Wichita State baseball strands 11, loses seventh straight game

Before Wichita State baseball’s offense rounds into form, if that happens, one of its most important jobs is to create margin for error.

The Shockers most often haven’t survived following mistakes, however miniscule, but miscues could be forgotten if clutch hits happened more frequently.

Once again on Saturday, WSU’s margin disappeared. A pair of relatively minor fourth-inning mistakes proved the difference in Central Michigan’s 4-1 win at Eck Stadium. The Shockers (3-9) got five hits but stranded 11 runners in their seventh straight loss.

“Offensively, we don’t score many runs as of late,” WSU coach Todd Butler said. “Not many hits. We have opportunities and we seem to strike out in the big opportunities to get a big hit to bust the game open or have a chance to have a breath of fresh air.”

WSU played its first errorless game but Isaac Anderson allowed an unearned run in the fourth, when CMU plated a pair, its only runs against Anderson. After a pair of singles, two Chippewas baserunners advanced on Anderson’s balk, and they scored following an RBI groundout and a passed ball.

CMU didn’t get another run until the ninth, but the Shockers seemed deflated after the fourth, unable to recover as another game began to turn thanks to mistakes.

“It affects some guys, I’d say,” WSU outfielder Daniel Kihle said. “We just have to learn to look past it. We’ve scored more runs, for sure, before, so giving up two runs in one inning isn’t a big deal. At this point in the year, some guys start pressing. We’ve just got to overlook that and just play our game.”

The Shockers appear to be getting further away from discovering their game. Butler tinkered with the lineup Saturday, moving Chase Rader to the leadoff spot and removing usual middle-of-the-order hitters Sam Hilliard and Jordan Farris, who both later entered the game.

WSU had one hit entering the sixth inning but opportunities were present in nearly every inning. CMU walked three batters and hit four, giving the Shockers a multitude of chances with runners in scoring position. They went 1 for 14.

Five of WSU’s six strikeouts came with runners on base, and four happened with fewer than two outs. The Shockers left runners on second and third in the fourth and couldn’t score in the eighth, when they loaded the bases with one out before Michael Burns struck out and Farris flied to center.

“We just don’t have a guy that has come through in the big moment yet,” said Kihle, who reached base three times with a single and two hit-by-pitches. “We get a lot of guys on base, just no one can come through. Some guys might be pressing too hard, I don’t know, but it just comes down to executing and we haven’t executed.”

For the second straight day, an important WSU player left with an injury.

A day after pitcher Sam Tewes left his start, shortstop Tanner Kirk was replaced after he was hit by a pitch in the knee in the fifth inning, another inning in which WSU got two runners into scoring position without bringing one home.

CMU essentially put it out of reach in the ninth, scoring two runs on a Nick Regnier bases-loaded single. It was the hit that has been eluding the Shockers as they’ve combined for six runs in the last five games.

WSU’s starting pitching is nearly keeping the team alive in spite of the poor offense. Tewes allowed one hit Friday and Anderson struck out six and allowed four hits in seven innings Saturday, taking a hard-luck loss.

“We’re trying to get guys to just relax and play the game,” Butler said. “Right now every game is a close game, it seems like, and if we make a mistake it’s a costly mistake. We have to come back offensively, and we haven’t shown to do that. We had a chance today to maybe come from behind, with bases loaded and one out (in the eighth).

“I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Should I safety squeeze?’ Well, I’d like to just get a single and score two, take the lead.”

This story was originally published March 7, 2015 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Wichita State baseball strands 11, loses seventh straight game."