Wichita State (32-15, 18-6 American) at Kansas (32-16, 13-8 Big 12)
Lawrence, Kan. | Arrocha Ballpark
Tuesday, April 28 | 5:00 PM
TV: ESPN+
Stats: StatBroadcast.com
 

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QUICK HITS
• Wichita State takes its 12-game win streak to Lawrence for the final midweek of the season.
• With one week remaining in the regular season, Wichita State is in a tie for 1st in the American Conference standings with South Florida at 18-6.  The Shockers have secured a Top-2 finish, earning them a double bye in the conference tourney.
• Wichita State's 12-game win streak is the second longest in school history and one shying of tying the school record.
• Wichita State is 10-0 over its last 10 games.
• Ausha Moore became just the third Shocker in program history with 20 HR in a single season, joining Addison Barnard  (2021, 22, 24) and Madison Perrigan (2021).
• Moore tied the WSU single game school record with 3 HR and set a new school record with 9 RBIs in the final game of the series at Charlotte on April 19.
• Moore ranks 1st in the American in home runs (20), RBI (51), slugging percentage (.929) and on base percentage (.576).
• Moore is a 3-time American Player of the Week, earning the weekly honor on March 2, March 23 and April 20.
• Kinzey Woody's first 4 career HR 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 the league in batting average (.474), hits (36), RBI (32), slugging pct. (1.000) and OBP (.565). Her 11 HR are one behind her teammate, Moore who has 12.
• Woody was named to the NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 list on April 23. She won American Conference Player of the Week honors on April 13 after hitting .500 with 2 HR and 7 RBIs.
• Jade Sanders was named the American Conference Pitcher of the Week on April 27.
• Kammie Smith has a hit in 14 of her last 15 games. She is 24-for-53 (.453) over her last 15 games with a home run, a triple, 4 doubles and 12 RBIs.
• Wichita State ranks 12th nationally in home runs per game (1.68) and 14th in total home runs (79). WSU's 79 home runs are 3rd most in a single season.
• Wichita State was picked to finish 3rd in the 2026 American Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.

SCOUTING KANSAS
Kansas sits at 32-16 overall this season and 13-8 in the Big 12 Conference. At 13-8 in the Big 12, the Jayhawks sit in fourth place, but only two games back of second place Arizona. Texas Tech has a four-game lead on everyone. Kansas brings back 17 letterwinners from a season ago, including seniors Hailey Cripe, Presley Limbaugh and Aynslee Linduff. KU hits .334 with 85 doubles and 76 home runs, while slugging .598. They rank 15th nationally in slugging percentage, 17th in home runs, 19th in home runs per game and 21st in doubles. Seven Jayhawks in the starting lineup hit better than .300. Limbaugh leads the Jayhawks with a .392 batting average, 43 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. Freshman Ella Boyer has a team-high 17 home runs and 53 RBIs, while hitting .341. Cripe and Anna Soles have also hit double digit home runs with 14 and 11, respectively.

CONNECTIONS
Former Shocker pitcher Chloe Barber is in her first season at Kansas after spending two seasons in Wichita. Barber has appeared in nine games, making six starts and is 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA in 28.1 innings. She has 28 strikeouts to 12 walks and opponents are hitting just .208 against her.

SERIES HISTORY
The series between Wichita State and Kansas dates back to 1978 when the two programs met for the very first time. Kansas leads the all time series, 78-24-1. Wichita State didn't record its first win in the series until 1986. The two teams have traded three-game win streaks dating back to 2016. Wichita State snapped a three-game losing streak vs. the Jayhawks last year in Lawrence, but the Jayhawks got revenge in a 9-inning win in Wichita at the end of April. Following a 9-1 win last month, KU has won the last two meetings.

LAST MEETING VS. THE JAYHAWKS
Wichita State was run-ruled in 5 innings by Kansas, 9-1, on March 4 in its 2026 home opener. The Jayhawks hit three home runs and scored 5 runs in the Top of the 5th. Ausha Moore provided the lone run on a 3rd inning solo home run.

LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State is coming off a third straight conference series sweep, taking down North Texas on the road in dominant fashion. The Shockers won all three games by multiple runs (9-2, 6-4 and 8-2). The Shockers outscored the Mean Green, 23-8, over the three games. In the opener, Wichita State scored two runs in the first and two in the second, cruising to a 9-2 win. The Shockers homered three times (Kinzey Woody, Johnna Schroeder and Aeryn Shuman). Woody drove in 4 runs, going 4-for-4 at the plate. For Shuman it was the start of a big weekend in Denton. In Game 2, Wichita State rallied back from a 4-1 deficit behind a 4-run Top of the 6th. Shuman's go-ahead 3-run home run proved to be the game winner. It was the second of her 2 home runs in the game. Ausha Moore tacked on an insurance run in the 7th on a solo home run. In the finale, Wichita State hit two, two-run home runs in the third inning from Moore and Trinity Allen to take control. Allen and Moore combined for 5 RBIs, while Kammie Smith scored twice on a 3-hit afternoon. Jade Sanders tossed 7.0 scoreless innings in relief between Games 2 and 3, allowing only 5 hits and striking out six.

DOZEN DUBS IN A ROW
Wichita State's 12-game win streak is one shy of tying the program record of 13. The Shockers have won 13 in a row on two different occasions, in both 2005 and 2021. The 12-game win streak is also tied for the 4th longest active win streak in the NCAA. Delaware State has the longest at 16, followed by UCLA and Nebraska at 15 in a row. Stanford is tied with the Shockers at 12.

WIN STREAK BY THE NUMBERS
Wichita State's offense has come alive during its current 12-game win streak. The Shockers are hitting .343 as a team with four different players hitting better than .400 in the lineup. They have outscored their opponents, 95-31, good for an average of 5.3 runs per game. Wichita State has 23 doubles and 24 home runs, while slugging .625. If they aren't getting on base with a hit, the Shockers are making pitchers pay with free passes. Opposing pitchers have issues 63 walks over 12 games. Early run support has been a catalyst over the last 12 games, as Wichita State is outscoring its opponents, 24-5, in the first inning.

PUT IT ON THE BOARD... FINALLY
After 45 days Wichita State finally recorded its first ranked win of the season. Wichita State's game at No. 21 Oklahoma State on March 10 was postponed in the Bottom of the 7th with the Shockers leading 8-3. The two teams were scheduled to finish the game on April 8 when the two teams met in Wichita, but that game was also postponed due to a travel emergency involving the Cowgirls' team bus while they were in transit to Wichita. With no remaining open dates for either teams to make up the game, the March 10 game was finalized as a win for Wichita State on April 23. It is Wichita State's first ranked road win since 2024 when the Shockers defeated No. 15 Arkansas.

NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR TOP 25
Kinzey Woody was named to the NFCA National Freshman of the Year Top 25 on April 23. The Missouri native is hitting .344 with 10 doubles, 12 home runs and 41 RBIs. She's the just the second Shocker to ever be named to the NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 list and first since Addison Barnard in 2021.

MOORE POWER
Ausha Moore is not only on a 9-game hitting streak, she's homered in 7 of those 9 games. Over her last 9 games, she's hitting .480 (12-for-25) with 9 HR, 16 runs scored, 20 RBIs and 13 walks. In the series vs. Charlotte, Moore homered 5 times in the series with 13 RBIs. Her big weekend in the Queen City earned her American Conference Player of the Week honors. She has earned POW honors three times this season.

QUEEN AUSHA
Ausha Moore put her name in the Wichita State record books in the series finale at Charlotte on April 19. The Del City, Okla., native tied the single game school record with 3 home runs, while breaking the single game record for RBIs with 9. She started the game with 2 home runs in the Top of the 1st - a 2-run homer and a grand slam.

THE SHUMAN SHOW
Since being inserted into the starting lineup in the final two games of the UTSA series on April 11, sophomore Aeryn Shuman has made the most of her opportunities. Shuman has started the last nine games at catcher and is batting .400 (12-for-30) with 2 doubles, 4 home runs, 8 runs scored and 11 RBIs. Prior to UTSA series, Shuman had appeared in only six games all 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 24 conference games, Woody is hitting a team-high .474 (36-for-76) with 7 doubles, 11 home runs, 16 walks, 19 runs scored, 32 RBIs and only 5 strikeouts.

HOME RUN CYCLE
Kinzey Woody has 13 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 NINE
Wichita State checked in at No. 44 in the ninth week of RPI rankings on April 27. The Shockers have already faced 13 teams in the Top 70, including No. 1 Arkansas, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 14 Oklahoma State, No. 17 Mississippi State, No. 22 Clemson, No. 30 Texas State, No. 36 South Florida (three times), No. 39 Missouri, No. 41 Baylor, No. 49 Kansas, No. 57 Florida Atlantic (three times), No. 64 Charlotte (three times) and No. 70 Miami (OH).  The Shockers still have a game against No. 49 Kansas.