Kansas State (20-12, 5-7 Big 12) vs. Wichita State (21-12, 5-4 American)

Tuesday, April 7 | 6:05 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field at Gene Stephenson Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Tanner Duke (2-1, 5.60) vs. RHP Brady Hamilton (3-4, 6.13)

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State hosts in-state foe Kansas State on Tuesday night at Eck Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 pm CT. The Shockers are looking for their first midweek win over D1 opposition in 2026, with previous losses to Nebraska (2x) and at Kansas State. Last Tuesday, the Shockers defeated D2 Washburn on Kid's Day at the ballpark. WSU went 2-9 in midweek games last season, defeating Newman and Oral Roberts but falling to Chaminade, Abilene Christian, Nebraska (2x), Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State (2x) and BYU. The Shockers dropped two of three games over the weekend at home to Tulane, losing Friday and Sunday around a Saturday victory. Wichita State's 21-12 record is the fastest a Shocker team has reached the 20-win mark since the 2018 club began the year 20-6.

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 against Kansas State. The game will also be streamed on ESPN+ ($), with Shocker Hall of Famer Shane Dennis on play-by-play and former Shocker outfielder Corrigan Bartlett providing color commentary. Live audio, in addition to live statistics, is available at GoShockers.com. 

SERIES HISTORY: The Shockers and Wildcats meet for the 108th time in program history on Tuesday, with the Shockers holding a 58-49 lead in the all-time series. Since restarting the baseball program in 1978, Wichita State has gone 55-37 against the Wildcats. Kansas State won the first meeting between the two programs on March 10 in Manhattan, scoring twice in the sixth to break a 5-5 tie and blanking WSU the rest of the way in a 7-5 win. The Wildcats have won five straight in the series, sweeping both games in 2024 after WSU managed the feat in 2023. The last NCAA postseason appearance for Wichita State came in Kansas State's regional back in 2013.

SCOUTING KANSAS STATE: The Wildcats enter play on Tuesday at 20-12 overall and 5-7 in Big 12 play after losing two of three games against TCU at home over the weekend. Kansas State has dropped three consecutive series (Arizona State, Utah, TCU) after starting the season 15-4. Star infielder Dee Kennedy leads the Wildcats attack, hitting .430 with a .546 on-base percentage and 14 home runs. Kansas State ranks eighth nationally with 305 total runs scored. The Kansas State pitching staff has combined for a 5.93 ERA. Former Wichita State pitcher Aaron Arnold transferred to Kansas State and has worked in seven games out of the Wildcats bullpen. Head coach Pete Hughes is in his eighth season at Kansas State and 29th overall, totaling a career record of 872-672-3 (.565).

GONE STREAKING: Third baseman Jayson Jones brings a 24-game hitting streak into Tuesday's game dating back to a hitless series opener against Omaha on February 26. It is the eighth-longest hitting streak in program history and the longest since Eric Wedge hit in 25 straight during Wichita State's 1989 National Championship season. The program record is 47 games, set by Phil Stephenson in 1981. Jones has recorded 14 multi-hit games during his current 24-game streak.

PACHA PAYOFF: The Shockers can thank righty Brady Pacha for their 5-4 start to American Conference play, as the Wichita native has had a big hand in all five WSU victories. In those five wins, in which he has earned three saves, Pacha combined for 11.0 innings and allowed just one earned run on six hits, racking up 12 strikeouts without a walk. Pacha has walked just one of the last 77 batters faced dating back to February 28.

BIG DEBUT: With injuries to catchers Max Kaufer and Finn Kaiyala, the Shockers are down to just two healthy backstops on the roster in Ethan Gonzalez and Dominic Archila. Archila earned his first career start on Tuesday against Washburn and delivered a breakout performance, going 3-for-5 with five RBI in the victory. Archila had just one previous at-bat before the Washburn game.

RAZOR SHARP: Wichita State's bullpen has gotten a major boost from left-hander Dax Sharp, a grad transfer from D2 Central Oklahoma. The southpaw spun three scoreless innings on Saturday against Tulane, his third three-inning relief stint this season, dropping his ERA to 2.87 in 15.2 innings. Sharp has not allowed more than one run in any of his eight outings and has only walked a batter in one of them.

OFF THE BENCH: Head coach Brian Green has had remarkable success in 2026 when calling upon pinch hitters. The Shockers are 17-for-48 (.354) in pinch-hit situations, compared to a 7-for-44 (.159) mark from opponents. Nine different Shockers have recorded a hit off the bench this season for the Shockers. Wichita State also has a pair of pinch-hit home runs, one from Max Kaufer and the other from Jacob Gutierrez. Last season, Wichita State had just 12 pinch hits at a .245 average.

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. A Shocker starter has failed to record more than 10 outs 12 times in the last 21 games, and all three starters were unable to complete five innings in the most recent series against Tulane.

SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY: Second base has been a position in flux this season for Wichita State, with five different players earning at least one start there (Zeb Henry, Owen Rush, Drew Bugner, Evan Escobar, Nico Rodriguez). Rush has stepped into the void and given the Shockers some offensive punch in addition to strong defensive work; the Wichita native and Fort Scott CC transfer is hitting .318 with a .500 on-base percentage, thanks in large part to 15 walks (second on the team) in just 64 plate appearances.

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. 

SMALL BALL: Despite slugging 40 home runs through the season's first 33 games, Wichita State has shown an increased willingness to sacrifice bunt. The Shockers rank 25th nationally and second in the American Conference with 22 sacrifices already this season, led by a conference-best five from Alex Ulloa.

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.

LOCAL BOYS: Wichita State's new-look roster includes a healthy dose of newcomers with local ties. Right-handed pitcher Brady Pacha (Bishop Carroll High School), utilityman Drew Bugner (Andale High School), infielder Owen Rush (Goddard Eisenhower High School), and left-handed pitcher Mitchell Johnson (Derby High School) all hail from the greater Wichita area, in addition to returning outfielder Jaden Gustafson from Maize High School.

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 2,381 wins, 1,323 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.