Wichita State (11-10, 1-2 American) at #19 Oklahoma State (17-7, 1-2 Big 12)
Stillwater, Okla. | Cowgirl Stadium
Tuesday, March 10 | 6:00 PM CT
TV: ESPN+ 
Stats: Statbroadcast.com
 

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QUICK HITS
• Wichita State travels to Stillwater for a midweek matchup against nationally ranked Oklahoma State.
• Wichita State is 5-5 over its last 10 games.
• Wichita State dropped its first conference series at East Carolina, 2-1.
• 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.
• Freshman Kinzey Woody hit her first career home run vs. Creighton on Feb. 21 - a walk-off grand slam.
• Ausha Moore ranks 10th 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 OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma State is ranked in the Top 20 in all four of the major polls and enters the matchup at 17-7 overall. The Cowgirls are also coming off a conference-opening loss, dropping 2-of-3 at home vs. UCF. Claire Timm has provided a consistent presence at the plate through the first month, leading the team in home runs (5), slugging percentage (.738) and on-base percentage (.473), and ranking second in batting average (.393) and RBIs (22). The Cowgirls are one of the nation's best at swiping bags. They rank 15th nationally in stolen bases, converting 47-of-51 attempts. Oklahoma State hits .305 as a team with 20 home runs. Eleven different Cowgirls have multiple stolen bases. Ruby Meylan is the ace of the staff once again for Oklahoma State. Meylan has thrown nearly twice the amount of innings as the next closest pitcher on the roster. In 81.2 innings, she is 7-5 with a 2.91 ERA, 80 strikeouts, 21 walks and opponents are hitting just .241 against her. She ranks 6th nationally in innings pitched, 18th in strikeouts and 27th in appearances.

SERIES HISTORY
The series between Wichita State and Oklahoma State dates all the way back to the first meeting on March 25, 1978. Wichita State won that first matchup, only to see Oklahoma State win the next 56 in a row. The Cowgirls lead the all-time series, 91-16. Nine of those 16 wins have come under Kristi Bredbenner. The Shockers and Cowgirls have played each other every year since 1984.

LAST MEETING VS. THE COWGIRLS
Oklahoma State completed the season sweep of Wichita State in 2025 in a 10-2 run-rule win in Stillwater on April 15. The Cowgirls won both meetings last season in run-rule fashion, outscoring the Shockers 21-4 over the two games. Wichita State scored both of its runs in the top of the 1st on Jodie Epperson's two-run double, but it was all Cowgirls from there. Oklahoma State scored a run in the bottom of the 1st, three in the 2nd, three in the 3rd, two in the 4th and the final run in the 5th. Four Cowgirls finished with multiple RBIs, including Karli Godwin who was a perfect 3-for-3 with a home run.

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.

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 UAB for its American Conference home opener, March 13-15.