WICHITA STATE (18-15, 9-6) at SOUTH FLORIDA (28-15, 7-8)
Friday, April 12 | 5:00 PM CT
Saturday, April 13 | 3:00 PM CT
Sunday, April 14 | 9:00 AM CT
Tampa, Fla. | USF Softball Stadium
Video: ESPN+ 
Stats: Statbroadcast.com
 

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QUICK HITS
• Wichita State heads back out on the road for another crucial AAC series at South Florida.
• Wichita State leads the all-time series with South Florida, 11-10. The Shockers swept USF for the first time ever in 2023.
• Wichita State has dropped back-to-back conference series for the first time since 2019. Wichita State has never been swept in an American Conference series. The last time they were swept by a conference opponent was in 2015 vs. Southern Illinois.
• Krystin Nelson is hitting .529 in American Athletic Conference games.
• CC Wong ranks 4th nationally in batting average (.486), 8th in on base percentage (.568), 12th in slugging percentage (.905), 18th in runs per game (1.13) and 19th in total bases (95).
• Softball America named Wong the No. 1 2nd baseman in its position rankings this week.
• Wichita State is 5-5 in its last 10 games.
• The Shockers are tied for 4th in the AAC standings at 9-6, one game back of 2nd and three games back of No. 1 FAU.
• Wichita State's RPI is 42 as of April 8 and the Shockers have played the nation's 20th toughest schedule.
• Of Wichita State's 33 games this season, nine have come against ranked opponents. They are 2-7 in those games.
• Wichita State has five wins against ranked opponents dating back to last season.
• The American Athletic Conference is rated the 6th best conference according to RPI behind only the SEC, Big 12, Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten.
• Wichita State ranks 5th nationally in home runs per game and 14th in slugging percentage.
• Chloe Barber ranks 4th nationally in strikeouts per 7.0 innings and 31st in saves.
• Softball America named Addison Barnard a Preseason First Team All-American.
• Barnard is one of 50 on the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.
• Barnard has 83 career home runs, the most all time at Wichita State and in American Athletic Conference history.
• Barnard became the 6th player in NCAA history with 70 career home runs and 50 career stolen bases, and is the only active DI player with 80+ HR and 60+ SB.
• Barnard ranks 3rd among NCAA DI active players in career home runs with 83, seven behind Miami's Karli Spaid and five behind Oklahoma's Tiare Jennings.
• Her 83 home runs are currently 13th most in NCAA history.
• Head Coach Kristi Bredbenner won her 700th career game on March 9 vs. Florida Atlantic.

SCOUTING SOUTH FLORIDA
Under 27th year head coach Ken Eriksen, the South Florida Bulls enter the matchup one game under .500 in conference play. The Bulls have lost three of their four conference series' but are coming off a sweep of Memphis last weekend. USF hits just .250 as a team with only 13 home runs. Alanah Rivera leads the team with a .351 average and 24 RBI. The strenght of their team is the pitching staff led by Payton Dixon. Dixon has thrown 131.0 innings and is 15-5 with a 1.44 ERA and just 47 walks to 119 strikeouts. Close behind in innings is Belle Sardja with 112.0. Sardja is 10-7 with a 2.56 ERA and league best six saves. That duo accounts for 80% of the team's innings in the circle.

SERIES HISTORY
The first-ever meeting between Wichita State and South Florida was on March 31, 1990. Three of the first four meetings were on a neutral field. The Bulls had won seven of the last 10 meetings up until last season when the Shockers swept South Florida for the first time as members of the American. However, Wichita State is just 2-5 all-time vs. the Bulls in Tampa.

LAST MEETING VS. THE BULLS
Wichita State swept the regular season series with South Florida in 2023 behind scores of 8-3, 14-0 (5) and 3-2. Wichita State fell behind in the opener but scored three in the 5th and four in the 6th to take down the Bulls. Lauren Lucas doubled, homered and drove in 4 RBI to lead the charge. In Game 2, Wichita State run-ruled the Bulls in 5.0 innings behind a 10-run 4th inning. Lucas had a bases clearing triple, Sydney McKinney hit a grand slam and Addison Barnard homered in the frame. Alex Aguilar tossed a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits. A low scoring finale saw the Shockers hang on for a 3-2 win. All three runs came on solo home runs.

LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State dropped its second straight American Athletic Conference series, dropping a pair of games to Tulsa over the weekend with a run-rule victory sandwiched in between. It's the first time since 2019 the Shockers have lost back-to-back conference series'. Tulsa won the opener, 5-4, thanks to a three-run top of the 7th. The Shockers went into the 7th with a 3-2 lead but couldn't hold onto it. In Game 2, Wichita State jumped out to a 6-1 lead behind a 2nd inning grand slam from Taylor Sedlacek. Wichita State added four more runs in the 4th and the final run in the 5th to complete a walk-off run-rule win, 11-3. CC Wong had three hits and a pair of RBI and Addison Barnard scored twice to go with two hits. Alison Cooper recorded the win in the circle behind 5.0 innings of work. The Shockers then fell on Tuesday to No. 1/2 Oklahoma, 7-0, in a midweek matchup. OU scored all seven of its runs in the first two innings before being shut out by Cooper out of the bullpen. Cooper threw 6.0 scoreless innings of relief behind just six hits, one walk and five strikeouts.

THE WONG BALL
Wichita State hit the jackpot with the addition of CC Wong from the transfer portal. Wong ranks 3rd nationally in batting average (.486), 7th in on base percentage (.570), 10th in slugging percentage (.897), 18th in runs per game (1.06), 19th in total bases (96) and 26th in home runs per game (0.33). She is the only player at the NCAA DI level hitting .480 or better with 10+ HR.

FOUR-HEADED ATTACK
In conference play Wichita State's offense has been powered by CC Wong, Addison Barnard, Taylor Sedlacek and Krystin Nelson. The quartet is responsible for 66% of Wichita State's hits, 73% of its home runs and 65% of its RBI's. Those four are 77-for-161 (.478) at the plate with 19 doubles, 22 home runs and 64 RBI. The rest of the team is hitting a combined 40-for-211 (.190) in AAC games.

NINE-HOLE NELSON
No Shocker has been hotter than Krystin Nelson over the past month. Since March 1, the junior is hitting .473 (26-for-55) with 8 doubles, 2 home runs, 11 RBI, 9 walks and has scored 18 runs after starting the season 1-for-26 (.038). Nelson has six multi-hit games during that stretch. In conference games only her numbers are even better. Through the first 15 games of American Athletic Conference play she's hitting .529 with 7 doubles, a home run, 7 RBI and 13 runs scored. Nelson is 8-for-12 (.667) at the plate with 2 outs in AAC games.

WONG COLLECTS NATIONAL, AAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Fresh off a four-home run weekend, CC Wong was named Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week and American Athletic Conference Player of the Week on March 26. In the series vs. UTSA, Wong was 5-for-8 (.625) with four home runs, 11 RBI and five runs scored. Three of her four home runs came in the finale where she went 3-for-3 with a career-high six RBI. She's the first Shocker to earn National POW honors since Sydney McKinney in 2023.

SHOCKERS SELL OUT SEASON TICKETS
Four days before the home opener vs. Florida Atlantic on March 8, Wichita State announced it had sold out its season ticket allotment for the first time in school history.

TOUGH SLEDDING
Wichita State has never shied away from playing a tough schedule, and that is no different in 2024. The Shockers have already played nine teams ranked in the NFCA Top 25: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 8 Clemson, No. 25 Auburn, No. 20 South Carolina, No. 15 Arkansas (twice), No. 14 Missouri (twice) and No. 4 Oklahoma State. No. 4 Oklahoma State comes to Wilkins Stadium next week.

RPI - WEEK SIX
Wichita State checked in at No. 42 in the sixth week of RPI rankings on April 8. The Shockers have already faced 12 teams in the Top 50, including No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 9 Missouri (twice), No. 12 Arkansas (twice), No. 20 Clemson, No. 22 Auburn, No. 28 South Carolina, No. 29 Kansas (twice), No. 32 Charlotte (three times), No. 39 Florida Atlantic (three times), No. 45 Nebraska (twice), No. 50 Tulsa (three times). The Shockers still have games against No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 72 South Florida (three times) and No. 73 North Texas (three times).

UP NEXT
Wichita State and Oklahoma State square off for Round II on Wednesday in Stillwater at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.