Brian Green will forever remember moment from 1st win as Wichita State baseball coach
Someday the final score of his first victory as Wichita State baseball head coach will fade from Brian Green’s memory.
He’ll eventually forget the Shockers banged out 15 hits, Caden Favors rose to the occasion in his debut as staff ace and Seth Stroh launched a 490-foot home in an 18-5 opening-day road win over Little Rock on Friday.
OK, the Stroh moonshot over the scoreboard in right field might last a bit longer, but the memory that will outlast them all will be the feeling Green had in the postgame huddle.
The first-year coach handed the game ball to Stroh, a worthy recipient after a career-high seven RBIs. But the senior, one of the few players who decided to return to the program and play for Green, tossed the ball right back to his new head coach.
“Thanks coach, but not today,” Stroh said. “This one was for you. Congrats on your first win.”
Hours following the rousing debut win, Green hadn’t let the baseball out of sight.
“Emotionally, that was a very special moment for me,” Green said in a phone interview. “To be the head coach at Wichita State is pretty awesome and you want to get that first one out of the way, but this was definitely a special one. And just really cool for Seth to do that. I’m staring at the ball right now and it’s going to have a place in my office once we get back home.”
After spending the past four seasons at Washington State, Green couldn’t have scripted a better debut performance for his new WSU team.
Little Rock returned every meaningful contributor from a 31-win team and was tabbed the preseason favorite in the Ohio Valley Conference. Friday starter Jackson Wells led the country with a 1.65 ERA in 93 innings pitched last season.
The Shockers tagged Wells for seven earned runs in just two innings, chasing him from the game without recording an out in the top of the third inning.
WSU took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI double by Ryan Callahan followed by an RBI single from Mauricio Milan. The lead grew to 5-0 after two innings when Jordan Rogers blasted a three-run homer over the left-field fence.
Wells finally exited the game when Stroh sent one into the stratosphere in the top of the third inning, clearing the scoreboard and sending WSU’s dugout into an uproar. Stroh nearly had a second home run in the seventh inning, but his line drive hit off the top of the wall and he instead settled for a three-RBI triple. He also had a two-RBI single in the ninth inning.
“When he hit that (490-foot home run), you heard it and then I saw Seth stand there and watch it for just a second,” Green said. “That’s not in his personality, so I knew it had to be pretty special. And then when I heard it cleared the scoreboard, man, that’s got to be one of the three or four best home runs I’ve ever seen in my 30 years coaching in college.”
Lost in the offensive explosion was a superb start from Favors, who made a successful transition from a specialist arm in the bullpen last season for WSU to its Friday night starter.
The 6-foot-3 lefty struck out a career-high eight hitters and pitched a shutout through five innings. He finally ran into trouble in the sixth inning, giving up four runs, but by that point, WSU had given him a 12-0 cushion.
“I wish our fans could have seen (Favors) today because he was absolutely dealing,” Green said. “He was hitting both sides of the plate with his fastball and change. His slot is higher now. He can pitch to both lefties and righties and he’s throwing a change, slider and cutter. He’s really profiling as a starter. He was an advanced pitcher today and I’m so proud of him because he works so hard at it.”
Milan, WSU’s only everyday starter back from last season, reached base five times with three. hits, three runs and an RBI. Callahan, Rogers and sophomore Jaden Gustafson, a Maize graduate, notched multi-hit performances, while Josh Livingston added a pair of runs and RBIs. Caleb Anderson notched a 10-out save in relief.
“I’m so proud of the returning guys, almost all of them had big days,” Green said. “We knew we have the talent, but you never know what you’re going to get on opening day. So for them to come out that way was pretty awesome.”
WSU snapped its five-year losing streak in season-opening games and 18 runs marks the most WSU has scored on opening day since a 28-4 win over Saint Louis in 1991.
The final two games of the series were set for 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
“I had a text from (former WSU head coach Gene Stephenson) and he said how proud he was of the team and our effort,” Green said. “But he also said, ‘You’re only as good as your next performance.’ I read that to the guys and they loved it.”
This story was originally published February 17, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
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