Baseball | 4/29/2023 9:28:00 AM
By Paul Suellentrop
The roles of freshman
Jack Little and senior
Sawyre Thornhill are intertwined for Wichita State.
With both healthy, Wichita State has won seven of eight games and worked its way into the national rankings and to the top of the American Athletic Conference standings.
With both healthy and getting on base, the conference's best hitting team is deeper and faster. The Shockers are moving closer to interim coach
Loren Hibbs' vision for an offense that puts pressure on pitchers from the top of the lineup to the bottom.
On Friday, the Shockers defeated Memphis 12-3 with a 14-hit attack that featured home runs by
Garrett Pennington and
Payton Tolle and four doubles. Wichita State, No. 25 in Collegiate Baseball's rankings, scored seven or more runs for the eighth time in the past nine games. It recorded 11 or more hits for the eighth straight game.
"It's good to get Thornhill back in there – he's a guy that's hit in the middle of the order in the past," Hibbs said. "We're playing faster. We're running the bases better. When we put the ball in play, we're a pretty good offense."
Sawyre Thornhill
The Shockers (25-16, 9-4 American) stayed tied with Houston atop the conference standings. Memphis (21-21, 4-9) is 0-5 in openers in conference series and 4-0 in the second games with senior lefty Dalton Fowler starting with a 1.08 earned run average in conference play.
"We know we're going to be facing a really good pitcher (Saturday)," Hibbs said.
Thornhill played in his ninth game since missing a month with a broken hamate bone in his right hand. Little took his place at third base. Thornhill plays left field since those throws are easier for him to make than those on the infield as he recovers the use of his right hand.
Since returning, Thornhill is 12 of 31 (.387) after Friday's 3-for-5 night with a double. Little, 0 for 2 with two walks Friday, has reached base in 10 straight games. He went 8 for 11 in wins over East Carolina and a loss to Kansas.
Missing a month of his senior season frustrated Thornhill, but it didn't derail him. He hit .278 with eight home runs and 15 doubles in 2022 and is at .282 with four homers and six doubles in 20 games this season.
"There's been days when it's so discouraging – 'Am I ever going to get back to where I was?'" he said. "It's having the mindset that I know who I was before the injury, and I have to get back to that. I think I'm starting to find my swing again."
Helping Little make the move to third after he started twice at second base and three times in left gave Thornhill a purpose during his layoff. Little, Thornhill said, showed up in the fall more mature and ready to contribute than many freshmen.
"The mindset that he brings, the toughness that he brings, I knew he would fit right in," Thornhill said. "He knows how to compete. You could tell he was a little bit more put together, not a normal freshman trying to come in and find himself."
Little attributes his readiness, in part, to working with his father, Mark Little. He played four seasons in the major leagues, two with the Colorado Rockies. He is also a member of the Memphis M Club Hall of Fame after setting school records for career batting average (.424) and season home runs (21) and RBI (86).
"He calms me down a lot – tells me it's the same game I've always played,"
Jack Little said. "He's a good motivational speaker."
Even with that background,
Jack Little went through freshman adjustments. He discovered it helps to show a bit more patience at the plate and dial back his motor at times.
"I was trying to hit every pitch that was thrown to me," he said. "I've started to settle in and really see the ball, let the ball come to me. I've been more patient in (batting practice). Having a plan really helps."
Little owns 10 steals in 12 attempts, which makes him a fit for Hibbs' style.
Doubles. Steals. Hit and run. The Shockers lead the American with 29 doubles in conference play and their 29 steals rank second. For the season, Wichita State has 65 steals after totaling 36 in 2022 and 67 in 2021.
Doubles mean hitters are hitting and running hard on contact. Friday's second inning provided an example of how the Shockers can torment a defense. Little walked to start the inning and moved to second on
Chuck Ingram's single. A double-steal by two of the team's fastest runners produced a bad throw to second. Little scored. Ingram moved to third. Another walk and a home run by Pennington followed and the Shockers led 7-0.
"I think guys are getting comfortable playing at the speed we want to play at," Hibbs said. "We're putting a lot more guys in motion, which creates more opportunities for hitters. You're usually getting more fastballs, or something you can handle, when you're running like that."
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
