Oklahoma (13-11, 2-4 Big 12) vs. Wichita State (13-10, 0-0 American)

Tuesday, March 28 | 6:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Riverfront Stadium)
TV: None | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Gray Harrison (0-1, 8.25) vs. LHP Caden Favors (2-2, 2.67)

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State returns to Riverfront Stadium for third time, hosting defending College World Series runner-up Oklahoma on Tuesday night. The Shockers bested Houston 10-1 in the stadium's first game on April 10, 2021, before falling to #8 Oklahoma State 12-6 on April 26, 2022. Riverfront Stadium is the home ballpark of the Wichita Wind Surge, Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. WSU is coming off a three-game home sweep of UMass over the weekend, a set in which the Shockers won all three games in run-rule fashion (12-2, 12-2, 14-2). Tuesday's game ends a stretch in which Shockers will have played 15 of 17 games at home. Through the first 23 games of 2023, the Shockers have not had a streak of more than three consecutive wins or losses.

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. "The Voice of the Shockers" and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kennedy will handle the play-by-play duties against Oklahoma. There will not be a video broadcast of Tuesday's game. 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 Sooners have met 34 times, with Oklahoma holding a 19-15 lead in the all-time series. Wichita State downed the Sooners 6-2 in the first meeting of the season on March 14, riding five shutout innings from Caden Favors and a late two-run homer from Chuck Ingram to the victory at Eck Stadium. Combined with the Shockers 18-0 win in the home finale last season, WSU has a chance for its first three-game win streak in the series since 2002. The last time Wichita State beat Oklahoma twice in the same season was in 2006, a year that ultimately ended with two losses to the host Sooners at the Norman regional. Even with a loss on Tuesday, the Shockers will have one more opportunity against the Sooners on April 11 in Norman.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma enters play on Tuesday with a record of 13-11 following a three-game sweep on the road at the hands of Kansas State over the weekend. The Sooners arrived in Wichita for the first meeting of 2023 winners of nine of their last ten, but have gone just 2-6 since. Tuesday represents a fascinating matchup between the Shockers strike-throwing pitching staff and one of the nation's most patient lineups; Oklahoma has already drawn 145 walks this season (14th nationally) led by Bryce Madron's 33 bases on balls, the top individual mark in college baseball. The Sooners are also one of the nation's most aggressive base-stealing teams, with 54 stolen bases entering play on Tuesday, the 14th-most in the country. In last season's first meeting, the Sooners stole 11 bases against the Shockers, including three from three different players. On the mound, the Sooners have a 5.17 team ERA, holding opponents to 8.5 hits per nine innings. Oklahoma is led sixth-year head coach Skip Johnson. Johnson has guided the Sooners to a 170-115 record since taking over as head coach prior to the 2018 season, highlighted by a trip to the CWS finals last season in which the Sooners were bested by Ole Miss.

RECORD-SETTING ROUT: The Shockers dominated this past weekend series against UMass, outscoring the Minutemen by a combined total of 38-6 over the course of three run-rule victories at Eck Stadium. The Shockers banged out 43 hits in just 19 offensive innings, and average of 2.3 hits and 2.0 runs per inning. The onslaught was the first time the Shockers have cracked double-figures in all three games of a set since the opening series of the 2018 season, when Wichita State beat McNeese State by scores of 10-7, 11-2 and 11-10.

NINE IS FINE: The torrid offensive weekend was capped off by Wichita State's most productive single inning of the season in Sunday's series finale, as the Shockers exploded for a nine-run bottom of the sixth. The first 10 batters in the inning reached base safely, the first time the Shockers have had 10 or more consecutive hitters reach since March 8, 2020 against Louisiana Tech. At one point in the inning, seven of eight hitters who came to the plate singled.

STAY STREAKING: Wichita State infielder Brock Rodden extended his hitting streak to 17 straight games with a huge series against UMass. The switch-hitter had two hits in all three games, including a two-homer game in Saturday's contest and a two-double outburst on Sunday. Five of his six hits in the series went for extra bases. Rodden's contact rate has also ticked upwards during the hot stretch; he has struck out just once in his last 23 at-bats.

OKLAHOMA, OKAY: Sophomore left-handed pitcher Jace Miner is already establishing quite the track record of success against Oklahoma in his young career. Over the course of three outings, Miner has combined for 8.2 scoreless innings, allowing just a single hit in that span. Miner has struck out 13 Sooners, including two games with five punchouts that mark his career high. The southpaw's first win and save both came against Oklahoma.

WORKING ON THE WEEKEND: The WSU weekend rotation of Clark Candiotti, Payton Tolle and Grant Adler has been remarkably consistent through the first six weekends of the 2023 season. The trio has combined for a 10-3 record, a 3.13 ERA, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 147:24 (6.1:1). The Shockers have had just one game in which a weekend starter has walked more than two batters.

CLOSER COMMITTEE: While the Shocker bullpen has produced solid numbers across the board this season, one interesting aspect of the group is the absence of a traditional closer. Wichita State has just three saves this season, one each from Robert Cranz, Jace Miner and Nate Snead. Each of those saves has been a multi-inning effort.

TRACKMAN TITLE: Designated hitter Payton Tolle's fourth inning RBI single last Sunday against Creighton was registered by Eck Stadium's Trackman system at an exit velocity of 119.5 miles per hour, the hardest-hit ball since the technology was installed in the facility in 2018. That mark of 119.5 miles per hour would have been the third-best in Major League Baseball last season, trailing only O'Neil Cruz (122.4 mph) and Giancarlo Stanton (119.8).

SHAKING OFF THE RUST: Redshirt sophomore righty Matt Boyer went 18 days between appearances out of the Shocker bullpen, but looked sharp working the final two innings on Wednesday night against Oklahoma State. Boyer struck out three over two scoreless innings, allowing one hit. The right-hander began last year as the Shockers primary midweek starter before his season was cut short due to injury

BACK IN THE SADDLE: Interim head coach Loren Hibbs is in his first season leading the Shockers after taking over for Eric Wedge in December of 2022. Hibbs starred as a record-setting outfielder for the Shockers, helping WSU to the program's first-ever CWS appearance in 1982, and still holds the NCAA record for single-season runs scored with 125. He then served as an assistant under legendary Shocker head coach Gene Stephenson before moving on to Charlotte, where Hibbs guided the 49ers for 27 seasons and more than 800 wins. He returned to the Wichita State program following the 2019 season, joining the staff as Director of Baseball Operations.

HIGH PRAISE: The Shockers landed four players on the American Athletic Conference preseason all-conference team, most of any club in the league. Infielder Brock Rodden, outfielder Chuck Ingram, designated hitter Payton Tolle and right-handed pitcher Cameron Bye were all selected, with Rodden tabbed as the conference's Preseason Player of the Year. Despite the league-best four honorees, Wichita State was picked fifth in the eight-team American Athletic Conference preseason poll.

RODDEN RETURN:  Infielder Brock Rodden burst on to the scene as one of college baseball's most impactful players in 2022. The Seminole State transfer led the Shockers in batting average (.338), on-base percentage (.441) and slugging percentage (.653) while launching 17 home runs, the most by a Shocker since Drew Moffitt hit 26 long balls in 2004. He was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 10th Round of the 2022 MLB Draft (pick 304 overall) but elected not to sign, one of just three players chosen in the top ten rounds to do so.

JUCO INFLUX: The Wichita State 2023 roster features eight junior college transfers, several of which have stepped in as immediate contributors. Former Mississippi State outfielder Kyte McDonald brings elite speed out in centerfield, and former St. Mary's righty Clark Candiotti has entrenched himself at the front of the weekend rotation. Two members of Cowley College's NJCAA runner-up team play major roles, as infielder David Herring is the everyday starter at shortstop and right-handed pitcher Grant Adler has grabbed the Sunday starter role. Righties Matt Wilkinson, Colton Vercoe and Carter Rost were added to solidify the bullpen, and catcher Mauricio Millan is off to a strong start offensively.