Payton Tolle leads Wichita State baseball rally to win Frisco Classic championship
There must be something about trailing 4-0 that resonates with this Wichita State baseball team.
The Shockers erased a four-run deficit three times in the past week, including twice in the Frisco Classic to pull off an emotional run to the championship, punctuated by a come-from-behind 6-5 win over Texas A&M on Sunday evening.
After an 0-6 start to the season, WSU found its mojo and rejuvenated the excitement surrounding the program in coach Eric Wedge’s second full season with a 3-0 weekend marked by wins over Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC programs en route to a prestigious early-season tournament title.
The star of the weekend was Payton Tolle, a true freshman from Yukon, Oklahoma who did his best Shohei Ohtani impersonation by throwing a gem — one earned run over seven innings, improving his season-long ERA to 0.93 through three starts — on Saturday and finishing 4-for-7 at the plate with five RBIs, including a towering, no-doubt home run to put WSU in front in the seventh inning of Sunday night’s de facto championship game against Texas A&M. Tolle was voted the Frisco Classic MVP for his efforts, earning all-tournament honors as both designated hitter and starting pitcher.
It took nearly four hours, but the Texas A&M game was the best thriller of the weekend authored by the Shockers, who trailed 4-0 entering the bottom of the sixth inning.
That’s when the game swung, as Couper Cornblum delivered a RBI double to the gap in right-center field and Ross Cadena followed with an RBI single of his own.
The rally continued in the seventh inning when Xavier Casserilla earned a two-out walk, then scored from first base when Chuck Ingram blasted a double down the left-field line. Moments later, Tolle hit his two-run blast over the right-field fence to put WSU in front, 5-4.
After Texas A&M produced the game-tying run, Cornblum reached base to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning and advanced all the way to third base on back-to-back wild pitches. A sacrifice fly by Jack Sigrist brought him around to score what would be the title-winning run.
Starter Adam Ketelsen was chased from the game without recording an out in the fourth inning, but WSU’s bullpen, which struggled early in the season, rose to the occasion once again in Frisco. Foster Gifford and Caden Favors combined to allow just two earned runs in 4⅔ innings of work, which set up closer Connor Holden to earn the win with a perfect final four outs of the game.
Sawyre Thornhill also earned all-tournament recognition, as he recorded a hit in all three games and extended his hitting streak to 12 games to open the season.
Wichita State (5-7) returns to Eck Stadium for its home opener in a Tuesday 3 p.m. game against Oral Roberts, which handed the Shockers their only loss in their last six games.
Shockers overpower Washington State in 8-2 victory
There was no comeback necessary for the Shockers in their second game of the tournament, as Tolle improved to 2-0 with his third straight superb outing. Tolle allowed just one run over seven innings, as the left-hander now sports a 0.93 ERA in his first 19⅓ innings.
With Tolle dealing once again, WSU jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the fourth when Ross Cadena delivered a two-RBI single in the second, then drew a bases-loaded walk for his second RBI of the game and Andrew Stewart brought in another run on a fielder’s choice in the fourth.
Cornblum capitalized on a throwing error in the sixth to score, then the Shockers added three insurance runs in the top of the ninth when Casserilla was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Ingram followed with a two-run single to left field to provide the final scoring margin.
Wichita State rallies for 6-4 win over Iowa
After rallying from a 4-0 deficit to beat Iowa in Corpus Christi, the Shockers climbed out of the same 4-0 hole against the Hawkeyes in their opening game in Frisco.
After being no-hit through five innings, WSU exploded in the sixth when Sigrist, Brock Rodden and Thornhill strung together three straight singles to put WSU on the board and load the bases, only for Tolle to clear them with a two-out double off the left-field wall to tie the score, 4-4.
WSU came through with the winning runs in the top of the eighth inning when Thornhill delivered an RBI single through the right side, then Ingram added an insurance run with an RBI single up the middle.
Starter Jace Kaminska toiled into the sixth inning and exited with WSU trailing 4-0, but he was picked up by his bullpen, which combined to log 3⅔ scoreless innings. Cameron Bye was crucial in replacing Kaminska in the sixth and striking out five, while keeping Iowa off the scoreboard in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.
There were some nerves in the bottom of the ninth when closer Connor Holden hit a batter to load the bases with two outs, but he coaxed a fly ball to center field to end the game.
It was the second straight come-from-behind victory over Iowa, a projected regional team, in less than a week.
This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
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