Shocker notes: WSU baseball looks to keep up hot start in home opener ... Saturday

The Wichita State baseball team’s home opener at Eck Stadium has been postponed a day due to inclement weather. The Shockers will now play Omaha at 2 p.m. Saturday and a doubleheader on Sunday at noon.

WSU returns home after registering a three-game sweep of McNeese State last weekend, the program’s first non-conference road sweep since 2007. Junior third baseman Alec Bohm led the offense, as he went 6 for 11 with three doubles, a grand slam, seven RBIs, four walks, and a stolen base to earn American Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors.

Bohm and junior outfielder Greyson Jenista, both projected to be early-round draft picks, have been dubbed “The Bash Brothers” by the team. Jenista also had a strong start, going 5 for 12 with seven runs, two home runs, four RBIs, four walks, and three stolen bases.

But it wasn’t just Bohm and Jenista, as WSU’s offense scored averaged 10.7 runs per game — the fourth-highest mark in the country. The Shockers rallied in the late innings in their 11-10 win in the series finale, with Jordan Boyer delivering a two-out RBI single for the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning.

Codi Heuer (1-0, 7.20 ERA) is slated to start Saturday’s game, while Liam Eddy (1-0, 3.38 ERA) is scheduled for the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader against Omaha (2-1).

The Shockers have a history of success in home openers, as they are 37-3 in them since 1978. They have won 92 percent of their games (85-7) at Eck Stadium in February.

WSU track ready for first AAC Indoors Championship — The WSU track and field team will compete in its first indoor track and field championships in the American, Friday and Saturday in Birmingham, Ala. Live results can be found on XpressTiming.com.

After sweeping the titles in their final season in the Missouri Valley, the Shockers will face more difficult competition in the American. The men’s team expects to compete with Connecticut and Houston for the team title, while the women’s team is in a rebuilding phase with the majority of its roster redshirting.

Senior All-American Hunter Veith has the conference’s top score in the heptathlon, although he will not compete in the heptathlon at conference. Veith will instead compete individually in the 60-meter hurdles, high jump, pole vault, long jump, and triple jump. WSU has three of the top five marks in triple jump with junior All-American Jared Belardo (51 feet, 4 1/4 inches), Rayvon Allen (50-5 1/4), and Kaden Griffin (49-7 3/4). The Shockers also have contenders in Zack Penrod (mile), Hayden Bugner (pole vault), Isaiah Evans (weight throw), and Ben Johnson (heptathlon).

The women’s team is highlighted by Katie Murray (high jump), Meghan Holmes (triple jump) and Kendra Henry (pentathlon), all of whom enter with top-five marks in their respective events.

Women’s basketball team sets record — The Shockers made 35 of their 50 shots against Temple in an 88-81 victory last week, and their 70-percent accuracy shattered the previous record for field goal percentage in a game of 65.4 percent.

WSU (12-16, 7-7 American) is coming off back-to-back wins, including a season sweep of SMU, entering Saturday’s game against Tulane (12-15, 4-10) at Koch Arena. The Shockers are tied with East Carolina for sixth in conference play with two games remaining.

Senior Rangie Bessard scored a career-high 38 points in the Temple win and is fourth in the American in scoring average at 19.5 points per game, while ranking eighth in conference with 7.4 rebounds.

Softball team on the road — After picking up three wins at a tournament last weekend, the WSU softball team (5-4) will head to Texas this weekend for the Texas Invitational where it will play five games in three days. The Shockers will play No. 21 Ohio State and Texas on Friday, No. 20 Michigan and Ohio State on Saturday, then Virginia Tech on Sunday. Four of the five games will be broadcast on the Longhorn Network.

Bailey Lange (3-2) has 37 strikeouts in 36 innings with a 2.53 ERA, while sophomore Ryleigh Buck is batting a team-best .348 with five runs scored.

This story was originally published February 22, 2018 at 7:12 PM with the headline "Shocker notes: WSU baseball looks to keep up hot start in home opener ... Saturday."