#5 UAB (26-27, 13-14 American) vs. #4 Wichita State (29-27, 15-12 American)

Tuesday, May 21 | 8:00 am CT | Clearwater, Florida (BayCare Ballpark)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Colin Daniel (7-3, 3.05) vs. LHP Caden Favors (4-5, 3.38)

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State opens the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Tuesday morning, kicking off the competition as the #4 seed against #5 seed UAB at 8:00 am. The Shockers are coming off a road series win at Memphis to close out the regular season, taking the first two games before Memphis held on for an 11-10 win in the finale to snap WSU's season-high seven-game winning streak. Wichita State is on the same side of the bracket as #1 seed East Carolina and #8 seed Rice; with a victory on Tuesday, WSU would advance to the play the winner of that matchup on Thursday at 12:00 pm CT. On the other side of the bracket, #2 UTSA takes on #7 Charlotte and #3 Tulane battles #6 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. Denning Gerig will have the call in Clearwater. The entire tournament 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 Blazers met for the first time in program earlier this season, with Wichita State taking two of three games in Birmingham to open American Athetic Conference play. UAB took the opener 5-3 behind a strong start from Blayze Berry, who struck out 12 over seven innings of work. WSU claimed the final two games comfortably, rolling to a 9-2 win on Saturday and claiming the series with a 9-1 victory. Tommy LaPour matched his season high with nine strikeouts in the finale for Wichita State.

SCOUTING UAB: The Blazers enter the conference tournament with an overall record of 26-27, including a 13-14 mark in conference play after taking two of three games against South Florida this past week. The weekend rotation features a talented trio of right-handers, led by senior Blayze Berry whose 2.71 ERA ranks 24th nationally. Berry was tabbed to First Team All-AAC and Tuesday starter Colin Daniel (7-3, 3.05) was a Second Team selection. Reliever Christian Clack, who leads the Blazers with 26 appearances, began his career at WSU, pitching in one game in 2021. Offensively, UAB has struggled to a .258/.369/.380 slash line, the lowest slugging percentage in the conference. Longtime Samford head coach Casey Dunn is in his third season at the helm of the Blazers and 20th season overall, owning a record of 483-510 (.486).

BRINGING HOME THE HARDWARE: Wichita State was well represented on the American Athletic Conference postseason All-Conference team announced Monday afternoon. Six Shockers were recognized; left-handed pitcher Caden Favors was named First Team, right-handed pitcher Tommy LaPour, outfielder Derek Williams and third baseman Camden Johnson were named Second Team, and left-handed pitcher Tyler Dobbs, outfielder Lane Haworth and both Johnson and LaPour earned spots on the All-Freshman team, giving WSU a league-best four honorees. LaPour was also chosen as the AAC Newcomer Pitcher of the Year.

TOURNEY TRENDS: Over the course of four seasons in the American Athletic Conference, Wichita State has not fared well at the conference tournament. The Shockers best showing came in 2019, when they bested top-seeded East Carolina twice but also lost twice to UConn to finish 2-2. WSU won one game in 2018 and 2021, and have gone 0-2 each of the last two seasons for a combined record of 4-10.

MARATHON MATCHUP: Wichita State and Memphis played a barnburner of a ballgame on Friday night, a 13-inning, five-hour, 58-minute affair that the Shockers ultimately won 12-10 thanks to a pair of bases-loaded walks. The game nearly ended several times in extra innings; Jacob Compton flew out to the wall to end the 10th, then WSU scored twice in the top of the 11th before Memphis got two of their own in the home half. The Shockers also escaped a two on, one out jam in the 12th. It was the longest game by duration for WSU since 2017, when the Shockers and Evansville played a 16-inning contest that lasted 6:13. 

UNEXPECTED HERO: With Wichita State nearly out of available pitchers at the end of Friday's marathon, the Shockers turned to freshman right-handed Jeremiah Arnett to record the game's final three outs following a leadoff walk in the 13th. Arnett, who had previously thrown just 11.1 innings and hadn't pitched since April 30, promptly struck out the first two batters he faced before getting a fly out to right field that earned his first career save.

LIV MAS: Junior Josh Livingston, a one-time Memphis commit, had a huge series against the Tigers in Bluff City. In 16 plate appearances, Livingston reached base 10 times (four hits, four walks, two hit by pitch) and delivered one of the biggest hits of the series with a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning of Saturday's contest.

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 start on Tuesday, Favors is up to 95 strikeouts after recording one in his abbreviated start on Friday at Memphis. The lefty ranks eighth nationally with 93.1 innings pitched and has logged at least 5.2 innings in all but one start this season, including two complete games.

WELCOME WALKS: During the Shockers recent seven-game winning streak, one noticeable trend is the welcome addition of walks to the team offensive profile. Wichita State has coaxed 56 walks over the last eight contests (averaging seven per game) including setting a new season high in back-to-back games against Memphis with 12 walks on Thursday and 13 more on Friday.

HOLMES ON THE CASE: Just one pitcher in college baseball has been busier than Wichita State left-hander Hunter Holmes, who is only one game off the national lead with 34 appearances after a pair of outings against Memphis. Primarily utilized for his ability to neutralize left-handed batters, Holmes has worked less than an inning in 20 of his 34 outings. The junior college transfer has allowed just 11 hits in 59 at-bats against lefties for the season, a .186 batting average.

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 103 hit by pitches this season, 19 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) and Mauricio Millan (19) tied for the top spot 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 278-228-1, 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 2,339 wins, 1,274 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.