UAB (12-13, 0-3) at Wichita State (11-10, 1-2)
Wichita, Kan. | Wilkins Stadium
Friday, March 13 | 6:00 PM
Saturday, March 14 | 4:00 PM
Sunday, March 15 | 12:00 PM
TV: ESPN+ (All Games)
Stats: Statbroadcast.com
 

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Friday, March 13
Add-On for Purchase: Wichita State Tote Bag
$5 Fri-Yay Drink Special

Saturday, March 14
Women and Girls in Sports Day: Join us as we celebrate women in sports and the incredible impact they've made on our community, on campus and on the field. 
Koch Women in Sports T-Shirt Giveaway - First 300 Fans
Postgame Autographs

Sunday, March 15
316 Day - Celebrate Wichita's 316 pride at Wilkins Stadium with a special day dedicated to our community, local spirit and the city we call home. Let's pack the stands and celebrate everything that makes the 316 special!
Postgame Run the Bases
 

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QUICK HITS
• Wichita State hosts UAB for its American Conference home opener, March 13-15.
• Wichita State is 5-5 over its last 10 games.
• Wichita State's midweek at Oklahoma State on March 10 was suspended until April 8 with the game in the bottom of the 7th with 1 out and the Shockers leading 8-3. The two teams will finish that game before starting the scheduled game on April 8.
• Wichita State was shutout in the final two games at ECU, marking the first time since 2018 Wichita State had been shutout in consecutive games.
• Jade Sanders threw the program's 22nd no-hitter in the 8-0 run-rule win over Creighton on Feb. 21. It was the first no-hitter since Chloe Barber's 5-inning no-no on May 5, 2024.
• After failing to hit a home run over the first 5 games, Wichita State has hit 27 over its last 15.
• Ausha Moore ranks 9th nationally in on base percentage at .610.
• Moore was named American Player of the Week on March 2.
• Wichita State is scheduled to face eight NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago (Mississippi State, Arkansas, Clemson, Miami (OH), Oklahoma State, Florida Atlantic, South Florida, Oklahoma).
• Wichita State was picked to finish 3rd by the league's coaches in the 2026 American Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Florida Atlantic received 8 first place votes and was picked to win the league. USF came in 2nd.
• Seven Shockers return in 2026, led by 2025 American Conference Co-Freshman of the Year, Ryley Nihart.
• Wichita State welcomes 14 newcomers into the fold in the way of seven transfers, two junior college transfers and five freshmen.
• A pair of highly decorated McLennan Community College transfers hope to follow in CC Wong's footsteps. Wong, a former Wichita State All-American, spent two seasons at McLennan and was the 2022 Co-National Player of the Year. This season Trinity Allen and Mickayla Tosch bring their talents to Wichita. Allen was the 2025 NJCAA National Player of the Year and two-time All-American. Tosch was also a two-time NJCAA All-American and two-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner.

SCOUTING UAB
UAB snapped a four-game losing streak with a 9-8 midweek win at Georgia Tech on Tuesday. The Blazers were swept by North Texas in Birmingham to open American Conference play, leading to a 12-13 overall record and 0-3 mark in conference games. UAB relies on the small ball, as they have just eight home runs on the season and 24 doubles through 25 games. They hit .293 as a team, led by five Blazers hitting above the .300 mark. Charlee Bennett hits a team-high .358 with six doubles, two triples and two home runs. Ashlyn Shirah has a team-best 19 RBIs to go with a pair of home runs and a .338 average. In the circle, Caitlin Russell leads the team in appearances (14), but has only made three starts. She is 3-4 with a team-low 3.00 ERA in 44.1 innings. Her two saves lead the team to go with 16 strikeouts and 13 walks. Olivia Cummings leads the Blazers in starts (9), innings (50.0), strikeouts (25) and complete games (5), while logging a 3.50 ERA and only seven walks. UAB is led by second year head coach Taylor Smartt who is 36-44 over her first year and a half in Birmingham.

SERIES HISTORY
The series between Wichita State and UAB began in 2000 with the Shockers winning that neutral site matchup by one run, 4-3. The Shockers had won four straight in the series until the Blazers avoided a sweep last season in the finale.

LAST MEETING VS. THE BLAZERS
Wichita State went 2-1 at UAB last year in Birmingham, taking the first two games by scores of 7-3 and 6-5 before falling in the finale, 4-1. The Shockers won the series opener behind a two-home run game from Taylor Sedlacek and a solo homer from Camryn Compton. On Saturday the two teams played a doubleheader with the Shockers erasing a 3-1 deficit. Lauren Lucas doubled, tripled and drove in three runs to lead the offense. Chloe Barber tossed a complete game in the circle. Looking to complete the sweep, Wichita State opened the scoring on a Krystin Nelson RBI double in the 2nd inning, but that would turn out to be the only run of the game. Wichita State managed just five hits with two of those belonging to Nelson on a pair of doubles.

LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State is coming off a 1-2 weekend at East Carolina to open American Conference play. The Shockers scored seven runs in the Top of the 7th in Game 1 to win going away, 14-5, but were then held scoreless over the final two games and had just four hits. The Pirates won in run-rule fashion on Saturday, 8-0, before claiming the series, 3-0, on Sunday. The last time Wichita State had been shutout in back-to-back games was 2018 vs. #20 Michigan and No. 21. It marked the first back-to-back conference shutouts since 2011 at Southern Illinois.

SEE YOU NEXT MONTH FOR A GAME AND TWO OUTS
Wichita State's midweek game at #21 Oklahoma State was suspended in the bottom of the 7th with one out due to weather. The Shockers were two outs away from recording a top 25 win until rain and lightning stopped the game. The two teams will complete the game on April 8 with the Shockers leading 8-3 when the Cowgirls are already scheduled to play at Wichita State.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ausha Moore picked up her first American Conference Player of the Week award on March 2. Moore crushed the ball at the Mizzou Invitational, going 8-for-10 with two doubles, three home runs, six runs scored and five RBIs over four games. It is the first POW for Wichita State this season. D1 Softball also tabbed Moore the Mid-Major Player of the Week.

OH MY GAUSH
Ausha Moore has been red-hot at the plate over her last nine games. She is hitting .650 (13-for-20) with two doubles, four home runs, 12 runs scored and eight RBIs. During that stretch she has also been walked 10 times and hit by a pitch three times. Moore is slugging 1.350 and has an OBP of .788. She has raised her season batting average to .420 and leads the team in runs (19), hits (21), home runs (5), total bases (38), slugging percentage (.760) and OBP (.610).

RPI - WEEK ONE
Wichita State checked in at No. 77 in the first RPI rankings on March 9. The Shockers have
already faced 8 teams in the Top 75, including No. 7 Arkansas, No. 9 Mississippi State, No. 20 Clemson, No. 44 Kansas, No. 55 Miami (OH), No. 68 Missouri, No. 69 East Carolina (three times) and No. 72 Texas State.The Shockers still have games against No. 14 Oklahoma, No. 27 Oklahoma State, No. 31 South Florida (three times), No. 44 Kansas, No. 47 Florida Atlantic (three times) and No. 56 Charlotte (three times).

NO-NO
Jade Sanders tossed the program's 22nd no-hitter in the 8-0 run-rule win over Creighton on Feb. 21. Sanders struck out 10 and walked only two in 6.0 innings of work. Its the first no-hitter since Chloe Barber's on May 5, 2024 vs. Memphis. Sanders' 10 strikeouts are the most in a no-hit performance by a Wichita State pitcher since Margo Pruis struck out 13 in her no-hitter on March 11, 2006 vs. Northern Colorado.

GRAND FASHION
Wichita State freshman Kinzey Woody hit her first career home run - a walk-off grand slam - on Feb. 21 vs. Creighton. It was the first grand slam since Addison Barnard vs. Tulsa in the American Conference Championship on May 9, 2024 and the first walk-off home run since Barnard on April 20, 2024 vs. UAB.

TOUGH SLEDDING
Wichita State has never shied away from playing a tough schedule, and that is no different in 2026. The Shockers are scheduled to play six teams ranked or receiving votes in the Preseason NFCA Top 25: No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 9 Arkansas, No. 13 Clemson, No. 22 Mississippi State and No. 24 Oklahoma State. Florida Atlantic received votes.

COLLECTING THE ACCOLADES
The Shockers had a First-Team All-Conference honoree for the 12th consecutive season in 2025. Lauren Lucas earned First Team All-Conference honors this season. The streak began in 2013 with Erin Carney.

SOMETHING TO CHEW ON
Head Coach Kristi Bredbenner started a new tradition in 2021 to reward players who hit home runs. Instead of a normal high-five for her players as they round the bases, Bredbenner began tossing a piece of Hi-Chew candy to her home run hitters. Former Shocker Madyson Espinosa should be credited for introducing the chewy candy to Coach B at the first tournament of the season down in Conroe, Texas, and thus a new tradition was born. The tradition enters season No. 5 in 2025, so be on the lookout for flying candy.

THE BRED-WINNER
Kristi Bredbenner is the longest tenured head coach in Wichita State softball history, which has resulted in 431 wins in 15 seasons. Bredbenner has the second-highest winning percentage in school history (.574) behind current Florida softball coach Tim Walton. She is Wichita State's all-time wins leader after surpassing Jim Maynard on April 24, 2022.

UP NEXT
Wichita State hosts South Dakota State for a midweek doubleheader on Tuesday, March 17 at 2 p.m.