Charlotte (26-24, 13-8) at Wichita State (24-21-1, 11-9-1)
Friday, April 25 | 5:00 PM (DH)
Friday, April 25 | 7:30 PM (DH)
Saturday, April 26 | 6:00 PM
Wichita, Kan. | Wilkins Stadium
Video: ESPN+ 
Stats: Statbroadcast.com
 

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Promotions

Friday
Jimmy Buffett Night: Grab your best Hawaiian shirt & beach hat and head to Wilkins Stadium for a night out with fellow Parrotheads! Jimmy Buffett tunes will be blasting from the speakers and the competitive action of a Cheeseburger in Paradise eating contest will surely be entertaining. Margaritas are available for only $6!
Senior Night: We will recognize all five of our seniors for their contribution to the program in between games of the doubleheader.

Saturday
Taylor Swift Night: Make friendship bracelets at the table outside the main gate on your way into the stadium and enjoy Taylor Swift music all game long!
Pregame: Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) stars Jessi Warren & Kelsey Stewart-Hunter will sign autographs at the table located on the concourse beyond the first base bleachers.
Postgame Fireworks (weather permitting)

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QUICK HITS
• Wichita State welcomes Charlotte to Wilkins Stadium for senior weekend, April 25-26.
•  Wichita State is coming off a 2-1 weekend at Tulsa. The Shockers now have five series wins in conference play, but still searching for their first sweep of the season.
• The tie with South Florida on March 30 was just the third game in program history to end in a tie. Two of those three have come under Kristi Bredbenner. The last tie came four years ago on April 18, 2021 when the Shockers and UCF Knights ended in a 0-0 tie in 9 innings.
• Wichita State hit 5 home runs in Tuesday's win over Kansas City, tied for the most in a game this season. Three of those homers came off the bat of Ellee Eck. Her three homers tied a single game school record.
• Camryn Compton has nine home runs over her last 20 games. She's already set career highs in home runs (10) and RBIs (36) this season through 41 games.
• Lauren Lucas leads the American in on base percentage.
• Taylor Sedlacek leads the American in doubles and walks per game.
• Ellee Eck's 19 stolen bases are T-4th on the single season list.
• Wichita State will face 12 NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago, which included eight in the opening month of the season.
• Lauren Lucas joined former All-American Sydney McKinney as the only Shockers in school history to have at least 10 triples, 40 doubles and 20 home runs in a career.
• Lucas was named to the Softball America Preseason Top 100, sliding in at No. 78.
Freshman pitcher Ava Sliger was named to the D1Softball D100 Freshman Watch List.
• Sliger and freshman teammate Ryley Nihart were named to the Softball America Freshman Watch List.
• The Shockers bring back only two pitchers that recorded innings in 2024: Chloe Barber (Sophomore, AAC All-Rookie Team) and Alex Aguilar (Junior, 2023 AAC Rookie of the Year).
• Nine newcomers (six freshman, three transfers) join the team in 2025.
• Head Coach Kristi Bredbenner recorded her 400th career win at Wichita State on Feb. 23 vs. Abilene Christian. She is the all-time winningest coach in program history.

SCOUTING CHARLOTTE
Led by first-year head coach Courtney Breault, Charlotte is 26-24 and 13-8 in the American. The Niners have two of the top home run hitters in the conference in Jenna Lord (20) and Teagan Ritchie (16). That duo makes up for 36 of the Niners' 55 home runs this season. Lord ranks 5th nationally in home runs and her 58 RBIs are 18th nationally and tops in the American. Besides her power numbers, Lord also sports a .412 batting average.

SERIES HISTORY
The two programs met three times prior to Charlotte joining the American this season. The Niners are 5-2 all-time vs. the Shockers with the series starting in 1999. Five of the seven meetings have taken place in Charlotte.

LAST MEETING VS. THE NINERS
The two teams met in the title game of the 2024 American Athletic Conference Championship at Wilkins Stadium. Behind a seven-run second inning, the Niners cruised to a 10-1 win in 5 innings to secure the American's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. After hitting a tournament record six home runs over the first three games, Addison Barnard was intentionally walked all three plate appearances.

LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State belted five home runs in a 15-2 run-rule rout of Kansas City on Tuesday at Wilkins Stadium. Ellee Eck tied a single game school record with three home runs to go with a career-high six RBIs. Lauren Lucas and Taylor Sedlacek added two-run home runs of their own. Wichita State's five home runs tied a season high.

ECK YEAH!
Over the last month Ellee Eck has provided power at the top of the lineup for the Shockers. Nine of her 10 home runs this season have come since the March 26 game vs. #2 Oklahoma. Over her last 15 games she's hitting .385 (20-for-52) with 2 doubles, 9 home runs, 19 RBIs, 21 runs and slugging .942. Her slugging percentage during that time is highest on the team. She also has 49 total bases in that stretch, 13 more than the next closest Shocker. In 148 career games over three seasons at Stanford, Eck had zero home runs. She has three multi-home run games in her last 13 games, including a school record-tying three-home run game vs. Kansas City on April 22. She became just the fourth Shocker to hit three home runs in a single game, joining Lauren Mills, Addison Barnard and CC Wong.

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON
Camryn Compton is playing the best softball of her career over her last 21 games. During that stretch she's hitting .317 (20-for-63) with 3 doubles, 9 home runs, 28 RBIs, 20 runs scored and a slugging percentage of .794.

SOONER SHOOTOUT
Wichita State took No. 2 Oklahoma (19-16) to the wire Wednesday night at Wilkins Stadium. The 35 combined runs were the most in program history, edging out a March 9, 2014 contest vs. Iowa State when the Shockers defeated the Cyclones, 18-16. Oklahoma's 19 runs were the second most Wichita State has allowed in a game in program history. Wichita State's 16 runs were the most an Oklahoma team has allowed since June 3, 2019 when UCLA scored 16 against the Sooners in the WCWS Championship series. Wichita State belted five home runs, the most Oklahoma has given up in a game since Feb. 29, 2020 vs. North Texas. It marked the first time since March 17, 2018 vs. Creighton a Shocker team scored 10 or more runs in a loss.

FRESHIES MAKING AN IMPACT
Wichita State's offense has received a boost in conference play from a pair of freshmen. Gabby Scott was inserted into the lineup for the North Texas series and has started every game at catcher since. In 18 conference games, Scott is hitting .275 (14-for-51) with three doubles, a home run, 11 runs scored and 14 RBIs. Brookelyn Livanec has taken a hold of the DP position since the start of conference play at Florida Atlantic. Through 20 AAC games, Livanec is hitting .333 (19-for-47) with three doubles, nine runs scored and nine RBIs.

RPI AT A GLANCE
Wichita State checked in at No. 62 in this week's RPI rankings. The Shockers have already faced 15 teams in the Top 65, including No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 3 Florida State, No. 9 Oklahoma (twice), No. 18 Oklahoma State (twice), No. 25 Nebraska, No. 27 Florida Atlantic (three times), No. 30 Grand Canyon, No. 31 Missouri, No. 32 Kentucky, No. 33 Liberty, No. 38 San Diego State, No. 41 South Florida (three times), No. 43 North Texas (three times), No. 50 Texas State and No. 65 Kansas.

WELCOME BACK
Wichita State welcomes back a pair of super seniors in Lauren Lucas and Camryn Compton after missing the entire 2024 season due to injuries. The duo have 161 combined starts between the two of them. Lucas is a two-time First Team All-Conference performer and earned Third Team All-America honors in 2023 after hitting .384 with 16 doubles, 7 triples, 4 home runs and 62 RBIs. Her 62 RBIs ranked Top 10 nationally. Compton has battled injuries throughout her career at Wichita State, but her experience will be key in 2025, as she looks to end on a high note.

TOUGH SLEDDING
Wichita State has never shied away from playing a tough schedule, and that is no different in 2025. The Shockers are scheduled to play 10 teams ranked or receiving votes in the Preseason NFCA Top 25: No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 9 Florida State, No. 15 Missouri, No. 19 Nebraska. Kentucky, Texas State, Grand Canyon and Liberty all received votes.

PRESEASON TOP 100 LOVE
Lauren Lucas was named to the Softball America Preseason Top 100 list and the D1 Softball D100 Player Rankings. Lucas checked in at No. 78 on the Softball America Top 100 and No. 88 on the D100. Lucas was also named the No. 21 outfielder according to D1 Softball. Freshman pitcher Ava Sliger was named to the D1 Softball D100 Freshman Watch List on Jan. 8.

UP NEXT
Wichita State welcomes Kansas to Wilkins Stadium for its home finale Wednesday, April 30 at 6 p.m.