HONOLULU, Hawaii -- Wichita State never trailed over 16 dominant innings, rolling to a doubleheader sweep over Hawaii by scores of 13-3 and 7-1 on Sunday at Les Murakami Stadium.
Game One
The Shockers put the game away early with a massive 11-run top of the third inning, sending 16 men to the plate against four Hawaii pitchers.
Alex Ulloa punctuated the frame with two three-run doubles, becoming the first Shockers with multiple extra-base hits in a single inning since Jordan Boyer on March 23, 2018 against Furman.
Josh Wulfert and
Jayson Jones each had two hits in the inning, as well, highlighted by Wulfert's two-out, two-run double.
When the dust settled, the Shockers handed an 11-0 lead to right-hander
Johnny Nuanez (2-0), who battled through 6.0 innings to earn the win. Nuanez struck out four and walked just one, setting a tone for strike throwing from Wichita State pitchers all day long. The Rainbow Warriors scratched across two runs in the fourth and one in the sixth, but WSU answered with single runs of their own in the sixth and seventh, coming courtesy of a
Nolan Ganter RBI single and
Owen Washburn sacrifice fly.
Caleb Reed breezed through a 1-2-3 seventh inning to close out the win.
Ulloa finished with three doubles and six RBI to lead the Shockers offensively, one of four in the lineup who posted a multi-hit game.
Liam O'Brien (0-1) was saddled with the loss, conceding seven runs in 2.1 innings.
Game Two
Wichita State again punched first, pushing across a run in the first and two more in the top of the third to seize command early. Productive outs did the job, as Washburn plated the game's first run with an RBI groundout and Jones delivered a sacrifice fly sandwiched around a Hawaii error for a 3-0 lead.
The Rainbow Warriors sliced into the lead when Tate Shimao singled home a run in the bottom of the fourth, but that was all they could muster against the combination of three Wichita State pitchers. Starter
Reese Kortum struck out six over 4.0 innings, followed by an excellent showing from
Brok Eddy (1-0), who fired 4.2 shutout innings with six strikeouts of his own.
Brady Pacha punched out the only man he faced to end the game.
Two Shocker home runs made the margin more comfortable heading into the late innings.
Jaden Gustafson, who reached base in all five of his plate appearances, skied a solo shot to right in the top of the fifth to make it 4-1, then Washburn delivered the biggest swing of the game in the seventh with a three-run blast down the right field line for the final margin.
Brody Martin-Grudzielanek (0-1) took the loss for Hawaii, allowing three runs in 2.1 innings.
The Shockers improved to 6-2 with the doubleheader sweep and will be back in action at home with a four-game series against Omaha. First pitch of Thursday's series opener is scheduled for 3:05 pm CT.