Cody Tyler’s complete game, sparkling defense lift Wichita State to 9-2 win

The conversation went predictably. Wichita State coach Todd Butler planned to go to a reliever. Pitcher Cody Tyler demanded to stay and his teammates backed him.

“It was a collective group of guys on the infield telling (Butler) that Cody has this last batter,” catcher Gunnar Troutwine said. “All of us knew Cody could finish it out.”

Tyler finished off that last batter by snaring a line drive to end Wichita State’s 9-2 win over Missouri State on Friday at Eck Stadium. He celebrated his first complete game with a fist pump after pitch No. 117 snapped a six-game WSU losing streak to the Bears.

“You work for eight innings and it’s kind of one of those things where you say ‘All right, get this done, somehow,’ ” Tyler said. “He came out and said ‘Hey, you’re at 113 (pitches).’ I’ve gone way past 113 before and with adrenaline, man, you don’t feel that.”

Tyler stepped in for No. 1 starter Willie Schwanke, out this weekend with soreness in his right biceps, and gave the Shockers (12-22, 2-2 Missouri Valley Conference) an uplifting performance. He survived three dangerous situations in the early innings, enjoyed wide-ranging defense by his infielders and watched Troutwine erase two runners. Tyler gave up 11 hits, but didn’t crumble when the Bears put runners on. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out five to exceed his previous career-long outing by three innings.

“You can’t do that without defense,” Tyler said.

Schwanke, who owns five of WSU’s 11 previous wins, isn’t on the weekend roster. Butler said he expects him to pitch next weekend.

“(Tyler) really filled the shoes of Schwanke,” Butler said. “He really wanted to finish the game and that’s what you want.”

The Bears (26-7, 1-2) stressed Tyler three times, putting two runners on with no outs, in the first four innings. They led 1-0 after all that. In the first, Tyler gave up two singles and then struck out the next three batters on fastballs. In the second, a leadoff double and a single went to waste, in part because Troutwine threw out Alex Jefferson trying to steal second. Tyler struck out Matt Fultz with a curveball to end the inning.

In the fourth, Spencer Johnson tripled and scored on Jeremy Eierman’s single. He moved to third on a double by Aaron Meyer and the MVC’s top offense appeared ready to dismiss Tyler. After a groundball out, Troutwine caught Eierman tardy returning to third and picked him off.

“Great throw,” Butler said. “That’s a little play we put in this year and he did a good job making that happen.”

Tyler snagged a line drive by Justin Paulsen to end the inning, still down 1-0.

Third baseman Chase Rader contributed a defensive highlight by tracking down a ball blooped over his head by Hunter Steinmetz with a sliding, over-the-shoulder catch in the fifth inning. Second baseman Tanner Kirk topped that by running from his spot on the infield to the WuShock logo in center field to slide and reach out to grab a ball hit by Johnson in the eighth.

“I’ve never seen that before, a second baseman going that far,” Tyler said.

Bears starter Jordan Knutson controlled the first four innings and didn’t let the Shockers hit a ball out of the infield. He unraveled in the fifth and the Shockers got a break with a favorable call. WSU scored five runs to take a 5-1 lead, an inning that featured six straight hits.

Troutwine singled to center to lead off the fifth. Luke Ritter bunted and Knutson tried to tag with the ball in his hand. Umpire Clint Wheeler ruled him safe, despite Knutson’s protests. After a brief conference with the other umpires, Wheeler signaled safe again.

“He did get me,” Ritter said. “He nipped my jersey.”

WSU’s first threat of the game turned into a game-turning burst.

Ryan Tinkham doubled to drive in Troutwine and tie the game 1-all. Dayton Dugas followed with a two-run double. A single by Trey Vickers gave WSU a 4-1 lead and Kirk scored on a groundout to make it 5-1.

Dugas doubled again in the sixth, slapping a ball off the glove of third baseman Jake Burger, to drive in Ritter for a 6-2 lead. Mikel Mucha singled to right, over a drawn-in infield, to drive in two more runs for an 8-2 lead.

Worth noting — The threat of rain has moved Sunday’s game to Saturday. The teams will play a doubleheader at 1 p.m.… Senior Chase Williams will start Saturday’s first game for WSU. Zach Lewis is a possible starter for the second game, although he is a bullpen candidate for the first game, Butler said.… The Shockers hadn’t beaten Missouri State since 2014. The Bears won all five meetings last season.… Mucha struck out in his first two at-bats before singling and tripling to drive in three runs. … Burger, 6 for 12 against WSU last season in three games, went 0 for 4.

This story was originally published April 15, 2016 at 10:28 PM with the headline "Cody Tyler’s complete game, sparkling defense lift Wichita State to 9-2 win."