Why Eric Wedge believes in this surprise starter for WSU baseball vs. Oklahoma State
On a pitching staff that returned its three weekend starters and added a highly touted freshman, Wichita State will be going in a different direction with its starting pitching in its season-opening series against No. 17 Oklahoma State.
It’s no surprise that junior Liam Eddy, a preseason all-conference pitcher who finished last spring with a 1.76 earned-run average, will be handed the ball first for the Shockers’ opening game 2 p.m. Sunday at Eck Stadium.
But it is a surprise that WSU will be going with Spencer Hynes, a junior transfer from Houston, for the second and final game against the Cowboys at 2 p.m. Monday. Hynes logged one start and appeared in three games last spring for Houston, allowing five earned runs in just three-plus innings.
“I think it’s a testament to Spencer, but also to (WSU pitching coach) Mike Pelfrey and their relationship and the way they’re working together,” WSU manager Eric Wedge said. “Spencer has come a long way in a short period of time. He’s a competitor and he’s focused and he goes out there and competes, so that’s what we like to see.”
Regardless of who starts, Wedge was just pleased to be preparing to play a baseball game again. The Shockers were off to a 13-2 start and had won 12 games in a row when last season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. They haven’t played since March 8.
WSU nearly had to wait even longer to open its 2021 season. Frigid weather forced WSU to cancel its season-opening home series against Northern Colorado last weekend. After the Shockers adjusted on the fly and scheduled three games against Oklahoma in Round Rock, Texas as a replacement, those games were also canceled because of weather.
For a second time in less than a week, WSU director of operations Loren Hibbs not only found a replacement series in a short amount of time — but got a top-25 team to come to Eck Stadium.
“He’s been working overtime,” Wedge said of Hibbs. “He knows a lot of people and he’s very resourceful and very experienced and people have respect for him. It’s the reason why these things happen.”
After the extreme cold weather forced the Shockers to practice indoors for more than a week, Wedge was delighted to report that WSU was able to practice outdoors at Tyler Field at Eck Stadium on Saturday for the first time in 10 days, thanks to the tireless work from WSU facilities manager Brad Pittman and his crew.
“We’re excited to be out on the field right now,” Wedge said. “We’ve been working hard to get this snow off the field and it’s looking pretty good right now. It’s good to be outside again.”
As for the lineup, Wedge wasn’t ready to give away who will be starting on opening day. But he did say that the Shockers were in “pretty good shape” when it came to health.
WSU has seven returning starters, including freshman outfielder Couper Cornblum, who was chosen preseason all-conference, junior outfielder Hunter Gibson, junior catcher Ross Cadena, junior infielder Garrett Kocis, sophomore infielder Jack Sigrist, freshman infielder Cade Clemons and senior infielder Alex Jackson.
The Shockers were 10-0 at Eck Stadium under Wedge last season, but that record will be put to the test by a Cowboys team that returns seven position starters and its entire weekend rotation. OSU, a unanimous top-20 team, was picked to finish fourth in the preseason Big 12 poll.
“We want to play the best teams that we can play and go out there and compete,” Wedge said. “ I want our guys to trust their work, trust their preparation. Their effort has been outstanding. We’ve been talking about toughness and learning from day one and they’ve done a good job with that. Ultimately, we just need to go out there and relax and compete and play baseball.”
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