Oklahoma (15-12, 7-2 Big 12) vs. Wichita State (18-9, 5-1 American)

Tuesday, April 2 | 6:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Grant Stevens (4-0, 3.63) vs. RHP Daniel Zang (2-1, 4.70)

Kansas (15-10, 7-5 Big 12) vs. Wichita State (18-9, 5-1 American)

Wednesday, April 3 | 6:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
TBA vs. TBA

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State prepares for a pair of midweek games at Eck Stadium this week, hosting Oklahoma on Tuesday night and Kansas on Wednesday night. It is the first of three times this season in which the Shockers play two midweek games against two different opponents (April 9-10, April 30-May 1) and the only one of the three in which both games are at home. Wichita State is coming off a three-game sweep of Rice this past week; the Shockers won 7-5, 10-3 and 15-3 in a game that was called after seven innings due to the run rule. WSU has won all six of their weekend series and are tied atop the conference standings with UTSA at 5-1. The Shockers are 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. "The Voice of the Shockers" and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kennedy will have the call for both games. Both games will also be streamed live on ESPN+, with former Shocker pitcher (1991-94) and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Shane Dennis handling play-by-play duties. Live audio, in addition to live statistics, will be available for both games at GoShockers.com/listen and ShockerStats.com. 

OKLAHOMA SERIES HISTORY: The Shockers and Sooners have met 37 times, with Oklahoma holding a 21-16 lead in the all-time series. Oklahoma downed Wichita State 5-3 on March 5 in Norman, using a combination of eight pitchers to hold off the Shockers. WSU bested OU in two of three 2023 meetings; on March 28 at Riverfront Stadium in Wichita, Brock Rodden blasted a go-ahead, three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth for an 8-7 WSU victory and on March 14 the Shockers beat the Sooners 6-2, riding five shutout innings from Caden Favors and a late two-run homer from Chuck Ingram to the victory at Eck Stadium. Oklahoma claimed the final meeting of the year on April 11 with an 8-1 win. The two teams have also met once in the College World Series, an 8-4 Oklahoma win in 1992 that eliminated the Shockers.

KANSAS SERIES HISTORY: The Shockers and Jayhawks have met 87 times, with Wichita State holding 51-36 lead in the all-time series. Kansas won both games of the season series a year ago, using four pitchers to hold WSU to five hits in a 4-0 victory on March 8 at Hoglund Ballpark and then earning a 7-5 win at Eck Stadium on April 26. Michael Brooks delivered a go-ahead, two-run single in the top of the tenth inning that proved to be the difference after WSU rallied in the ninth to force extra innings. From 2013-2016, Kansas won seven consecutive games in the series, and recently Wichita State put together a six-game winning streak from 2017-2022.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA: The Sooners enter Tuesday with a 15-12 record after getting swept in a three-game home series against Lamar. Their 7-2 conference record leads the Big 12, highlighted by series sweeps against UCF and TCU. The Sooners have three players hitting .356 or better, led by second baseman Jackson Nicklaus at .393. Nicklaus also leads the Big 12 with a .518 on-base percentage. On the mound, Oklahoma is pitching to a 4.94 ERA and averages 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings. The Sooners are coming off a 32-28 record in 2023 that ended with a 1-2 showing at the Charlottesville Regional. Seventh year head coach Skip Johnson owns a 205-144 record and helped lead Oklahoma to the College World Series finals in 2022. Former Wichita State head coach Todd Butler is an assistant on Johnson's staff. Former Wichita State pitchers Jace Miner and Austin Henry transferred to Oklahoma after the 2023 season.

SCOUTING KANSAS: The Jayhawks check in to play on Wednesday at 15-10 overall and 7-5 in the Big 12 after a road sweep at BYU last week. Kansas deploys one of the nation's best weekend rotations, as the trio of Reese Dutton, Dominic Voegele and Patrick Steitz has combined for an 11-4 record all with ERAs at 2.30 or better. Closer Hunter Cranton has not allowed an earned run in 11.2 innings while striking out 17. Catcher Jake English paces the Jayhawk attack offensively, leading the team with a .346 average and eight home runs. Head coach Dan Fitzgerald is in his second season with the Jayhawks and previously spent nine seasons as an assistant at Dallas Baptist, a former Missouri Valley Conference foe. Former Wichita State volunteer assistant coach Jon Coyne is a member of Fitzgerald's staff.

NO RUNNING: The three-game series between Rice and Wichita featured just two combined stolen base attempts and only one that would qualify as a traditional steal attempt; Rice's Eric Correa was thrown out at second base in Saturday's series finale while WSU's Jordan Rogers successfully swiped second on Friday. Rogers's steal occurred when he was caught between bases before beating the throw to second.

POWER OF THE PLUNK: Wichita State tied a program record for hit by pitches twice in the Rice series, earning six HBPs on both Thursday and Saturday. The Shockers lead the conference and rank sixth nationally with 68 hit by pitches; Jordan Rogers (14), Mauricio Millan (12) and Derek Williams (11) rank 1-2-3 on the conference leaderboard.

SHOCKERS IN THE RPI: Wichita State enters the game on Tuesday ranked 78 in the latest edition of the Warren Nolan RPI (Rating Percentage Index). The Shockers have the second-best RPI in the American Athletic Conference, trailing only East Carolina at 13. This week's opponents, Oklahoma and Kansas, are ranked 29 and 60, respectively.

STAYING OFF THE BARREL: The Shockers enter play on Tuesday allowing only 7.20 hits per nine innings, the eighth-best mark in the nation. Wichita State pitchers are holding opponents to a .217 batting average and have held the opposition to six or fewer hits in 13 of 27 games.

BUSY MEN: Wichita State relievers Caleb Anderson and Hunter Holmes have worn out a path from the bullpen to the mound this season, logging 16 and 15 appearances respectively to rank second and 13th nationally.

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 accomplished the feat twice in 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 267-210-1, good for a .560 winning percentage.

TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE: With a program record of 2,328 wins, 1,257 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.