Wichita State (27-17, 10-5 American) vs. Houston (26-19, 10-5 American)

Friday, May 5 | 6:30 pm CT | Houston, Texas (Schroeder Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Clark Candiotti (7-2, 3.98) vs. RHP Josh Ekness (2-2, 5.54)

Saturday, May 6 | 6:30 pm CT | Houston, Texas (Schroeder Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Payton Tolle (8-1, 3.37) vs. TBA

Sunday, May 7 | 1:00 pm CT | Houston, Texas (Schroeder Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Grant Adler (4-3, 2.64) vs. RHP Cade Citelli (3-4, 5.68)

---

SCENE SETTER: Wichita State goes on the road this week for a critical three-game series against Houston, a matchup of the top two teams in the American Athletic Conference standings. Friday and Saturday are scheduled for 6:30 pm first pitches, while Sunday's series finale begins at 1:00 pm. The Cougars took two of three games in Wichita earlier this season, meaning WSU needs to win this series to prevent Houston from holding the tiebreaker should the two teams remain deadlocked at the end of the regular season. The Shockers are coming off a 1-0 win over in-state foe Kansas State on Tuesday night at Eck Stadium. Six Wichita State pitchers held the Wildcats to just five singles in the win, which was the first time the Shockers have shut out the Wildcats since the 2003 season. Combined with a victory in Manhattan on April 18, Wichita State swept the season series from Kansas State for the first time since 2012. With 10 games still to play, WSU has already bested their win total from a season ago when the Shockers went 21-36. Wichita State is hunting their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since the 2013 season, a regional bid that was later vacated by the NCAA.

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 the Cougars, with Denning Gerig joining the broadcast as color commentator. All three games will also be streamed live on ESPN+ ($). 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 Cougars have met 62 times, with Houston holding a 39-23 lead in the all-time series. Since Wichita State restarted the baseball program in 1978, the Cougars lead the series 18-15. Houston has won two of three games in each of the last three series, including a set in Wichita from April 6-8. Sunday's series finale was most noteworthy for Houston's 13 runs with two outs in the seventh inning, the most runs allowed in one inning by Wichita State in program history. The two teams have had a series history littered with streaks; Houston won seven straight games from 2018 through the first meeting in 2021, then the Shockers answered with nine victories in a row from 2021 through the first game of last season's series. The Shockers and Cougars also played the first game at Riverfront Stadium in downtown Wichita, a 10-1 win on April 10 in front of 7,509 fans. 

SCOUTING HOUSTON: Houston enters play on Friday with a 26-19 record, including a 10-5 mark in American Athletic Conference play. The Cougars began the season 5-11 but have gone 21-8 since, including series wins in all five conference sets. Houston bested in-city rival Rice 8-5 in 12 innings on Wednesday, with Justin Murray driving in the go-ahead run in the 12th. The Cougars have a versatile lineup that ranks second in the conference with 7.2 runs per game, ranking in the top three in both slugging percentage (.463) and stolen bases (85). Houston is excellent defensively, with a .980 team fielding percentage that tops the circuit and checks in 15th nationally. The pitching staff has compiled a 6.08 ERA, handing out the second-most walks and striking out the second-fewest hitters in the conference. Head coach Todd Whitting is in his 13th season leading his alma mater, with a 408-306-1 record at the helm of the Cougars.

MIDWEEK SHUTOUT: Wichita State turned to reliable arm Johnny Wholestaff in Tuesday's 1-0 win over Kansas State, as six pitchers (Matt Boyer, Caden Favors, Cameron Bye, Jace Miner, Robert Cranz, Nate Snead) combined on a five-hit shutout. Despite the lack of hits, WSU had to pitch out of several key jams throughout the game. The Wildcats put their leadoff man on base in five of nine innings, and three times had runners at first and second with nobody out. Wichita State had not won a midweek game 1-0 since the 2006 season, when the Shockers blanked Northern Colorado.

ROAD REVERSAL: It has been more than 10 years since the Shockers finished with a better-than-.500 mark in true road games (2012: 11-10). With six road contests left to play, Wichita State has an excellent opportunity to reach that mark, as the Shockers enter play on Friday at 10-8 away from the friendly confines of Eck  Stadium. That 2023 record includes the program's first road series wins at both Cincinnati and Tulane. 

CUTTING DOWN ON THE CHARITY: Shocker pitchers have had occasional issues this season hitting opposing batters, including a stretch of eight games from late March to early April in which WSU hit four batters in a game three times. Recently, however, WSU has dramatically cut down on those free passes; Wichita State hurlers have not hit a batter in the last 73 innings dating back to the game at Kansas State on April 18.

HE'S FOUND A HOME: The Wichita State offense has taken over since Chuck Ingram's return to the leadoff spot in late March. In 25 games at the top of the order, Ingram is hitting .391 (41-for-105) with 17 extra-base hits, compared to .288 (19-for-66) with nine extra-base hits in any other lineup spot. Ingram has taken his game to a elite level over the last three weeks; dating back to the beginning of the Tulane series, the junior outfielder is slashing an incredible .463/.492/.815, good for an OPS of 1.307. He is also tied for the team lead in that time frame with five stolen bases.

NUMBERS NEVER LIE...EXCEPT WHEN THEY DO: Through 44 games this season, the Wichita State bullpen has combined for a 4.92 ERA over 155.1 innings. That figure in and of itself is not particularly noteworthy, but remove one very bad inning (13 runs in the seventh inning against Houston on April 8), and the bullpen ERA drops to a much more impressive 4.20. The trio of Robert Cranz, Jace Miner and Nate Snead, who have grabbed the majority of the high-leverage innings, has combined for a 0.83 ERA over the last 12 games.

EVERYBODY RUNS: Wichita State had a big base-stealing weekend against Memphis, swiping eight bases over the course of the three-game series. With 70 steals as a team, the Shockers are getting baserunning production from up and down the lineup. Kyte McDonald (16), Chuck Ingram (11), Jack Little (10) and Brock Rodden (10) all have double-digit steals, the first time that four individual Shockers have recorded 10 or more steals in a season since 2012 (Erik Harbutz, Tanner Dearman, Garrett Bayliff and Taylor Doggett).

SHOCKERS IN THE RPI: Wichita State heads into Friday ranked 84 in the last edition of the RPI, good for second in the American Athletic Conference behind East Carolina (33). Houston (94) is next-closest in the conference, followed by UCF (125), Memphis (156), Cincinnati (158), South Florida (166) and Tulane (176).

DOUBLE UP: Head coach Loren Hibbs made no secret of his desire for the Shockers to hit more doubles in 2023, believing the stat represents a good offensive approach and aggressive baserunning. The Shockers have lived up to that expectation this season, leading the American Athletic Conference and ranking 20th nationally with 100 team two-baggers. WSU has nine players with six or more doubles.