Wichita State (27-26, 13-11 American) vs. Memphis (22-30, 9-15 American)

Thursday, May 16 | 6:00 pm CT | Memphis, Tennessee (FedExPark)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Tommy LaPour (4-3, 4.52) vs. RHP David Warren (4-5, 6.18)

Friday, May 17 | 6:00 pm CT | Memphis, Tennessee (FedExPark)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Caden Favors (8-4, 3.39) vs. RHP Seth Garner (2-1, 5.63)

Saturday, May 18 | 1:30 pm CT | Memphis, Tennessee (FedExPark)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
TBA vs. RHP Caden Robinson (1-4, 6.19)

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State wraps up the 2024 regular season with a three-game road series at Memphis. The series will take place Thursday-Saturday to accommodate the start of the American Athletic Conference tournament on Tuesday in Clearwater, Florida. Wichita State has clinched a spot in the tournament thanks to a five-game conference winning streak, taking two of three games on the road at UTSA before concluding the home schedule with a three-game sweep of Charlotte this past weekend. Prior to the recent hot stretch, Wichita State had lost 11 road games in a row and 16 of their last 19 games overall. The AAC standings remain jumbled, with no spots secure heading into the final series. Wichita State can guarantee a finish of no worse than fourth by winning one game in the Memphis series. 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. Denning Gerig will have the call for all three games against the Tigers. The series 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 Tigers have met just 16 times in the all-time series history, with every game taking place after Wichita State joined the American Athletic Conference in 2017. The Shockers hold an 11-5 lead in the series, winning two of three games in Wichita last season. Wichita State took the first two games by scores of 12-3 and 8-1 before the Tigers salvaged the series finale with a 6-3 victory. Memphis Thursday night starter David Warren earned the win, allowing just one run over 3.2 innings in relief.

SCOUTING MEMPHIS: The Tigers enter the series on Thursday with an overall record of 22-30, including a 9-15 mark in American Athletic Conference play. Memphis currently sits at the bottom of the AAC standings, needing to win at least two of three games in the series in addition to several other outside results to secure a spot in the conference tournament. The Tigers dropped two of three games on the road at UAB last weekend, falling in the first two contests but hanging on for a 3-2 win in the series finale. Offensively, Memphis is built around patience and speed. The Tigers lead the conference in both walks (261) and stolen bases (83). The pitching and defense both rank at the bottom of the league with a 6.43 team ERA and a .967 fielding percentage, respectively. Closer Brayden Sanders does top the circuit with nine saves and two-way player Jake Curtis boasts a 2.84 ERA in 25.1 innings out of the bullpen. Head coach Matt Riser is in his first season with Memphis after spending 10 years at Southeastern Louisiana, going 342-254 for a .574 winning percentage.

CENTURY CHASING: Senior left-hander Caden Favors is on pace to become the first Wichita State pitcher to strike out 100 batters in a season since fellow southpaw Charlie Lowell struck out 124 in 2011. Entering his final start of the regular season, Favors is up to 94 strikeouts after punching out eight Charlotte batters on Saturday. The lefty is tied for third nationally with 90.1 innings pitched and has logged at least 5.2 innings in every start this season, including two complete games.

SQUEAKY CLEAN: Wichita State turned in its best defensive series of the season against Charlotte, playing three error-free games against the 49ers. It's the first time this season the Shockers have gone an entire series without committing a defensive miscue and just the second stretch of three games without an error this season (3/19 vs. Kansas State, 3/22 and 3/23 at UAB).

SPEED SURGE: Wichita State entered Sunday's game against Charlotte with just three stolen bases in the previous 16 games, ranking near the bottom 10 nationally in total thefts. The Shockers busted out with a season-high four stolen bases against the 49ers, getting one steal apiece from Lane Haworth, Dayvin Johnson, Camden Johnson and Seth Stroh. Wichita State had not stolen more than two bases in a game up to that point and had only even attempted more than two steals in a game once (4/14 vs. FAU, 2-for-3).

BIRTHDAY BOY: Saturday's game was a celebration in more ways than one for outfielder Seth Stroh. Honored on Senior Day and celebrating his birthday, Stroh responded with his first career multi-homer game, cranking a pair of three-run shots to finish with six RBI. Stroh has the top two single-game RBI performances for the Shockers this season, driving in seven in the season opener against Little Rock. He ranks second on the team with 40 RBI on just 24 hits, an average of 1.67 RBI per hit that would easily rank first in program history (next closest, Bruce Haertl - 24 hits, 30 RBI in 1979, 1.25 RBI per hit).

WELCOME WALKS: During the Shockers five-game winning streak, one noticeable trend is the welcome addition of walks to the team offensive profile. Wichita State has coaxed 25 walks over the last five contests while issuing just 13 bases on balls of their own; on Sunday against Charlotte, freshman Gannon Snyder walked more times (3) than he had all season previously (2), and Seth Stroh worked two walks for his first multi-walk game of the season.

HOLMES ON THE CASE: No pitcher in college baseball has been busier than Wichita State left-hander Hunter Holmes, who is tied for the national lead with 32 appearances after a pair of scoreless outings against Charlotte. Primarily utilized for his ability to neutralize left-handed batters, Holmes has worked less than an inning in 19 of his 32 outings. The junior college transfer has allowed just 11 hits in 56 at-bats against lefties for the season, a .196 batting average.

FRESHMAN FINDING HIS FOOTING: Freshman shortstop Kam Durnin was limited in the fall by a hamate injury, an ailment that may have contributed to a slow start to 2024 in which the infielder was hitting just .136 on March 26. Since that time, Durnin has raised his average 119 points to its present .255 mark. Durnin delivered a pair of clutch home runs in the series against Charlotte, blasting a go-ahead, two-run shot in the sixth inning on Friday and a go-ahead, three-run blast in the seventh inning on Sunday.

HISTORY MAKER: Wichita State's doubleheader sweep against UTSA was highlighted by a two-out, pinch-hit grand slam from Josh Livingston in the second game of the twin ball. Livingston became the first player in program history with three pinch-hit homers in the same season and the first with a pinch-hit grand slam since Zach Reding accomplished the feat in 2016

POWER OF THE PLUNK: Wichita State has already set a new program record with 98 hit by pitches this season, 14 more than the previous mark set back in 2019. The Shockers have been hit by a pitch six times in a game on three different occasions and have Jordan Rogers (19), Derek Williams (17) and Mauricio Millan (17) ranking 1-3-3 on the conference leaderboard.

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 276-227-1, good for a .549 winning percentage.

TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE: With a program record of 2,337 wins, 1,273 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.