Baseball | 4/27/2026 10:04:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Wichita State's Ethan Gonzalez considered two happy outcomes. He made the best choice, the team-first choice, the one a catcher must make.
 
Gonzalez broke out of a slump with the bat. Watching his pitchers hold Rice to seven runs over three games trumped the satisfaction with his 5-for-10 weekend – a home run and a double included - at the plate.
 
"The way the pitching staff performed – 100 percent," he said. "It makes my job so much easier knowing they're going to hit their spots consistently."
 
The Shockers defeated the Owls 13-3 in seven innings on Sunday at Eck Stadium to win the series and maintain a hold on fourth place in the American Conference, two games behind a trio of leaders.
 
Wichita State (26-19, 10-8 American) benefited from a complete effort from its pitching staff, which held the Owls (25-19, 8-10) to four extra-base hits, struck out 22 and walked five in the series. Relievers issued one walk in 11 1/3 innings.
 
Starter Matthew Cuccias set it up with Friday's 7 1/3 innings in a 5-1 win. Brady Hamilton led a good weekend for the bullpen with 5 2/3 innings in Saturday's 3-2 loss. On Sunday, Caleb Reed made an emergency start and handed the bullpen a 3-0 lead in the fifth.
 
 

📈📈📈#FearTheWheat // #SomethingToProve pic.twitter.com/y5gvdUepqQ

— Wichita State Baseball (@GoShockersBSB) April 26, 2026

"Caleb has been one of our go-to guys all year in tough situations," Gonzalez said. "I knew he would get the job done."
 
Jayson Jones ended Sunday's game with a three-run home run to activate the run rule and cap a bounce-back weekend for the hitters. The Shockers, who registered one extra-base hit in the previous five games entering the weekend, smacked six doubles and six home runs in the three games vs. one of the conference's top pitching staffs.
 
Jones went 3 for 4 on Sunday and drove in four runs. His double in the fifth inning drove in Zeb Henry for a 4-1 lead. Jones scored to make it 5-1 and give the Shockers a response to Rice's fifth inning run. Jones went 5 for 10 in the series and homered twice to drive in five runs.
 
The upbeat offense started in a meeting on Wednesday, Jones said. The Shockers were swinging late and swinging up before the weekend. Coach Brian Green talked adjustments – mostly flattening out swings to produce line drives. On Sunday, Jack Quick homered in the second inning. Zeb Henry, Alex Ulloa and Owen Washburn doubled. Nolan Ganter drove in two runs with sacrifice flies.
 
"He makes sure we're all even-keeled, level-headed," Jones said. "Then we can get to work. When BG comes in and sits us all down and level sets everything, it's very helpful. Sometimes you need a reset."
 
Before the weekend, Green saw hitters fall behind in the count far too often.
 
"We were 0-2, 1-2 before you could blink," he said. "That's when you see not many extra-base hits. We did a lot of work to get those bats flatter where you can do some damage. We're not going to make major adjustments. You might get major results on minor changes."
 
 

It is Gonzo's world and we are just living in it 🌎@ethangonzalez28 clears the scoreboard! pic.twitter.com/pfA9Inw6nx

— Wichita State Baseball (@GoShockersBSB) April 26, 2026

Gonzalez listened when he went to the batting cage with Green and assistant coach Collin Wilber. Gonzalez entered the weekend hitting .147 with one home run. On Friday, he went 2 for 3 with a double and scored a run. He singled in a run on Saturday. Sunday, he drove in a run with a second-inning single, homered on a 3-1 pitch in the sixth and took a pitch off his back in the seventh before Jones' home run. He also stole a base and threw out runner trying to steal in the third.
 
"I would get really long, and I wouldn't get my barrel out front," he said. "We shortened up my swing. (Green) and I talk a lot. What he's seeing. What I'm thinking. We really got on the same page."
 
Wichita State pitching and hitting got on the same page over the weekend.
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
 
Season tickets are on sale now, and season ticket renewals are available as well. To purchase, visit GoShockers.com/Tickets, dial 316-978-FANS (3267) or stop by the Shocker Ticket Office, located inside Charles Koch Arena, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.