Wichita State (24-15, 12-6) at Charlotte (26-19, 10-8)
Charlotte, N.C. | Sue M. Daughtridge Stadium
Friday, April 17 | 5:00 PM CT
Saturday, April 18 | 12:00 PM CT
Sunday, April 19 | 11:00 AM CT
TV: ESPN+
Stats: Statbroadcast.com
 

---

QUICK HITS
• Wichita State begins an 8-game road trip with a big conference series at Charlotte this weekend.
• Wichita State's midweek at Oklahoma State on March 10 was suspended with the game in the bottom of the 7th with 1 out and the Shockers leading 8-3. The two teams were scheduled to finish that game on April 8 when OSU came to Wichita, but the April 8 game was also postponed.
• Wichita State is 6-4 over its last 10 games.
• Kammie Smith is on a season-long 8-game hit streak. She is 14-for-26 over her last 8 games with a home run, a triple, 2 doubles and 9 RBIs. In conference games, she's hitting .400, which ranks second on the team and top 10 among all conference hitters.
• Freshman Kinzey Woody has 9 home runs this season. Her first 4 career home runs completed the home run cycle, hitting a solo HR, 2-R HR, 3-R HR and a grand slam. Her first career HR was a walk-off grand slam.
• In conference games, Woody leads all players with a .491 batting average, while tied for 1st in home runs with 8 and 2nd in RBI with 23.
• Woody was named the American Conference Player of the Week on April 13 after hitting .500 with 2 HR and 7 RBIs.
• 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.
• Ausha Moore ranks 1st in the American in on base percentage at .547 and 2nd in home runs (13).
• Moore is a two-time American Player of the Week, earning the weekly honor on March 2 and March 23.
• Wichita State ranks 22nd nationally in home runs per game (1.50) and 31st in total home runs (60). Defensively, the Shockers rank 27th in fielding pct.
• 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.
• Wichita State welcomes 14 newcomers into the fold in the way of seven transfers, two junior college transfers and five freshmen.

SCOUTING CHARLOTTE
Charlotte enters the weekend at 10-8 in American Conference play and 26-19 overall, while riding a four-game win streak. The Niners are coming off a series sweep of Memphis, winning two of the three games by only one run. The reigning American Conference Player of the Year Jenna Lord is having another stellar season for the Niners. Lord leads the team in hits (60), average (.438), and slugging (.788). Lord also leads the team in multi-hit games with 15. Lord also leads the team in runs scored with 45. She ranks second on the team in home runs (10) and RBIs (34). Teagan Ritchie leads the NIners in home runs with 12 and Audrey Wilson is Charlotte's RBI leader with 41. In the circle, Charlotte sports a team ERA of 4.64. Walks have been an issue with the Niners, as they've issued 191 free passes compared to just 144 strikeouts. Charlotte ranks 3rd nationally in double plays with 28, tied with South Florida with the most in the American.

SERIES HISTORY
The two programs met three times prior to Charlotte joining the American in 2024. The Niners are 6-4 all-time vs. the Shockers with the series starting in 1999. The home team in the series has claimed the series each of the past two seasons since Charlotte joined the league in 2024.

LAST MEETING VS. THE NINERS
Wichita State won its first conference series over the 49ers last season, defeating Charlotte 7-3 and 9-6, while dropping the second game, 10-8. Wichita State hit 10 home runs over the three-game series, four of those belonging to Lauren Lucas and three more to Taylor Sedlacek.

LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State is coming off a series sweep of UTSA, winning 3-2, 12-4 and 3-1. In the series opener, Wichita State scored all three of its runs in the fifth inning after a nearly 3-hour rain delay. Kammie Smith drove in two of those runs on a triple and Johnna Schroeder provided the go-ahead RBI on a single. In Game 2, Wichita State scored 11 of its 12 runs off home runs, including a pair of homers from Kinzey Woody. Ausha Moore and Mackenzie Rooney also homered in the run-rule win. To finish off the sweep, the long ball was once again the driving factor. Moore and Aeryn Shuman homered and Woody added the final run on an RBI single. Ryley Nihart was effective in two starts, going 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in 14.0 innings.

AMERICAN POW(OODY)
Freshman Kinzey Woody was named the American Conference Player of the Week on April 13, bringing home the weekly honor for the first time in her career. Woody hit .500 over three games vs. UTSA with 2 home runs and 7 RBIs. She recorded her first career multi-home run game to go with a career-high 6 RBIs in the second game of the series. One of those home runs was a grand slam - her second of the season.

THE SHUMAN SHOW
Sophomore Aeryn Shuman made the most of her opportunity in last weekend's sweep of UTSA. Shuman earned the start at catcher in the final two games of the series and proceeded to go 4-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Prior to last weekend, Shuman had appeared in only six games this season and was 0-for-4 at the plate.

BRINGING THE WOOD(Y)
Kinzey Woody is coming off a scorching weekend series vs. Florida Atlantic. Woody was 8-for-10 with two home runs and three RBIs. She had a hit in eight straight at bats over the three games, going 3-for-3 in Game 1 and 4-for-4 in Game 2. After her stellar week, D1 Softball named Woody the Mid-Major Freshman of the Week. Through the first 18 conference games, Woody is hitting a team-high .491 (27-for-55) with 4 doubles, 8 home runs, 10 walks, 13 runs scored and 23 RBIs.

HOME RUN CYCLE
Kinzey Woody has 9 home runs so far in her freshman season. The first 4 home runs of her career completed the home run cycle - hitting a walk-off grand slam for her first career home run on Feb. 21 vs. Creighton, a 3-run home run on March 13 vs. UAB, a 2-run home run on March 14 vs. UAB and finally a solo home run vs. FAU on March 20. Not a bad way to start your collegiate career.

RPI - WEEK SEVEN
Wichita State checked in at No. 60 in the seventh week of RPI rankings on April 13. The Shockers have already faced 12 teams in the Top 75, including No. 1 Arkansas, No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 11 Mississippi State, No. 21 Oklahoma State, No. 25 Clemson, No. 31 South Florida (three times), No. 33 Texas State, No. 40 Baylor, No. 44 Kansas, No. 45 Missouri, No. 53 Florida Atlantic (three times) and No. 72 Miami (OH).  The Shockers still have games against No. 44 Kansas and No. 55 Charlotte (three times).