Wichita State baseball travels to Long Beach State for weekend series

Wichita State will try to snap a two-game losing streak when it starts its baseball series at Long Beach State on Friday.

The Shockers (3-4) allowed 13 runs, 16 hits and nine walks in losses to Texas State (7-5) and Nebraska-Omaha (6-4) earlier this week. They turn to sophomore Sam Tewes (1-0, 2.45 ERA) and junior Isaac Anderson (2-0, 2.45) on Friday and Saturday on the mound. WSU’s Sunday starter is undecided.

WSU has lost five straight games at Blair Field, including a sweep in 2013 in which it totaled six runs in three games. Last season, the teams split games at Eck Stadium with the Shockers winning 5-4 and losing 7-0.

Long Beach State (5-3) played its first road game Tuesday, a 1-0 loss at UCLA. Tewes will face senior Kyle Friedrichs (2-0, 2.77), who struck out a career-high 12 in Friday’s 6-2 win over Utah Valley. He allowed four hits and two runs and didn’t walk a batter in seven innings.

After the series at Long Beach State, WSU returns to Eck Stadium for 10 straight games.

Shockers favored in Iowa — WSU’s women’s track and field team is the favorite in the MVC indoor championships on Saturday and Sunday in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

The Shockers received 70 points and six first-place votes from coaches in the pre-meet poll. Indiana State received 66 points.

In the men’s poll, Indiana State earned 61 points as the favorite with WSU second with 56. A year ago, Indiana State swept the titles with WSU second in both. The Shockers last won the women’s title in 2013 and the men in 2010.

For the women, WSU’s Nikki Larch-Miller owns the MVC’s top pentathlon score (4,005 points) and is second in the 200-meter dash (24.37 seconds) and the 400 (55.10) and third in the 60 (7.58). She is also first in the 60-meter hurdles (8.42).

Teammates Breanne Borman (3,953) and Jenny Pinkston (3,882) rank second and third in the pentathlon.

This story was originally published February 26, 2015 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Wichita State baseball travels to Long Beach State for weekend series."