Wichita State (3-9, 0-0 American) vs. Missouri State (5-6, 0-0 Missouri Valley)

Friday, March 7 | 3:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field at Gene Stephenson Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Brady Hamilton (1-1, 5.14) vs. RHP Michael Yusypchuk (0-0, 2.04)

Saturday, March 8 | 2:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field at Gene Stephenson Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Grant Adler (0-0, 3.94) vs. RHP Jackson Holmes (1-2, 6.60)

Sunday, March 9 | 11:30 am CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field at Gene Stephenson Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Jeremiah Arnett (0-0, 3.00) vs. LHP Tyler Charlton (2-1, 4.73)

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State welcomes longtime Missouri Valley Conference rivals Missouri State for a three-game series this weekend at Eck Stadium. The Shockers dropped an 11-9 midweek decision to Abilene Christian on Wednesday night at Globe Life Field, WSU's sixth loss in the last seven games. The Shockers are coming off a 32-29 season in 2024 that included a 15-12 mark in American Athletic Conference play, tying for third in the final conference standings. WSU went on to reach the championship game of the AAC Tournament for the first time in program history, falling to Tulane, 11-10. 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 2025. "The Voice of the Shockers" Mike Kennedy returns to the airwaves for games one and two of the series against Missouri State, while Denning Gerig will have the call on Sunday. The entirety of the series will also be streamed live on ESPN+ ($), with Shane Dennis on play-by-play and Corrigan Bartlett as color commentator. Live audio, in addition to live statistics, will be available at GoShockers.com/listen and ShockerStats.com. 

SERIES HISTORY: Friday will be the 111th meeting all time between Wichita State and Missouri State, and the first official matchup since the 2019 season. The two teams were rained out of a midweek contest in Wichita in 2022. The Shockers lead the all time series 63-47, though the Bears have won five of the last seven contests. The 2019 game on May 7th in Springfield was the first between the two programs since Wichita State joined the American Athletic Conference, and the result was a thrilling 9-4 WSU win in 10 innings. Luke Ritter hit a game-tying homer in the top of the eighth to force extras, and then the Shockers scored five times in the tenth, highlighted by a go-ahead two-run double from Paxton Wallace. The Shockers and Bears met three times in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship, with Missouri State emerging victorious in 1997 and Wichita State securing the title in 2002 and 2008. The last time the two teams met in Wichita came in April of 2016, as the Shockers took the series two games to one.

SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE: The Bears enter the series with a record of 5-6 after rallying past St. Louis 9-7 on Tuesday night in a game that was called after eight innings due to lightning. Missouri State is the preseason favorite in the Missouri Valley Conference in what will be MSU's final season in the league; the Bears have accepted an invite to join Conference USA after 35 seasons in the MVC. Sophomore outfielder Caden Bogenpohl is the conference's preseason Player of the Year after homering 20 times as a freshman in 2024. Right-hander Michael Yusypchuk is the MVC preseason Freshman of the Year and has struck out 23 in 17.2 innings this season. Head coach Joey Hawkins, a former Missouri State player from 2012-15, in his first season at the helm after legendary head coach Keith Guttin stepped away following 42 season with the Bears.

STOP AND START: The Bears and Shockers attempted to play a midweek game in Wichita on March 29, 2022, but Mother Nature had other plans. After weather delayed the original 6:00 pm start time 30 minutes, the game began with a Spencer Nivens leadoff single for Missouri State before more lightning was detected in the area, forcing a second delay of 40 minutes. Wichita State starter Robert Cranz then struck out Will Duff following the second resumption of play at 7:15, but shortly thereafter umpires cleared the field yet again, and the game was ultimately canceled 15 minutes later.

FINISHING STRONG: Reliever Nick Potter was the most impressive arm of the night in Wednesday's defeat, striking out the final five batters he faced over two scoreless innings out of the Wichita State bullpen. Potter became the first WSU pitcher to strike out five or more consecutive hitters since Clark Candiotti punched out seven straight against Houston on April 7, 2023.

WORKING THEIR WAY BACK: The Shockers got a welcome boost on Wednesday with the return of two position players to the starting nine. Catcher Mauricio Millan went 2-for-4 with a sacrifice fly in his season debut after missing the first 11 games with a hammate injury and outfielder Davis Mauzy notched a base hit and a run scored in his first game since February 15 after sitting out with an injured hamstring.

HOME(R) OPENER: It was a memorable home opener for Wichita State, as sophomore outfielder Lane Haworth launched a two-out, two-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Wichita State to a 5-4 win over Cal State Fullerton on Friday evening at Eck Stadium. Haworth's blast was the first walk-off home run for Wichita State since Garrett Kocis connected for a two-run shot against Kansas on March 23, 2022.

NEW NAME, NEW PERKS: Last Friday marked the first game under the enhanced naming at Eck Stadium, now known officially as Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field at Gene Stephenson Park. What was originally known as Shocker Field when the baseball program was reinstituted in the 1978 season, Eck has undergone several major renovations to reach its current form. This past offseason, the facility added new state-of-the-art lights, mesh chairback seats behind home plate and loge boxes down the first base line. The program also announced the forthcoming addition of the Kosich Pavilion, a two-tiered seating area located beyond the left field fence.

ESTABLISH THE RUN: After nine consecutive games without a stolen base to open the season, Wichita State finally got off the schneid with Kam Durnin's successful swipe of third base on Saturday against Cal State Fullerton. Jordan Rogers and Cole Dillon added steals on Sunday and Wednesday, respectively, but the Shockers still rank in the bottom-10 nationally in stolen bases per game (0.25).

POWER OF THE PLUNK: Wichita State shattered the program record for hit by pitches in 2024, drawing 116 HBPs to best the previous mark (84 in 2019) by 32. The Shockers have already been hit 26 times this season, including four times in Wednesday's loss. WSU finished 16th nationally in team HBPs last season, led by Mauricio Millan's new program and conference record 24.

PRESEASON PUB: Wichita State was picked second in the 2025 American Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll, the highest preseason projection for the Shockers since joining the conference in 2017. The Shockers had never been picked higher than fourth in the American preseason poll, a status they reached just once in the 2022 edition. WSU also matched Tulane for the most representatives on the Preseason All-Conference Team; catcher Mauricio Millan, first baseman Josh Livingston, second baseman Jordan Rogers and shortstop Camden Johnson were all recognized by the conference, with Millan as the unanimous selection behind the plate.

GETTING THE GANG BACK TOGETHER: Wichita State returned just 11 total players to their 2024 roster following the coaching change that brought Brian Green to Wichita, but this season the Shockers enter the year with significantly more experience. On the position player front, WSU returns nine players who started 10 or more games, while the pitching staff features nine hurlers who appeared in eight or more contests.

PORTAL POWER: Wichita State turned to the portal for seven D1 transfers: Grant Adler (Kansas), Cole Dillon (Arizona), Jace Miner (Oklahoma), Arnad Mulamekic (Siena), Owen Reynolds (Oral Roberts), MJ Seo (LSU) and Owen Washburn (Texas Tech). Adler and Miner both began their D1 careers at Wichita State before transferring during the coaching change, with Adler named the AAC Newcomer Pitcher of the Year in 2023 and Miner earning Second Team All-Conference honors as a reliever.

CLAGGETT PROMOTION: Following the 2024 season, head coach Brian Green promoted pitching coach Anthony Claggett to assistant head coach in addition to his pitching coach duties. Working with a pitching staff that returned just four pitchers and 71.1 total innings from the year prior, Claggett guided the Wichita State arms to a 5.07 ERA in 2024 that ranked second in the American Athletic Conference and finished top three in hits allowed per nine innings (8.73) and WHIP (1.49).

UPS AND DOWNS: The 2024 season was a true roller coaster ride for Wichita State. The Shockers entered the month of April at 18-9 following a three-game sweep of Rice, but had a miserable month that threatened to derail the season. WSU went 4-17 in their next 21 games, suffering a pair of conference sweeps at the hands of South Florida and East Carolina. But the Shockers righted the ship in May, winning a season-best seven games in a row from May 4-17 and reaching the championship game of the American Athletic Conference tournament with the help of two wins over top-seeded East Carolina.

TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE: With a program record of 2,345 wins, 1,286 losses and nine ties, Wichita State ranks in the top ten of all college baseball programs with a .644 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.