Wichita State (26-23-1, 13-10-1) at Memphis (17-33, 4-20)
Friday, May 2 | 6:00 PM CT
Saturday, May 3 | 3:00 PM CT
Sunday, May 4 | 12:00 PM CT
Memphis, Tenn. | Tiger Softball Complex
Video: ESPN+ (Friday and Sunday only)
Stats: Statbroadcast.com
 

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QUICK HITS
• Wichita State travels to Memphis for the final series of the regular season, May 2-4.
• Wichita State is coming off a 2-1 weekend vs. Charlotte. The Shockers now have six series wins in conference play, but still searching for their first sweep of the season. Wichita State has won four straight conference series.
• 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.
• The bats are heating up at the right time for Wichita State. The Shockers have hit 20 home runs over their last 7 games. Ten of those came in the three-game series vs. Charlotte last weekend.
• Wichita State has 70 home runs this season, tied for 4th most in a single season. They now rank 16th nationally in home runs per game.
• Wichita State hit 5 home runs in last 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.
• Lauren Lucas was named the American Player of the Week on April 28 after hitting .583 with 5 HR, 8 R, 9 RBI in four games last week.
• Taylor Sedlacek leads the American in doubles and walks per game.
• Sedlacek's 34 career home runs rank 8th all-time at Wichita State. Her 15 home runs this season are tied for 7th on the single season charts.
• Ellee Eck's 21 stolen bases lead the American and are 4th on the Wichita State single season list.
• 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.
• 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 MEMPHIS
Led by first-year head coach Trena Prater, Memphis is 17-33 and 4-20 in American play. The Tigers hit .268 as a team with 63 doubles, 11 triples and 25 home runs. They rank second in the American in stolen bases with 65. Neely Taylor hits a team-best .326, while Zoe Adebayo leads the team in doubles (10), triples (3), home runs (10) and RBIs (35).

SERIES HISTORY
After Memphis won three of the first five meetings in the series, Wichita State has dominated the Tigers. The Shockers have won 17 in a row over the Tigers and lead the all-time series, 19-3. Wichita State has won via the run-rule in seven of the last 10 meetings.

LAST MEETING VS. THE TIGERS
Wichita State finished the 2024 regular season with a sweep of Memphis. The Shockers extended its winning streak to 17 in a row over the Tigers with wins of 8-3, 3-0 and 8-0 (5). Chloe Barber was 2-0 with 18 strikeouts in 9.0 innings, allowing just three hits and three runs. Barber tossed a no-hitter in the finale behind nine strikeouts. CC Wong was 7-for-9 over the weekend with four extra base hits and five RBI. Lauren Howell tossed a one-hitter, complete game shutout in Saturday's 3-0 win behind seven strikeouts. Lainee Brown hit a three-run home run and Addison Barnard also homered in the series.

LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State dropped its home finale Wednesday night vs. Kansas in 9 innings, 5-3. The Shockers scored two runs with two outs in the bottom of the 7th to send the game to extras. Camryn Compton homered and Taylor Sedlacek was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

ECK YEAH!
Over the last month Ellee Eck has provided power at the top of the lineup for the Shockers. Ten of her 11 home runs this season have come since the March 26 game vs. #2 Oklahoma. Over her last 19 games she's hitting .365 (23-for-63) with 2 doubles, 10 home runs, 20 RBIs, 25 runs and slugging .902. Her slugging percentage during that time is second highest on the team. She also has 55 total bases in that stretch, most on the team. In 148 career games over three seasons at Stanford, Eck had zero home runs. She has three multi-home run games in her last 17 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.

LUCAS GRABS SECOND PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Lauren Lucas picked up her second American Athletic Conference Player of the Week honor of the season on April 28. The Little Elm, Texas, native was 7-for-12 (.583) with 5 home runs, 8 runs scored, 9 RBIs and a slugging percentage of 1.833 over four games. She homered in all four games, including a two-home run game in the finale vs. Charlotte.

FRESHIE MAKING AN IMPACT
Wichita State's offense has received a boost in conference play from freshman Brookelyn Livanec. Livanec has taken a hold of the DP position since the start of conference play at Florida Atlantic. Through 23 AAC games, Livanec is hitting .338 (22-for-65) with three doubles, a triple, 11 runs scored and 10 RBIs. Her .338 batting average in AAC games is 3rd highest on the team.

RPI AT A GLANCE
Wichita State checked in at No. 66 in this week's RPI rankings. The Shockers have already faced 17 teams in the Top 70, including No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 3 Oklahoma (twice), No. 6 Florida State, No. 19 Oklahoma State (twice), No. 25 Nebraska, No. 28 Liberty, No. 30 Florida Atlantic (three times), No. 31 Kentucky, No. 32 Missouri, No. 33 Grand Canyon, No. 35 San Diego State, No. 39 South Florida (three times), No. 44 North Texas (three times), No. 56 Texas State, No. 58 Charlotte (three times), No. 61 Kansas (twice) and No. 67 Central Arkansas.

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 heads to Tampa, Fla., for the American Athletic Conference Championship, May 7-10.