Gonzaga (3-11, 0-0 West Coast) vs. Wichita State (10-6, 0-0 American)
Friday, March 15Â | 6:00Â pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+Â | Radio:Â KFH 97.5Â FM/1240Â AM
RHP Michael Cunneely (1-1, 4.20) vs. LHP Caden Favors (3-0, 1.59)
Saturday, March 16Â | 2:00Â pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+Â | Radio:Â KFH 97.5Â FM/1240Â AM
LHP Daniel Sotelo (0-1, 5.40) vs. RHP Daniel Zang (2-1, 4.95)
Sunday, March 17Â | 1:00Â pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+Â | Radio:Â KNSS 98.7Â FM/1330Â AM
TBA vs. RHP Tommy LaPour (1-1, 7.90)
SCENE SETTER: Following a midweek series split against Nebraska, Wichita State continues their long homestand with a three-game series against Gonzaga. The two programs have not played since the 1979 season and have never met in Wichita. The Shockers look to continue their winning ways on the weekend; WSU has won all three of their weekend series (2-1 at Little Rock, 3-0 vs. Utah Tech, 2-1 vs. Long Beach State) with a 1-2 showing at the Jacksonville College Baseball Classic mixed in. The Shockers are in the midst of a stretch that will see them play 12 of 13 games at home. Wichita State is coming off a 30-25 season in 2023 that included a 13-10 mark in American Athletic Conference play, good for third place in the final conference standings. 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 2024. Former Shocker pitcher (1991-94) and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Shane Dennis will handle the radio broadcast for all three contests against the Bulldogs. The series 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.Â
SERIES HISTORY: The Shockers and Bulldogs have just one previous encounter, meeting for a doubleheader in 1979 at a neutral site in Las Vegas. Gonzaga claimed the first game, 8-7, with Wichita State leveling the ledger with a 7-5 win in the nightcap. That 1979 season was just the second for the Shockers after the reinstitution of the baseball program; Wichita State finished the year 65-15.
SCOUTING GONZAGA: The Bulldogs enter play on Friday with a record of 3-11 after a Wednesday midweek defeat at SIUE. Gonzaga has played a challenging slate that includes road series at #22 UCLA and #6 Vanderbilt, where the Zags rallied for a 9-8 in the series finale. The Bulldogs also boast a series win over Minnesota, taking two of three in the 2024 home opener at Patterson Baseball Complex. Through 14 games the Zags have struggled offensively, with a team batting average of .217 and a team on-base percentage of .315 that rank 282nd and 286th in the nation, respectively. The pitching staff is led by strike-throwing Friday starter Michael Cunneely, a junior college transfer who has issued just one walk in 15 inning this season. Head coach Mark Machtolf is in his 21st season at the helm of the Bulldogs, boasting a career record of 579-480 (.547).
TOO FRESH: Freshman left-hander Tyler Dobbs continued his near-flawless start to the season with five dominant innings in Wichita State's 9-3 win over Nebraska on Wednesday. The southpaw allowed a double to the first batter of the game but did not allow a hit the rest of the way, striking out a career-best six without issuing a walk to earn his third win of the season.
STROH SLAM: Senior outfielder Seth Stroh picked a very opportune moment to launch Wichita State's first grand slam of 2024, blasting a 411-foot shot in the second inning of the Shockers Wednesday win. Stroh's home run gave Wichita State a 9-0 lead and was his first hit since the series opener against Utah Tech on March 1. The round-tripper also came with two outs as the Shockers scored eight of their nine runs in the contest after two hitters had been retired.
BUSY MEN: Wichita State relievers Caleb Anderson and Hunter Holmes have worn out a path from the bullpen to the mound this season, each logging nine appearances already to tie for 13th-most in the nation. The tandem combined to close out the Shockers win on Wednesday night, with Anderson firing two scoreless innings and Holmes retiring the only man he faced to close out the win.
CADEN IN COMMAND: The Shocker arms are led by senior left-handed pitcher Caden Favors, who was named American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week for a second consecutive week on Monday. Favors ranks among the nation's leaders in virtually every meaningful category, including wins (3, 17th), strikeouts (35, 15th), ERA (1.59, 38th) and WHIP (0.99, 89th). Dating back to a start against Virginia on February 23, the southpaw has not allowed an earned run over his last 19.0 innings of work.
SHARK ATTACK: One of the goals for the Wichita State offense in 2024 is more production with two outs, with the team assigning the term "shark" to a two-out RBI. The result has been nearly twice as many two-out RBI as the opposition (39-21) and a two-out batting average that is 42 points higher than their opponents (.266-.214).
PINCH-HIT POP: Coming into the 2024 season, WSU had not had a pinch-hit home run since Mason O'Brien came off the bench and homered against South Florida on May 11, 2018. Junior Josh Livingston has already accomplished the feat twice through the first 11 games of 2024, cranking a three-run shot against Iowa on February 25 and replicating the achievement with a solo blast against Oklahoma on March 5.
GREENER PASTURES: Brian Green was named the fifth head coach in the modern era of Wichita State baseball on June 5, 2023, replacing interim head coach Loren Hibbs. Green comes to Wichita State after four seasons at the helm of Washington State, where he guided the Cougars to four straight seasons above .500, the first such stretch of success for the Cougars since 2006-10. Green went 91-79 overall in Pullman, including a 29-win season in 2023 that matched the most wins for Washington State since 2010. Prior to his tenure with Wazzu, Green revitalized the program at his alma mater New Mexico State, taking the Aggies from 11 wins in 2015 to 40 in 2018. In 10 total seasons as a head coach, Green owns a career record of 259-207-1, good for a .556 winning percentage.
TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE: With a program record of 2,320 wins, 1,254 losses and nine ties, Wichita State ranks in the top ten of all college baseball programs with a .648 winning percentage. The Shockers have won 20 regular season conference championships and 18 conference tournament championships, earning a trip to Omaha for the College World Series on seven different occasions. WSU claimed the 1989 national championship and finished as national runner-up in 1982, 1991 and 1993.
