Baseball | 3/23/2026 7:20:00 AM
By
Paul Suellentrop
Charlotte pitchers walked four batters and hit two. Five of those free passes turned into runs for Wichita State.
Sunday's 40 mph wind helped keep baseballs inside the ballpark. The weather also put a premium on throwing strikes and making hitters earn their bases.
"There was a lot of pressure on the pitching staffs," Wichita State coach
Brian Green said. "You knew it was going to be a low scoring game."
Wichita State's pitching staff, one day after giving up 19 runs, handled Sunday's aggressive winds in a 7-2 win over Charlotte to take the three-game American Conference series.
Five pitchers went about their day cleanly for Wichita State (17-9, 2-1 American). They walked one batter, stranded him at second base, and struck out 11. Seven scattered hits – six of them singles – produced little for the 49ers (15-9, 1-2).
Johnny Nuanez gave the Shockers the start they needed after two taxing days for the bullpen. He struck out six and didn't walk a hitter over five scoreless innings.
"His fastball was playing really well," catcher
Ethan Gonzalez said. "It was a lot of fun catching him. He hits his spots. I don't need to do anything. We call a changeup low and away he will always execute."
Nuanez continued his strong work at the top of Wichita State's staff. He skipped a turn in the rotation vs. West Georgia earlier this month to keep his arm fresh. On Sunday, he cruised through 76 pitches to lower his earned run average to 1.61. Green expects his pitch count to increase next weekend.
"He's been our best pitcher since he showed up in the fall," Green said.
For the season, he has walked four and struck out 24. Sunday's inhospitable weather didn't change a thing for Nuanez. He retired the 49ers in order in the first, fourth and fifth innings. He gave up a run in the third on a wild pitch and bounced back to strike out the first two hitters in the fourth and end the inning with a groundball.
"Every time you go out there, you've got to attack," Nuanez said. "Especially on a day like this, they're not going to hit it out."
The bullpen followed his lead.
Amar Tsengeng supplied two key innings to protect WSU's 3-1 lead. He came in with a runner on second and no outs in the seventh. He struck out the first two batters faced and ended that threat with a foul ball. In the eighth, he faced the middle of Charlotte's order. After a two-out single, a popup ended the inning.
"You can do a lot by getting groundballs," Green said. "That was a big outing for him. Fantastic."
Shocker pitchers showed you can do a lot with groundballs – and making hitters work to get on base Sunday.
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
