WICHITA, Kan. -- Wichita State clubbed six home runs and got two excellent starts from Payton Tolle and Grant Adler, rolling to a doubleheader sweep over South Florida by scores of 9-2 and 12-1 on Saturday afternoon at Eck Stadium. The nightcap was called after seven innings due to the conference run-rule.

Game One

The Shockers (29-21, 12-8) fell into a quick 1-0 hole when Eric Snow doubled in Bobby Boser in the first, but found their footing in the middle innings. Brock Rodden kick-started a massive day offensively with a game-tying RBI single in the fourth, the first of a career-high four hits in game one.

WSU used the long ball to take control of the game in the fifth. Payton Tolle put the Shockers in front with a 491-foot blast, a towering two-run homer that left the stadium and cleared the parking lot beyond the right field fence. One batter later, Seth Stroh slammed a solo home run of his own to left-center for a 4-1 lead.

Not even joking, where did this land?@RolleTolle49 has outdone himself this time. pic.twitter.com/Uf6r0B6UTe

— Wichita State Baseball (@GoShockersBSB) May 13, 2023

That was plenty of support for Tolle's work on the mound, as the big lefty struck out 10 over 7.0 innings while allowing just four hits and two runs. He improved to 9-2 with the victory, becoming the first Shocker pitcher to win nine or more games in a season since Charlie Lowell went 10-5 in 2011.

Kyte McDonald knocked in a run with a fielder's choice in the fifth, and Rodden answered a solo home run from South Florida with one of his own in the seventh and then a two-run double in the eighth. Garrett Pennington capped the scoring with an RBI groundout.

Jace Miner tossed two scoreless innings in relief to close out the win, marking nine consecutive appearances without allowing a run for the southpaw.

Hunter Mink (6-6) took the loss for the Bulls, allowing five runs in 5.0 innings of work.

Game Two

Wichita State took control early in game two and never looked back. Tolle crushed another two-run homer in the first inning, giving him 13 for the season to match Pennington's total for second-most on the squad. Chuck Ingram added a pair of runs with an RBI groundout in the second and a run-scoring single in the fourth, followed by another Rodden RBI knock and a two-run single from Mauricio Millan. David Herring slammed a two-run homer to right-center, and Kyte McDonald produced the seventh and final run of the inning with an RBI infield single.

Working with a 10-0 lead, Shocker starter Grant Adler (5-3) was in complete control, striking out eight over 6.0 strong innings. He allowed just one run on an RBI single from Rafael Betancourt in the sixth, and did not walk a batter.

Jack Little provided the final exclamation point for the Wichita State offense in the sixth with a long home run to center that made it 12-1.

Nate Snead came out of the Shocker bullpen to record the final three outs and lock up Wichita State's second doubleheader sweep of 2023 (East Carolina, April 22).

Nolan Hudi (1-4) took the loss for South Florida, surrendering six hits and three runs in 2.2 innings.

The Shockers banged out 24 hits in just 14 total innings of offense, including 12 for extra bases. Wichita State even added three stolen bases in each game, including two from McDonald to give him a team-high 19 for the season.

WSU finishes the home portion of the schedule with a 19-11 record at Eck Stadium. The Shockers wrap up the regular season with a three-game series at UCF beginning on Thursday night in Orlando. First pitch of the series opener is scheduled for 5:00 pm CT.