Charlotte (22-27, 11-10 American) vs. Wichita State (24-26, 10-11 American)

Friday, May 10 | 6:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Tommy LaPour (3-3, 4.85) vs. LHP Cole Reynolds (4-5, 5.30 ERA)

Saturday, May 11 | 2:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Caden Favors (7-4, 3.48) vs. RHP Adam Stanton (0-1, 5.03)

Sunday, May 12 | 12:30 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
TBA vs. LHP Chase Carson (2-1, 7.28)

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State closes out the home portion of the 2024 schedule with a three-game series at Eck Stadium against conference newcomers Charlotte. The first pitch time for Sunday's series finale has been moved up 30 minutes to 12:30 pm to accommodate the Charlotte travel schedule. The Shockers are coming off a road series win at UTSA, becoming the first AAC team to win a series in San Antonio this season. After dropping the opener on Friday, WSU swept a Saturday doubleheader from the Roadrunners.  Prior to the twin-bill sweep, Wichita State had lost 11 road games in a row and 16 of their last 19 games overall. The AAC standings from spots 3-9 are separated by just two games, and even last-place Memphis is only three games back of third. 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 49ers. The series 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 at GoShockers.com/listen and ShockerStats.com. 

SERIES HISTORY: The Shockers and 49ers have just one previous meeting, a 7-3 Wichita State victory that came in 2002 at the season-opening Coca-Cola Classic in Mobile, Alabama. Former Shockers Loren Hibbs and Greg Brummett were both on staff for Charlotte, with Hibbs as head coach and Brummett serving as his pitching coach.

SCOUTING CHARLOTTE: Charlotte brings an overall record of 22-27 into the series against the Shockers, including an 11-10 mark in their first season as members of The American. The 49ers were one out away from a midweek win against #2 Clemson on Tuesday night, but the Tigers scored four runs in the top of the ninth to claim a 14-12 win. Offensively, Charlotte is slashing .260/.367/.429, leaning heavily on the tandem of Carson Bayne and Juan Correa, who have each slugged 12 home runs and combined for 75 RBI. The 49ers banged out 16 hits against Clemson, including four-hit games from second baseman Shane Taylor and third baseman Brandon Stahlman. On the mound, Charlotte has struggled to a 6.37 ERA due in large part to wildness; the 49ers are handing out more than five walks per game for the second-worst rate in the conference. Head coach Robert Woodard is in his fifth season at the helm with an overall record of 143-106 (.574).

DOUBLEHEADER DELIGHT: Wichita State has played a doubleheader in each of their last three weekend series due to weather-related schedule alterations and has now covered all three possible outcomes. The Shockers were swept in a twin-bill at #9 East Carolina on April 20, split a doubleheader at home against Tulane on April 28, and swept both contests against UTSA on May 4.

OUT OF NOWHERE: In the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader sweep, Wichita State erased a late deficit with an unexpected surge of offense. After mustering just three singles in the first six innings against UTSA's Braylon Owens, the Shockers exploded for seven runs in the top of the seventh to match their highest output in a single frame this season (also scored seven against East Carolina on 4/20, game one).

HISTORY MAKER: The biggest swing of the seventh inning outburst was highlighted by a two-out, pinch-hit grand slam from Josh Livingston. Livingston is 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.

HE'S GOT JUICE: Diminutive freshman outfielder Lane Haworth showed off his strength in San Antonio. The left-handed hitter opened the series with consecutive three-hit games that included a two-homer game on Friday followed by a double and a triple in Saturday's first game. Haworth capped the series with a pair of RBI in the finale, giving him more multi-RBI games in one series (3) than he had in the entire season up to that point (2).

KEEP IT IN THE YARD: Heading into the UTSA series, Wichita State pitchers had allowed 28 home runs in the previous 13 games, including a program-record nine long balls on Tuesday at Oklahoma State. The Shockers nearly kept the Roadrunners from homering the entire series, allowing just one long ball that came with one out in the ninth inning of the series finale.

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 30 appearances after a scoreless outing on Saturday at UTSA. Primarily utilized for his ability to neutralize left-handed batters, Holmes has worked less than an inning in 18 of his 30 outings. The junior college transfer has allowed just 11 hits in 51 at-bats against lefties for the season, a .216 batting average.

PUMPING THE BRAKES: Derek Williams stole second base in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against UTSA, a rare occurrence for Wichita State in 2024. The Shockers have stolen just 26 bases in 30 attempts on the season, ranking 265th nationally, and have not had a game yet this season with more than two steals. WSU attempted only three steals in total over the last 13 games, all of which were successful.

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 114 points to its present .250 mark. In addition to the bump in average, Durnin has added power and patience to his offensive repertoire, with five doubles, three home runs and nine walks over his last 15 games.

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 11 starts and 7.0 innings or more in five of them. The southpaw tossed his second complete game of the season against UTSA, allowing just one earned run.

POWER OF THE PLUNK: Wichita State has already set a new program record with 96 hit by pitches this season, 12 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 (16) ranking 1-3-4 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 273-227-1, good for a .546 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 2,334 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.