The RoundHouse | 4/6/2023 11:10:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop

There are at least 65 reasons why teams walk Addison Barnard and pitch to Lauren Lucas. Lucas understands the strategy, because she's been in the lineup or in the dugout for all 65 of Barnard's home runs the past two-plus seasons.
 
"I don't blame people," Lucas said. "I would probably do the same."
 

Understanding is different from endorsing. Or enabling.
 
"It's kind of insulting," she said during Wichita State's sweep of USF at last weekend at Wilkins Stadium. "It gives me a little bit of grit."
 
No. 22 Wichita State (31-7, 5-1 American Athletic Conference) plays at Memphis (6-29, 1-5) in a series beginning at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (ESPN+).
 
Pitching to Lucas certainly hasn't derailed the offense, although she is not the power threat that Barnard presents. The Shockers are sixth nationally in slugging percentage (.583), eighth in batting average (.337) ninth in home runs (1.42 a game) and No. 15 in scoring (6.5 runs).
 
"They're pitching a little bit safer, I feel like, to Addie this year," coach Kristi Bredbenner said. "Lauren's been getting up with some really great opportunities to drive in runs and doing a great job."
 
Lucas hit .387 with 12 doubles and 10 home runs last season, driving in 39 runs. She started her sophomore season hitting ninth and moved up to third in early April.
 
This season, hitting third and playing center field, she is hitting .381 with five triples and three home runs. She is tied for the NCAA lead with 15 doubles. Her 46 RBI rank fourth nationally with teammate Zoe Jones (45) in fifth. Designated player Lauren Mills isn't far behind with nine home runs, 35 RBI and a .424 batting average.
 
 

TWO. OUT. HITTING.@laurenelucas28 keeps the line moving with an RBI single to make it 3-0! pic.twitter.com/d052PvmSTk

— Wichita State Softball (@GoShockersSB) April 4, 2023

 
 
Leadoff hitter Sydney McKinney leads the nation with a .541 batting average. Barnard and her .373 batting average with 17 walks comes next. Lucas, Jones and Mills often face a pitcher under stress to prevent a big inning.
 
Recent games provide examples. Lucas owns 13 RBI in the past six games, including five in a 14-0 win over USF.
 
In the opener against USF, Lainee Brown and McKinney singled in the fifth inning. The Bulls walked Barnard. Lucas doubled to drive in three runs. The next day, USF again walked Barnard with two Shockers on base. Lucas tripled to drive in three runs.
 
On Tuesday, No. 2 Oklahoma State walked Barnard after a McKinney single. Lucas' single scored McKinney to help the Shockers win 8-7.
 
"Sometimes you get lucky and there's a lot of runners in scoring position," Lucas said. "With Addie B, there's definitely a lot of unintentional intentional walks. That's really obvious to me and I've done my best to make the best of the opportunities."
 
Lucas went 3 for 3, also scoring a run, against Oklahoma State to help the Shockers take their highest-ranked win in program history. While it was a great evening, Bredbenner gave her team an hour or so to celebrate with cookies and cupcakes and then asked for focus on the remaining schedule.
 
Wichita State bid for the right to host one of 16 NCAA regionals. Its RPI ranking rose to No. 17 after beating the Cowgirls (No. 3 in the RPI). However, Wichita State's remaining AAC schedule features teams ranked 100 or lower (much lower in the case of No. 251 Memphis). Wins over those teams likely won't help Wichita State's power ranking much and losses will cause a drop.
 
The Shockers can't afford upset losses in their 12 remaining conference games. They can help their case with three remaining non-conference games against No. 1 Oklahoma, at Kansas and a rematch at Oklahoma State. Potential rematches against UCF (No. 30 in the RPI) and USF (NO. 55) in the conference tournament could also boost Wichita State's power ranking.
 
"Big program win," Bredbenner said. "Now that win's over. We move onto the next and it's all about taking care of business in the conference."
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.