Wichita State (21-20, 7-8 American) vs. #18 Oklahoma (24-14, 14-4 Big 12)

Tuesday, April 23 | 6:30 pm CT | Norman, Oklahoma (L. Dale Mitchell Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Jack Mount (1-0, 4.05) vs. RHP Brendan Girton (0-1, 5.33)

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State hits the road for a midweek contest at #18 Oklahoma on Tuesday night at L. Dale Mitchell Park. The Sooners have claimed the first two meetings between the teams this season, besting the Shockers 5-3 on March 5 in Norman and 11-2 on April 2 in Wichita. WSU has lost 10 of their last 12 games entering the contest, sandwiching six and four-game losing skids around a pair of wins against Florida Atlantic. 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 against the Sooners, with Denning Gerig joining the broadcast as color commentator. The game will also be streamed live on ESPN+. Live audio, in addition to live statistics, will be available at GoShockers.com/listen and ShockerStats.com. 

SERIES HISTORY: The Shockers and Sooners have met 38 times, with Oklahoma holding a 22-16 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, and 11-2 on April 2 in Wichita. Oklahoma turned a close 4-1 game into a rout with a late barrage, scoring four runs in the eighth and three more in the ninth. WSU bested OU in two of three 2023 meetings, winning at Eck Stadium and Riverfront Stadium before falling in Norman. Wichita State has not won in Norman since the 2017 season and just 1-11 in their last 12 games at L. Dale Mitchell Park dating back to 2006. The two teams have also met once in the College World Series, an 8-4 Oklahoma win in 1992 that eliminated the Shockers.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA: The red-hot Sooners bring a seven-game win streak and 24-14 overall record into the game on Tuesday, vaulting into the D1Baseball Top 25 after a second straight Big 12 sweep over the weekend at BYU. Oklahoma's recent surge has moved them into sole possession of first place in the Big 12 standings at 14-4, three games clear of a trio of teams in second. The Sooners rank 23rd nationally with a .311 team batting average and are averaging better than eight runs per contest. The pitching staff has worked to a 5.37 team ERA; three different pitchers have one save apiece, including projected Tuesday starter Brendan Girton. 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 214-146 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.

SLIPPING AWAY: In Saturday's doubleheader at #9 East Carolina, Wichita State twice jumped out to significant leads but could not hold on against a talented Pirates offense. In game one, the Shockers used a seven-run third inning to take a 7-0 lead, but ECU answered immediately with a five-run home half and had taken the lead by the fifth. In game two, it was a three-run top of the first for Wichita State that lasted until the fourth inning when East Carolina scored three of their own. In both games, the Pirates scored 11 unanswered runs.

SLAM SHARING: Dayvin Johnson launched Wichita State's fourth grand slam of the season in game one of Saturday's doubleheader, matching the Shockers total from last season. All four of WSU's slams have come from different players (Seth Stroh - March 13 vs. Nebraska, Jordan Rogers - March 15 vs. Gonzaga, Derek Williams - April 14 vs. Florida Atlantic). The Shockers are hitting .306 (19-for-62) this season with the bases loaded.

BACK-TO-BACK: After Johnson's grand slam, Derek Williams followed with a solo home run to cap the scoring in a seven-run top of the third inning for Wichita State. It was the first time this season that the Shockers have connected for back-to-back home runs.

WHIFF WOES: East Carolina Friday night starter Trey Yesavage is a projected first round pick in this summer's MLB Draft and showed why in the series opener against the Shockers. The right-hander struck out a career-high 15 over 6.2 innings, including a stretch of nine of ten batters from the fourth through the sixth innings. Reliever Ethan Norby struck out all four men he faced to finish the game, leaving Wichita State with a season-high 19 strikeouts for the contest.

MUNZ EMERGENCE: For much of the season, Wichita State's primary bullpen options have been Hunter Holmes (23 appearances, 4th nationally), Caleb Anderson (22 appearances, 10th nationally) and Nate Adler (five saves). The mid-season emergence of right-hander Mason Munz has added a valuable arm to the mix; the Cloud County CC transfer made a pair of scoreless appearances against FAU over the weekend and added another shutout inning on Wednesday against Oral Roberts. Over 9.0 total frames for the season, Munz has allowed just three hits.

INNINGS EATER: Friday starter Caden Favors entered the 2024 season with a single-game career high of 5.0 innings, coming in a 2023 midweek start against Oklahoma. As the front man in the Wichita State weekend rotation this season, Favors has evolved into a durable starter, logging at least 5.2 innings in each of his 10 starts and 7.0 innings or more in four of them. The southpaw has walked just three batters combined over his last four starts.

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 eighth nationally with 87 hit by pitches; Jordan Rogers (17), Mauricio Millan (15) and Derek Williams (14) rank 1-2-3 on the conference leaderboard. Rogers is 15th in the nation individually and has moved into fourth in program history with 30 career HBP.

WALK IT OFF: Mauricio Millan's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth against Kansas delivered the first walk-off win of the season for Wichita State. The Shockers did not have a true walk-off win (not counting run-rule victories) in the entirety of the 2023 season, and their last such victory also came against Kansas when Garrett Kocis blasted a walk-off, two-run homer on March 23, 2022.

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 270-221-1, good for a .549 winning percentage.

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).

TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE: With a program record of 2,331 wins, 1,267 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.