Baseball | 2/16/2026 3:31:00 PM
By
Paul Suellentrop
Jayson Jones loved much about Wichita State's opening weekend, especially all the foul balls
MJ Sweeney hit in the fourth inning on Saturday.
"Man, a (12)-pitch at-bat," Jones said. "He hit a pull-side nuke, hit another foul ball nuke and he stayed the same, had his approach, kept it simple and hit a home run at the end of it. It was something that gives you chills as a baseball lover."
The Shockers (4-0) hit eight home runs in sweeping four games from overmatched Northern Colorado – four by Jones. WSU outscored the Bears (0-4) 43-8 at Eck Stadium by hitting .355 with 16 extra-base hits, seven steals and 26 walks.
Catcher
Max Kaufer homered twice. Sweeney homered and doubled, as did centerfielder
Kaleb Duncan. Leadoff hitter
Jaden Gustafson walked five times, was hit by a pitch twice and hit .364.
Shocker pitchers complied a 1.80 earned run average with 41 strikeouts and 13 walks.
"We brought in a lot of veteran guys, a lot of older guys," Gustafson said. "It makes it fun to run an offense when you have someone like (Jones) two batters behind me. I don't have to do too much. I can get on base and the guys behind me will get me in."
Sweeney's at-bat stood out because it wasn't simply a hitter smashing one pitch. If the Shockers are going to succeed offensively this season, they need to win at-bats when a batter falls behind 0-2. Sweeney, a junior first baseman, worked the count full while fouling off six pitches before homering.
"Our guys did an amazing job," Jones said. "Somebody has a freaking grinding at-bat like MJ. The next guy is up and they're doing the same thing."
Coach
Brian Green enjoyed all those numbers and appreciated the fact he played almost the entire roster, 31 of whom are new to Wichita State.
"You want to see how players are going to perform when the lights are on," he said. "What I really take away from the weekend was finding different ways to win. I think our roster absolutely can do that."
Jones, a senior third baseman, homered 11 times in his three previous seasons, 2025 at Oklahoma State and two at Arkansas. He finished his first weekend as a Shocker hitting .467 with 12 runs batted in, nine runs and three walks.
"He was unbelievable," Green said. "He hits the ball really hard. He's a mature hitter, knows what he's doing, got a great approach."
Starter
Brady Hamilton, WSU's top returners, started the weekend with a solid outing on Friday.
Johnny Nuanez followed with five innings, allowing no earned runs, and striking out four. Reliever
Matthew Cuccias retired all nine hitters faced, striking out four.
"Johnny was up to 94, throwing a sinker, changeup, slider, moving it around aggressively and really getting ahead of hitters," Green said.
The Shockers, who play 21 of their first 26 games at home, travel to Hawaii for a four-game series that begins Thursday (10:35 p.m.).
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
Season tickets are on sale now, and season ticket renewals are available as well. To purchase, visit
GoShockers.com/Tickets, dial 316-978-FANS (3267) or stop by the Shocker Ticket Office, located inside Charles Koch Arena, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
