Wichita State baseball wins three of four at Houston to take opening AAC series
Before this weekend, the Wichita State baseball team was 0-6 against Houston since joining the American Athletic Conference in 2018.
But great pitching paired with timely hitting allowed the Shockers to win three of four games at Houston and take the first conference series of the season on the road in coach Eric Wedge’s conference debut. WSU secured the series win with a 3-2 win at Houston on Saturday afternoon and the Shockers (15-9, 3-1 AAC) have won seven of their last eight games.
Jack Sigrist delivered a two-out, RBI single in the top of the ninth inning on Saturday, as WSU rallied from a 2-1 deficit. Starter Spencer Hynes allowed two earned runs in seven innings, while reliever Ryan Stuempfig closed out the game with two scoreless innings to improve to 5-0 this season.
After losing 5-3 in the series opener, the Shockers won the final three games of the series after a sweep of a Friday doubleheader. WSU won the afternoon game 3-2 then took the nightcap 2-1.
Paxton Wallace smashed a lead-off home run to break a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth inning in WSU’s Game 1 victory, while freshman starter Jace Kaminska delivered another gem in the form of seven scoreless innings to help WSU win Game 2.
Wallace finished with two hits and two RBIs in the first game, while Garrett Kocis and Corrigan Bartlett each had doubles. Stuempfig earned the win on the mound after tossing a scoreless eighth inning, while closer Aaron Haase sat Houston down in order in the ninth for his sixth save of the season. Senior Preston Snavely delivered another quality outing, allowing two earned runs on three hits in seven innings with seven strikeouts.
Kaminska was the star of the second game, as he scatted five hits across seven shutout innings to go along with four strikeouts in his second collegiate start. The two-time Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year from Caney is now 2-0 with 12 scoreless innings.
WSU took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Sigrist hit a lead-off double and Kocis laced a two-out double down the left-field line. The score held until the top of the eighth when Kocis once again doubled and scored on a two-out single from Bartlett for a 2-0 lead.
Houston answered with a run in the bottom of the eighth, but reliever Foster Gifford was able to strand the game-tying run on third base to close the inning. Haase shut the door once again in the ninth for his second save of the day.
In the first game of the series, a 5-3 loss, the Shockers trailed 5-0 entering the top of the eighth inning. WSU rallied for three runs in the eighth, as Kocis delivered an RBI single, Wallace scored on a Houston error and Bartlett also knocked in an RBI single.
In a scheduling quirk, the Shockers will play Houston four more times this coming week — this time in Wichita. Sandwiched in between a Friday doubleheader and Sunday 11 a.m. tilt at Eck Stadium, WSU will open Riverfront Stadium with a 2 p.m. Saturday game against the Cougars.
Softball team sweeps Memphis
The WSU softball team is off to a record-setting start to the season, as the Shockers completed a four-game sweep of Memphis with Saturday’s 5-0 victory.
WSU improved to 24-5, its best start in program history, and 7-1 in AAC play. After two more home runs on Saturday, WSU now has 56 homers on the season — three shy of the school record with 23 regular-season games left.
Freshman Addison Barnard belted another home run on Saturday, giving her 14 for the season, two shy of the WSU single-season record. Senior ace Bailey Lange notched another shutout, striking out five to pick up the win and improve to 12-2 this season.
WSU crushed five home runs for the fourth time this season in the series-opening 12-2, run-rule win. Sydney McKinney, Barnard, Madison Perrigan, Neleigh Herring and Ryleigh Buck all homered, while Lange allowed just two runs over five innings to pick up the win.
The Shockers followed with a doubleheader sweep on Friday, winning the first game, 6-2, before rallying for a 6-5 win in the nightcap.
Erin McDonald (8-1) threw a complete game in Friday’s opener, allowing just two runs and striking out six. The offense was led by Buck, who registered her second two-home run game of the season and drove in three runs.
WSU led 5-1 in Friday’s second game, but Memphis rallied to tie the score in the bottom of the sixth inning. Bailee Nickerson provided the game-winning hit on a solo home run to lead off the seventh inning, while Lange entered and struck out the side to earn her third save of the season and preserve the win for Caitlin Bingham (4-1).
Men’s tennis picks up another ranked win
In the same week the WSU men’s tennis team moved up to No. 34 in the national poll, the Shockers looked every bit deserving of that ranking with a convincing 4-1 victory over No. 48 SMU to sweep the season series at Coleman Tennis Complex on Friday.
The All-American duo of Marius Frosa and Murkel Dellien, who are now ranked No. 72 in the country, won their No. 1 doubles match, 6-3, while Orel Ovil and Luka Mrsic finished off the No. 2 doubles match, 6-2, to win the doubles point for the Shockers.
In singles play, Dellien won for the eighth straight time at No. 1 singles to set the tone for the Shockers. Ray Lo (No. 6) and Nicholas Acevedo (No. 4) both won their singles matches to secure the match victory for WSU.
Another ranked matchup for the Shockers await them on Sunday when No. 28 Pepperdine comes to the Coleman Tennis Complex for a noon match.
.jpg)