‘A good problem to have’: Deeper Wichita State baseball team is raising expectations
There were times last season when Wichita State baseball manager Eric Wedge didn’t have to make many decisions when filling out his lineup card.
Simply put, the Shockers didn’t have many options — that comes with the territory of transitioning to a new regime, as Wedge put his imprint on the program in his first season.
That won’t be the case when the Shockers open their 2021 season in three weeks with a weekend series against Northern Colorado at Eck Stadium beginning Friday, Feb. 19.
WSU returns 10 position players with starting experience and add a handful of capable newcomers, including an all-conference outfielder transfer. Wedge admits he’ll be making hard decisions on a game-to-game basis now.
“It’s going to be very competitive, but it’s a good problem to have,” Wedge said. “We’re going to have a little more depth. We’ll have more options. I’m not going to pigeon-hole ourselves in any way, shape or form with who’s starting and who’s not starting. We’re expecting everybody to rock and roll with us.”
The Shockers released their 2021 schedule on Wednesday with a few notable changes.
American Athletic Conference play this season will feature 32 conference games, which is eight more than in years prior. Teams will play four-game series in three days, usually featuring a Saturday doubleheader of nine-inning games. After Connecticut’s departure, which leaves the AAC with eight teams, each school will be assigned a travel partner (WSU’s partner is Houston) that they will play twice.
Another wrinkle stemming from COVID-19 testing is that the AAC won’t allow teams to play mid-week games once conference play begins in April. That’s why WSU will only play one marquee mid-week game this season — Tuesday, March 23 against Kansas State at Eck Stadium.
“We did the best we could with what was in front of us,” Wedge said. “We feel good about the schedule that we have, but it’s definitely a little different this year. In a perfect world, we want to play Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, KU, K-State. We were able to do that some, but not as much as we would have liked.”
With four nine-inning games in a three-day span lined up for eight straight weekends of conference play, starting pitching will be a valuable commodity this season. That would seem to favor the Shockers.
WSU returns all three of its weekend starters from last season in junior Liam Eddy (2-0, 1.73 ERA), junior Jake Hamilton (2-1, 4.26 ERA) and senior Preston Snavely (2-1, 2.95 ERA). The Shockers also add freshman Jace Kaminska, the 2019 and 2020 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year who threw 32 scoreless innings and struck out 85 batters, including a state-record 29 in a row, for Caney Valley in 2019.
“Ultimately, (the schedule) puts an emphasis on starting pitching and we feel like we’re prepared for it,” Wedge said. “We’re still working through (the starters) and we haven’t made any decisions about that. We’re staying open-minded with it with some of the freshman coming in here, we’re taking a good look at some of them. And then we’ve got the starters coming back from last year. We’ve got some good options, but we’re not going to make any decisions with our starting pitching until we get closer to the season.”
Before last season was abruptly ended by the coronavirus pandemic, WSU was 13-2 and on a 12-game winning streak. That turnaround under Wedge was noticed by AAC coaches, who picked the Shockers to finish fifth this season after an almost unanimous last-place selection heading into last season.
WSU is also starting to pick up respect nationally. Collegiate Baseball ranked the Shockers No. 45 in the country, which was the fourth-highest in the American.
“Whenever you start a program, one of the things you want to have is expectations,” Wedge said. “I think expectations last year were somewhat limited and I think the expectations this year are a little bit heightened and that’s a good thing. That’s what we want to happen from year to year. Every year we’re looking to get a little bit better. We’re trying to be realistic about it, but ultimately we feel good about the guys that we have here.”
There’s a lot to be optimistic about with what the Shockers have assembled for this season.
WSU has one of the country’s most promising freshman in outfielder Couper Cornblum, who earned freshman All-American status after hitting .354 and being an on-base machine for the Shockers last season.
The Shockers have big bats returning in juniors Hunter Gibson (outfielder), Garrett Kocis (corner infielder) and Paxton Wallace (corner infielder). Senior Alex Jackson (utility), junior Ross Cadena (catcher), sophomore Jack Sigrist (second base) and David VanVooren (outfielder) are all veteran presences and proven commodities at this point.
WSU added Maize native Corrigan Bartlett, who was an all-conference outfielder for Saint Louis in 2019. The Shockers also return promising freshman Cade Clemons, Derek Shaver and Cooper Elliot.
On top of potentially its strongest starting rotation in years, WSU returns a deep bullpen. Senior Tommy Barnhouse (0.00 ERA in 11.2 innings), sophomore Ryan Stuempfig, sophomore Aaron Haase, junior Aaron Bechtel and sophomore Connery Peters are all trusted arms and junior closer Foster Gifford (0.00 ERA in 8 innings) is back. The Shockers also added transfers in Spencer Hynes (Houston) and Gareth Stroh (Nebraska), who give them a pair of experienced lefties.
Add it all up and Wedge is excited to see what the Shockers can accomplish this season. WSU opens the season with three straight home weekend series against Northern Colorado (Feb. 19-21), SIU Edwardsville (Feb. 26-28) and Dixie State (March 5-7).
“We’re just ready to play some baseball,” Wedge said. “Everyone is excited for the season. The players are chomping at the bit, ready to go. There’s nothing better than playing at home in front of your fans and hopefully we can have a lot of people come out and watch us play this year. The players are working hard and preparing themselves and they’re crossing all of the T’s and dotting all of the I’s. I feel good about it.”
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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