Wichita State (24-17, 8-7 American) at Oklahoma State (24-16, 8-10 Big 12)

Tuesday, April 21 | 6:00 pm CT | Stillwater, Oklahoma (O'Brate Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Dax Sharp (0-1, 3.05) vs. LHP Bryce LeBlanc (1-1, 12.66 ERA)

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SCENE SETTER: After losing two of three games on the road at East Carolina but ending the series with an emphatic victory, Wichita State looks to carry that momentum into a road midweek battle against longtime rival Oklahoma State on Tuesday night at O'Brate Stadium. The Shockers are closing out a stretch of eight straight games away from the friendly confines of Eck Stadium on Tuesday after opening the season with 21 of the first 26 games at home. All eight of the road games are against teams in the top 50 of the RPI.

SHOCKER BASEBALL ON THE RADIO AND ESPN PLUS: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM will once again serve as the radio home for Wichita State baseball broadcasts in 2026. The Voice of the Shockers Mike Kennedy will handle play-by-play duties for the game in Stillwater, with Denning Gerig joining the broadcast as color commentator. The game will also be streamed on ESPN+ ($). Live audio, in addition to live statistics, is available at GoShockers.com. 

SERIES HISTORY: The Shockers and Cowboys meet for the 109th time on Tuesday, with Oklahoma State holding a 70-38 lead in the all-time series. The Cowboys have won 16 of the last 19 meetings, including a 9-5 victory in Stillwater last March in the lone meeting of 2025. Shocker pitchers combined to walk 10 batters in the defeat, which also featured an RBI double from current WSU third baseman Jayson Jones. Prior to the WSU program's rebirth in 1978, the Shockers were just 2-25 against the Cowboys. The two programs have battled 15 times in NCAA postseason play, including a pair of matchups in the College World Series. Wichita State defeated the Cowboys in Omaha in 1982 and 1993.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE: The Cowboys are 24-16 entering play on Tuesday, including an 8-10 record in Big 12 play after dropping two of three games at home against Kansas over the weekend. Oklahoma State is one of the nation's most prolific power-hitting teams, with 86 home runs that ranks second nationally. Kollin Ritchie leads the way with 21 homers, joined in double figures by Colin Brueggemann (11) and Aidan Meola (10). Cowboys pitchers have combined for a 6.23 ERA; closer Noah Wech has five saves and a 3.64 ERA and weekend starter Ethan Lund leads the nation with 16.01 strikeouts per nine innings. Head coach Josh Holliday is in his 14th season at the helm, bringing a career record of 499-279-2 (.641) into Tuesday.

GOING, GOING, GANTER: First baseman Nolan Ganter had just five total hits in the month of March as Jack Quick earned the majority of the starts at first base. April has been a different story, however, as Ganter has gone 14-for-28 (.500) highlighted by a two-homer game against UAB on April 12. In the East Carolina series, Ganter finished 8-for-14 with games of three, two, and three hits.

ERROR MESSAGE: Wichita State's .964 team fielding percentage is the lowest in the American Conference and the Shockers have struggled defensively over the last two weeks. WSU committed 13 errors in a six-game stretch from April 10-18, but did play errorless baseball in the series finale against East Carolina.

MIDWEEK STRUGGLES: The Shockers are hunting their first road midweek win against a power conference opponent under Brian Green. Wichita State is 1-5 in midweeks this season, with the one win coming against D2 foe Washburn. Last season, WSU went just 2-9 in midweek games, one of which was a win over D2 Newman.

HANG THE BUNTING: Wichita State catcher Ethan Gonzalez set a new single-game program record with three sacrifice bunts in Sunday's win over East Carolina. The junior is on a five-game sacrifice bunt streak, including two in the series finale at UAB, and now leads the American Conference with nine sacrifices on the season. The individual program record is 11, set by Andrew Stewart in 2022. Wichita State's 33 team sacrifice bunts are already tied for sixth most in program history.

INJURY UPDATES: Wichita State announced Tuesday that catcher Max Kaufer and reliever Ryan Morrison are both out for the season due to injury. Kaufer was leading the nation with a 1.747 OPS and 11 home runs in 50 at-bats, while Morrison had posted a 3.65 ERA in 12.1 innings out of the bullpen.

PEN PALS: One of the most important recent developments for Wichita State with the injury to Morrison is the emergence of relievers Amar Tsengeg and Brady Owens. Tsengeg has allowed an earned run in just one of his last nine appearances totaling 14.2 innings, while Owens has conceded only one earned run in his last seven outings totaling 9.1 frames. The duo has combined to issue nine walks in those 24 innings.

POWER OUTAGE: Wichita State went nearly four complete games without an extra-base hit beginning with Tuesday's road defeat at Kansas. The Shockers had six singles against the Jayhawks, then five and eight singles, respectively, in games one and two of the series at East Carolina. It wasn't until two outs in the sixth inning of Sunday's series finale that WSU finally broke the singles streak on a two-run double from Jaden Gustafson, which proved to be the Shockers only extra-base hit of the weekend.

OFF THE BENCH: Head coach Brian Green has had remarkable success in 2026 when calling upon pinch hitters. The Shockers are 21-for-59 (.356) in pinch-hit situations, compared to a 7-for-47 (.149) mark from opponents. 10 different Shockers have recorded a hit off the bench this season for the Shockers.

PACHA PAYOFF: The Shockers can thank righty Brady Pacha for their 8-7 start to American Conference play, as the Wichita native has had a big hand in all eight WSU victories. In those eight wins, in which he has earned four saves, Pacha combined for 17.0 innings and allowed just three earned runs on 12 hits, racking up 18 strikeouts without a walk. Pacha has gone 89 consecutive batters without issuing a walk dating back to the end of his outing on March 13 against Butler.

SHORT STARTS: The Shockers have leaned more heavily upon their bullpen in recent weeks as WSU starters have struggled to work deep into games on a consistent basis. Since the start of conference play, Wichita State has had just one start of six or more innings: Johnny Nuanez's 6.2 innings at UAB on April 12. This past weekend at East Carolina, none of WSU's three starters recorded an out in the fifth inning.

BIG INNING(S): After going more than a decade without scoring double-digit runs in an inning, Wichita State did so five times in the first 20 games of 2026. The Shockers scored 10 in the 5th inning against Northern Colorado on February 15, 11 in the third against Hawaii on February 22, 11 in the sixth against West Georgia on March 6, 11 in the third against Butler on March 12 and 13 against Butler in the sixth on March 14. 

NEW LOOK: With just seven returners from last season's roster (five position players, two pitchers) Wichita State is looking at a near-complete overhaul from the team that stepped on the field in 2025. The pitching staff in particular returns just Brady Hamilton (2-7, 5.38 ERA in 78.2 innings) and Karsen Richard (0-1, 9.00 ERA in 16.0 innings); the 19 other Shockers who threw a pitch in 2025 have graduated, transferred, or been drafted (RHP Nick Potter, 5th Round, Houston Astros).

AGE BEFORE BEAUTY: Head coach Brian Green made a point to add experience in the transfer portal over the offseason, a mission that resulted in the addition of four grad transfers, eight seniors and three redshirt juniors. All told, the Shockers added 77 seasons of previous college baseball experience to the roster among their 31 newcomers.

STAFF CHANGES: Green revamped his coaching staff ahead of the 2026 season, adding three new assistant coaches. Marty Lees was the first addition as recruiting coordinator, bringing experience from previous stops at Oklahoma State, Washington State and Oregon State. Collin Wilber joined the staff as catching coach following stints with Sonoma State and the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, and Jason Foster rounds out the new hires as Pitching Strategist and Director of Analytics. Additionally, Faith Weekley was promoted from Administrative Assistant to Director of Operations.

TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE: With a program record of 2,386 wins, 1,330 losses and nine ties, Wichita State ranks in the top ten of all college baseball programs with a .642 winning percentage. The Shockers have won 20 regular season conference championships and 18 conference tournament championships, earning a trip to Omaha for the College World Series on seven different occasions. WSU claimed the 1989 national championship and finished as national runner-up in 1982, 1991 and 1993.