Long Beach State (9-1-1, 0-0 Big West) vs. Wichita State (7-4, 0-0 American)

Friday, March 8 | 3:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Myles Patton (1-0, 2.16) vs. LHP Caden Favors (2-0, 2.11)

Saturday, March 9 | 2:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM
RHP Kellen Montgomery (1-0, 1.00) vs. RHP Daniel Zang (2-0, 3.21)

Sunday, March 10 | 1:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM
RHP CJ Hood (1-0, 2.77) vs. RHP Tommy LaPour (1-1, 10.00)

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SCENE SETTER: After their five-game winning streak was snapped on Tuesday night at Oklahoma, Wichita State looks to begin a new streak as they welcome in old rivals Long Beach State for a three-game series at Eck Stadium. The Shockers are in the midst of a stretch that will see them play 12 of 13 games at home, beginning last weekend with a three-game sweep over Utah Tech in the 2024 home opener. 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. Saturday's game will air on KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM. "The Voice of the Shockers" and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kennedy will have the call on Saturday and Sunday, with former Shocker pitcher (1991-94) and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Shane Dennis handling the radio broadcast on Friday. All three games will also be streamed live on ESPN+, with Dennis calling the action Saturday and Sunday and Denning Gerig taking over play-by-play duties on Friday. 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 Dirtbags have a long and storied history against one another, battling 56 times in program history. Long Beach State holds a 31-25 lead in the all-time series, winning two of three games last season in Long Beach to open the 2023 season. This series will be the first games between the two clubs in Wichita since 2014 when the Shockers and Dirtbags split a doubleheader. Long Beach State has claimed 11 of the last 13 games in the series; Wichita State did take the last meeting in the 2023 series finale, scoring 11 times in the first three innings for an 11-6 win. Wichita State's last sweep of a ranked team came against the Dirtbags in 2006, as the Shockers downed #21 LBSU in three straight. The two teams have met once in the College World Series, an 8-5 Wichita State win in the opening round of the 1991 CWS. The Shockers reached the final following two more wins, but lost to LSU 6-3 in the title game.

SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE: The Dirtbags come to Wichita as one of the nation's hottest teams, boasting a 9-1-1 record after blanking UCLA on Tuesday night and sweeping Milwaukee over the weekend. The tie came after a 17-inning affair against Washington that was called due to a travel curfew. Long Beach State is led by a talented pitching staff that ranks sixth nationally with an ERA of 2.52 entering play on Friday. The Dirtbags allow just 6.34 hits per nine innings to rank 10th in the country and have already compiled three shutouts on the season. Offensively, Long Beach State has struggled to the tune of a .225/.338/.348 slash line, but the Dirtbags cause havoc on the basepaths with their speed. LBSU has swiped 30 bases to rank 14th in the country, paced by seven from Kansas transfer Jack Hammond. The Dirtbags are led by interim head coach Bryan Peters, who arrived at Long Beach State in June 2019 as Associate Head Coach on Eric Valenzuela's staff. Valenzuela left this past offseason to return to Saint Mary's.

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 256-205-1, good for a .555 winning percentage.

I'LL DO IT MYSELF: Wichita State reliever Caleb Anderson has found a rhythm as one of the Shockers top late-inning bullpen options. The junior college transfer from Johnson County Community College has recorded each of his last seven outs via the strikeout dating back to an appearance against Oral Roberts on February 28. For the season, Anderson has now struck out 12 in 8.2 innings while walking just two.

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.

WILLIAMS WOWS: Wichita State outfielder Derek Williams continued his torrid stretch with a two-run homer against Oklahoma on Tuesday; each of Williams' last four hits have left the ballpark and he has now racked up nine extra-base hits among his 12 knocks on the season. Williams is the first Shocker to homer in three consecutive games since Sawyre Thornhill did so last season against Utah Tech on February 24-25.

CAUGHT ON CAM: Freshman infielder Camden Johnson has been a revelation at the top of the Shockers batting order, hitting .457 through 11 games for the third-best mark in the American Athletic Conference. Johnson had multiple hits in all three games of the series against Utah Tech, finishing 8-for-12 in the set. The left-handed hitter has struck out just once in 46 at-bats.

ARMS RACE: The Wichita State pitching staff turned in a near perfect week over the span of four games against Oral Roberts and Utah Tech. All told, the Shockers allowed just two total runs in 36 innings on the mound, conceding 16 hits while striking out 43. WSU blanked Utah Tech on both Friday and Sunday, sandwiched around a one-hit performance on Saturday in which the Shockers were four outs away from the program's first combined no-hitter. Friday starter Caden Favors was named AAC Pitcher of the Week after a complete game shutout with 10 strikeouts to open the series.

ROSTER REVAMP: It is a new-look Wichita State roster in 2024, as only 11 players return from the 2023 club. AAC Player of the Year Brock Rodden was drafted in the 5th Round by the Seattle Mariners, senior Sawyre Thornhill exhausted his eligibility, and the remaining 23 players transferred. 17 of those 23 ended up at another Division I institution. Catcher Mauricio Millan (54 starts), outfielder Seth Stroh (32 starts) and utilitymen Jordan Rogers (10 starts) and Will Stark (10 starts in 2022) lead the returners in experience, while Caden Favors (21 appearances) and Matt Wilkinson (18 appearances) are the senior members of the pitching staff.

JUCO BANDITS: Following the 25 departures from the 2023 club, head coach Brian Green turned to the junior college ranks to form his first roster with the Shockers. Wichita State has 14 newcomers who played at the NJCAA level a year ago: pitchers Mason Munz, Gavin Oswald, Caleb Anderson, Daniel Zang, Hunter Holmes, Peyton Walters and Jack Mount (7) and position players Brayden Luikart, Dayvin Johnson, Logan Kreske, Ryan Callahan, Derek Williams, Josh Livingston and Sammy Harris (7).

BRIGHT FUTURE: Green was hard at work on the recruiting trail after taking the reigns, bringing in a class ranked 32nd nationally by Perfect Game. In addition to keeping nearly the entirety of the previous staff's class in place, Green was able to add two top-400 players nationally in shortstop Darnell Parker Jr. (#311, originally committed to Washington State) and right-handed pitcher Tommy LaPour (#388, originally committed to Cincinnati). The highest ranked player in the class is right-handed pitcher Ryan Geraghty, ranked by PG as the #165 player in the country.

MEET THE STAFF: Green wasted little time finalizing his assistant coaches, announcing the hires just two weeks after joining the Shockers. Veteran pitching coach Anthony Claggett came along from Washington State, recruiting coordinator Clay Overcash was brought on board after six seasons in the same role at Oklahoma, and hitting coach Anthony Miller, who as a player was committed to play for Green at NMSU, rounded out the assistants following four seasons at the junior college level. The Shockers director of baseball operations is Tad Reida, a former Shocker infielder who helped Wichita State to consecutive NCAA tournament appearances in 2004 and 2005.

PRESEASON PROJECTION: The Shockers were picked seventh in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll out of 10 teams, the lowest preseason projection for Wichita State since joining the AAC in 2017. The conference features new blood in Charlotte, UTSA, Florida Atlantic, Rice and UAB, helping to offset the losses of Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to the Big 12. Defending champion East Carolina comfortably topped the poll, earning all nine other first place votes. The Pirates lead the conference with six preseason All-AAC selections, including the preseason Pitcher of the Year in Trey Yesavage. South Florida has five representatives; no other school has more than one. 

TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE: With a program record of 2,317 wins, 1,252 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.