Softball | 9/14/2024 2:50:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
The past and present of Wichita State softball compared eras next to renderings that show plans for the future of Wilkins Stadium, starting with a $9.65 million phase and 10 black-and-yellow shovels.
 
"It's just amazing," said Renae Kirkhart, who played infield for the Shockers from 1979-82 and served as an assistant coach for four seasons. "We traveled in a station wagon. We had bleacher seats. We didn't have a fence, so (softballs) would roll down the hill."
 
Current Shockers Ellee Eck and Makayla Navarro listened to Kirkhart and friends describe practicing on a basketball court, parents building an equipment room and playing games at Heights High School in the early days. They stood next to the graphics, resting on easels, showing gleaming practice spaces, lockers and offices.
 
"They would throw down bases and they would practice in the grass," Eck said. "It makes me very, very grateful to be a student-athlete at this point in time."
 
Things changed significantly over the years for Shocker softball, starting with the construction of Wilkins Stadium in 1997. Saturday's ground-breaking for the indoor practice facility and outdoor batting cages signaled the next major upgrade for the facility, one that reflects the program's success and the growing popularity of the sport.
 
"This is a really big day for Shocker softball, for the athletic department," WSU coach Kristi Bredbenner said. "And an even bigger day for women's sports."
 
The $9.65 million Phase 1 of the stadium renovation features a 13,250-square-foot practice facility containing a full indoor infield, batting cages and storage areas. It is scheduled to open in March, followed by construction on the Wadsworth Family Teams Operations Building with offices, locker room and team areas. WSU, director of athletics Kevin Saal said, needs $3 million to complete the fund-raising for those buildings.
 
On Saturday, the major donors turned up dirt with commemorative shovels after Bredbenner and Saal talked about their appreciation and how the new facility will help the pursuit of championships.
They also mentioned the Shockers who built the program in the early days of Title IX and the Shockers of a more recent vintage. Navarro, in her first season at Wichita State, knows enough to understand the importance of the softball roots.
 
 

The future is here.

Thank you to all our supporters who have made today a reality.#InvestInWomen | #FearTheWheat 🌾 pic.twitter.com/JEJJ7tJk1d

— Wichita State Softball (@GoShockersSB) September 14, 2024

"It's really good to hear about the history," she said. "It gives us time to appreciate what we have. A lot of people take things for granted."
 
Eck, an outfielder from Andale, went to the Women's College World Series as a youngster and while playing for Stanford. She is watching and living fans fall in love with the game's fast pace and action. WSU, with five NCAA regional appearances since 2016, is doing its part to popularize the sport. Improving facilities to keep pace with other ambitious schools is part of that growth.
 
"It's important to have an indoor so you can get the same work other teams in warmer climates are getting," Eck said. "It also really instills gratitude in everyone having nice facilities. You worked hard to get to this point."
 
Kirkhart, who has remained involved in the sport as a coach and administrator, watched closely as Bredbenner built the Shockers into a strong program as she enters her 14^th season.  
 
"That national spotlight, any time you can have that spotlight, it grows the town, it grows the university," she said. "You can tell by talking to (Bredbenner) what type of person she is, what type of leader she is, what she will instill in her players. Her expectations are to have that pride about Wichita State. It's a common bond that will stay."
 
Saturday, the spotlight found space next to Wilkins Stadium and what rises there over the next seven months is another big step for softball and women's athletics.
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.