeated No. 9 Arkansas, its highest ranked win since defeating No. 6 Oklahoma State in 2021.
• Wichita State has shut out six of its first 24 opponents. The 2022 Shockers had five all season.
• After playing just 11 home games in 2022, Wichita State has 27 games at Wilkins Stadium in 2023.
• Wichita State received three first place votes in the AAC Preseason Poll and was picked to finish 2nd, just one point behind UCF.
• Lauren Howell was named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week for a second time on March 6.
• Sydney McKinney was named the Softball America Player of the Month for February.
• McKinney and Lauren Howell swept the American Player and Pitcher of the Week honors on Feb. 20.
• McKinney was also named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week on Feb. 21.
• McKinney leads the country in hits and batting average.
• McKinney led the nation in hits and batting average in 2022.
• McKinney is the NCAA DI active leader in hits and batting average.
• McKinney became the first Shocker with 300 career hits on Feb. 19 vs. FDU.
• McKinney's hit streak ended at 34, 6th longest in NCAA history.
• McKinney is the program's all-time hits, batting average, runs and total bases leader, while also owning single season records for those categories.
• Lauren Lucas was named the AAC Player of the Week on Feb. 13.
• Lucas currently ranks 1st nationally in doubles.
• Addison Barnard has 58 career home runs, placing her in a tie for first on the Wichita State home run list.
• Barnard finished the 2022 season leading the nation in home runs per game and RBI per game, and ranked second in home runs, RBI and slugging percentage.
• Barnard's 33 home runs broke her own single season record.
• Barnard became the first known player in NCAA history with 30+ home runs and 25+ stolen bases.
• Barnard ranks 4th among NCAA DI active players in career home runs.
• McKinney and Barnard were named to the USA Softball Top 50 Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.
• McKinney and Barnard are D1 Softball (First Team) and Softball America (Second Team) Preseason All-Americans.

SCOUTING NORTHERN COLORADO
Northern Colorado is riding a three-game win streak and 12-10 entering the Shocker Invitational. Lauren Strathearn is hitting a team-high .414, followed by Alyssa Wenzel at .375. Alexsi Barashkoff has three of Northern Colorado's 10 home runs to go with 17 RBI. Erin Caviness has thrown a team-high 69.0 innings and sports a 2.94 ERA.

SERIES HISTORY
The series between Wichita State and Northern Colorado dates back to 1984. The Bears won that first meeting, but the Shockers have won the last six to lead the series, 6-1. Five of the six wins have come in Wichita. Wichita State last hosted Northern Colorado in 2016. The Shockers won both of those games in run-rule fashion.

LAST MEETING WITH THE BEARS
It's been five years since Wichita State and Northern Colorado have met on the softball field. The Shockers defeated the Bears, 7-1, on Feb. 17, 2018 at the Sam Houston State Tournament. Wichita State scored four of its seven runs in the first inning, and the Bears committed four errors in the contest.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA
Winners of five in a row, Minnesota is 16-9 overall with ranked wins over Maryland and Oregon. Minnesota has hit 30 home runs to go with a team batting average of .280. Taylor Krapf leads the Golden Gophers in batting average (.377), home runs (9) and RBI (23). In the circle, Minnesota relies on two pitchers. Autumn Pease has thrown 87.0 innings and has a 1.05 ERA with 110 strikeouts.

SERIES HISTORY
Wichita State and Minnesota have met 10 times entering the weekend, dating back to 1980. The Golden Gophers lead the series 7-3 after winning five of the first six. Wichita State is 2-2 against Minnesota in Wichita. Each of the last three meetings have resulted in shutouts for the winning team.

LAST MEETING WITH THE GOLDEN GOPHERS
Wichita State and Minnesota met just over a year ago in Charlotte at the Niner Invitational. The Shockers shut out the Golden Gophers, 4-0, on Feb. 26, 2022. An Addison Barnard solo home run in the first inning was the only run until the sixth inning when Lainee Brown singled in a run. Wichita State added two more in the seventh on a Minnesota error.

ARKANSAS LEFTOVERS
In Wichita State's 10-2 win over No. 9 Arkansas on March 14, the Shockers picked up their first ranked win of the season. It marked Wichita State's second top 10 win under Kristi Bredbenner, and first since 2021 when the Shockers defeated No. 8 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. It was the first ranked win at Wilkins Stadium since 2018 when the Shockers defeated No. 19 Oklahoma State.

HIT STREAK
Sydney McKinney saw her incredible hit streak come to an end on March 4 vs. Bradley. McKinney hit safely in 34 straight games after finishing the 2022 season with hits in her final 18 games. The streak started on April 14, 2022 at Houston. The 34-game hit streak is the 6th longest in NCAA history. McKinney became just the 11th player ever to record a hit in 30 straight games.
 

No.	Player, Team	Dates
43	Sara Graziano, Coastal Carolina	April 8, 1993-March 24, 1994
42	Cathy Frohnheiser, Furman	March 4-April 17, 1993
36	Stephanie Tofft, NIU	March 4-May 1, 2011
35	Kelly Kretschman, Alabama	Feb. 27-April 4, 1998
35	Robyn Yorke, Fresno State	Feb. 12-April 1, 1995
34	Sydney McKinney, Wichita State	April 14, 2022-March 4, 2023

RPI - WEEK TWO
Wichita State checked in at No. 26 in the second RPI rankings on March 13. The Shockers have already faced 10 teams in the Top 75, including No. 2 Stanford, No. 30 Texas State, No. 34 Nebraska, No. 38 San Diego State, No. 44 North Texas, No. 49 Boise State. Wichita State still has games against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 10 Arkansas, No. 41 Minnesota, No. 66 UCF and No. 74 Omaha.

HOWELL EARNS SECOND PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Lauren Howell picked up her second American Pitcher of the Week honor on March 6. Howell appeared in two games, making one start and was 2-0 over the weekend. The Jefferson City, Mo., native had a sparkling 0.00 ERA in 11.0 innings. She allowed one unearned run on just four hits to go with 0 walks and 6 strikeouts.

NFCA TABS MCKINNEY NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
In addition to being named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week, Sydney McKinney also took home Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week honors on Feb. 21. It marks the first time in her career earning National Player of the Week honors. Addison Barnard earned the weekly award three times in 2022.

LEADING OFF
Sydney McKinney leads the country in hits so far in 2023, and is at the top of the class in leadoff opportunities. McKinney has reached base 26 times in leadoff chances, which ranks second in the NCAA. Twenty-three of those are hits.

NO-HITTER
Alison Cooper recorded the 20th no-hitter in school history on Feb. 18 vs. San Diego. The sophomore lefty struck out three in 5.0 innings, allowing only two walks against the Toreros.

SHOCKER SLUGGERS RETURN
Wichita State returns 100 of the 121 home runs hit from the 2022 team. Led by Addison Barnard (33), Wichita State brings back one of the nation's best offenses in 2023. Lauren Mills (16), Zoe Jones (15), Sydney McKinney (13), Lauren Lucas (10), Jessica Garcia (5), Lainee Brown (4), Bailey Urban (3) and Krystin Nelson (1) combined to hit the century mark in homers.

PITCHERS BEWARE
Wichita State obliterated the single season home run record for the second straight season in 2022. The Shockers crushed 103 in 2021, only to see the 2022 team set a new mark of 121. It only took 42 games for the 2022 team to match that number of 103. Wichita State has finished second nationally in home runs each of the last two seasons, behind only Oklahoma.

ALL HAIL THE HIT QUEEN
• Sydney McKinney is Wichita State's all-time hits leader with 325 in her career. She passed Britnee Barnett on April 29, 2022 vs. ECU with No. 251.
• McKinney is the NCAA DI active career leader in hits (325) and batting average (.448). She ranks 2nd in at bats (725) and runs scored (207) and fifth in total bases (470).
• McKinney became the first Shocker with 300 career hits on Feb. 19 vs. FDU. She is only 8 hits shy from etching her name in the NCAA record book for career hits.
• McKinney's 207 career runs scored are the most in school history.
• McKinney shattered her own single season record for batting average. She set it at .439 in 2021 and hit a nation-leading .522 in 2022.
• With a career OBP of .499, McKinney currently holds the top spot in that category as well at Wichita State.
• She ranks second with 14 career triples.
• Her 39 career doubles place her in 7th on the school's all-time list.

ONE OF THREE
Wichita State is one of only three schools in the country, joining Oklahoma and Arkansas, to return multiple NFCA All-Americans from a season ago. The Shockers of course bring back NFCA Second Team All-Americans Addison Barnard and Sydney McKinney.

TOUGH SLEDDING
Wichita State has never shied away from playing a tough schedule, and that is no different in 2023. The Shockers will play eight teams either ranked or receiving votes in the Preseason NFCA Top 25. Four of those are top 10 matchups against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 7 Arkansas and No. 8 Stanford.

THE AMERICAN STANDARD
Since Wichita State entered the American Athletic Conference in 2018, the Shockers have been the league's top offensive team in the league. Not counting the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, Wichita State has led the American in batting average (2021, 2022), slugging percentage (2018-22), on base percentage (2019-22), runs (2019-22), hits (2022), RBI (2019-22), doubles (2018, 2021-22), home runs (2018-22), total bases (2018-22) and walks (2019, 2021).

A PAIR OF PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
Wichita State senior Sydney McKinney and junior Addison Barnard picked up a pair Preseason All-American honors. The duo were named First Team All-Americans by D1 Softball and Second Team All-Americans by Softball America.

PRESEASON TOP 100 LOVE
Junior Addison Barnard and senior Sydney McKinney were named to the D1 Softball Preseason Top 100 on Jan. 10. Barnard checked in as the No. 3 player in the country behind only Oklahoma's Tiare Jennings (No. 1) and Oklahoma State's Kelly Maxwell (No. 2). McKinney came in at No. 18, making Wichita State one of only two schools (Oklahoma) with multiple players in the top 20. The duo also made the Extra Elite 100 College Rankings with McKinney at No. 6 and Barnard at No. 27, and the Softball America Top 100 with McKinney at No. 18 and Barnard at No. 21.

HOME SWEET HOME
Just a season ago Wichita State took on the role of road warrior. The Shockers have 27 home games at Wilkins Stadium compared to only 11 in 2022. During the month of March Wichita State only leaves Wichita once. Seventeen of those 27 home games take place in the month of March, including matchups against 2022 NCAA Regional teams: Stanford, Nebraska, Missouri State, Arkansas, Minnesota and South Florida.

IN THE AMERICAN RECORD BOOKS
Wichita State is well-represented in the American Athletic Conference record books. Currently Sydney McKinney holds the single-season record for batting average, hits, on base percentage and runs. Addison Barnard is the single-season record holder for home runs, RBI, slugging percentage and total bases. On the career charts, McKinney already enters her final season holding the top spot in batting average, on base percentage, runs, total bases and hits. Barnard needs one home run and 38 RBI to surpass Wichita State's own Madison Perrigan for the most all-time in the American history.

BARNARD TABBED AAC PRESEASON POY
D1 Softball tabbed Addison Barnard as the preseason AAC Player of the Year on Feb. 2. The publication predicted Barnard to repeat as the conference's top player in 2023 after earning the honor in 2022. D1 Softball projected Wichita State to finish first in the American, followed by UCF and South Florida. Freshman Sami Hood was named the Freshman of the Year. D1 Softball released the top 20 players in the American Athletic Conference for 2023, and Wichita State led the way with five players in the top 10 - No. 1 Barnard, No. 3 Sydney McKinney, No. 4 Lauren Lucas, No. 7 Zoe Jones and No. 9 Lauren Mills.

UP NEXT
Wichita State hosts Kansas on March 21, before conference play begins in Orlando vs. UCF, March 24-26.