The Wichita State Shockers run out for warm-up drills at Roadrunner Field. https://t.co/hyCDEtJ4sq pic.twitter.com/eDGxwwhlmq
— Jerry Briggs (@JerryBriggs) May 3, 2024
With seven College World Series trips in their storied history, the Wichita State Shockers enter tonight’s game with a 22-25 record, including 8-10 in the American Athletic Conference. – Video by Jerry Briggs
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Trailing the first-place East Carolina Pirates by two games, the UTSA Roadrunners will host the Wichita State Shockers this weekend in a three-game series in the American Athletic Conference.
The opener is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m.
Records
Wichita State 22-25, 8-10
UTSA 26-18, 12-6
Setting the stage
The tradition-rich Shockers, tied for sixth in the standings, come into San Antonio led by first-year coach Brian Green to meet Pat Hallmark’s second-place Roadrunners.
Wichita State’s baseball program has a history dating to 1899. The Shockers’ modern era opened in 1978 under coach Gene Stephenson. Wichita State won the 1989 College World Series title and reached the CWS seven times.
Mason Lytle hit a go-ahead grand slam in UTSA’s 9-7 victory over Texas State on Tuesday night. – Photo by Joe Alexander
The Shockers have sent 42 players to the major leagues, including pitcher Darren Dreifort, 1990s-era World Series hero Joe Carter and Alec Bohm, the current starting third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Bohm, 27, is second in the major leagues with a .362 batting average.
In a rebuilding mode, Wichita State hasn’t reached the NCAA tournament since 2013. The Shockers started this season fast, forging a 19-10 record through the first few days of April. Moreover, the Shockers went 5-1 in their first two weekends in conference.
Since then, they have fallen on hard times, going 3-15 overall and 3-9 in the AAC.
Last weekend in a conference series, the Shockers dropped two of three at home to Tulane. Facing a couple of tough mid-week road games, they lost at Oklahoma State Tuesday and at Kansas on Wednesday.
Wichita State’s 22-25 overall record may be deceiving considering its schedule to date has included 16 non-conference games against Power 5 competition.
The Shockers are 3-13 in those games, including 2-5 at home, 0-6 on the road and 1-2 at neutral sites.
On Feb. 18, Wichita State beat the 18th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in Jacksonville, Fla. They also defeated Nebraska 9-3 on March 13 and edged Kansas 7-6 on April 3, both at home.
By contrast, UTSA has played six non-conference games against the Power 5, winning four of them and losing two. On the NCAA’s ratings percentage index computer, the Roadrunners are 95th and the Shockers 130th through Wednesday night.
With three weeks left in the regular season, both are facing situations where they’ll likely need to win in the AAC’s postseason to qualify for the 64-team NCAA tournament.
Coming up
AAC series – Wichita State at UTSA
Friday – 6 p.m.
Saturday – 2 p.m.
Sunday – 1 p.m.
AAC standings
East Carolina 14-4, 35-8
UTSA 12-6, 26-18
Tulane 9-9, 25-20
FAU 9-9, 22-20
Charlotte 9-9, 20-25
South Florida 8-10, 22-22
Wichita State 8-10, 22-25
Rice 8-10, 18-26
UAB 7-11, 20-23
Memphis 6-12, 19-26
This weekend: Rice at Charlotte; Wichita State at UTSA; UAB at FAU; South Florida at East Carolina; Memphis at Tulane.
Team leaders
Wichita State
Batting average: Derek Williams .338, Jordan Rogers .309, Camden Johnson .306.
Home runs: Williams 13, Rogers 8, Dayvin Johnson 6, Seth Stroh 6.
RBIs: Williams 36, Stroh 34, Rogers 30, Johnson 30.
Pitching: Caden Favors (6-4, 3.79 ERA), Tyler Dobbs (5-4, 4.47), Tommy LaPour (3-3, 4.86), Nate Adler (1-1, 2.85, 5 saves)
UTSA
Batting average: Mason Lytle .386, Isaiah Walker .344, Tye Odom .342, Caleb Hill .341, Matt King .335, Alex Olivo .331.
Home runs: Lytle 10, Hill 9, James Taussig 6.
RBIs: Lytle 41, King 36, Hill 35, Taussig 30.
Pitching: Ruger Riojas (7-2, 2.91 ERA, 6 saves), Fischer Kingsbery (1-1, 1.61, 5 saves), Braylon Owens (4-1, 6.75), Daniel Garza (3-1, 5.48), Ulises Quiroga (6-0, 3.72), Robert Orloski (3-4, 6.10).