WSU splits baseball doubleheader with Missouri State, wins series

A series win over nationally ranked Missouri State may have answered no questions about the long-term prospects for Wichita State’s baseball team.

“It’s day-to-day with us,” WSU coach Todd Butler said.

The pitching staff got a head start on earning more faith, though.

A day after Cody Tyler’s complete-game win over No. 15 MSU, Zach Lewis kept the Bears without a baserunner until the sixth inning of an 11-1 win over the Bears in Game 2 of a doubleheader on Saturday at Eck Stadium. The game ended in the seventh on a run-rule following Mikel Mucha’s RBI single

MSU won the first game 6-1 as WSU starter Chase Williams left in the fourth inning with right forearm tightness. Lewis, providing a similar outlier to the Shockers (13-23) winning two in a three-game series for the first time in two months, snapped a seven-start winless streak.

“Since the beginning of fall we knew we had pitching depth,” Lewis said. “It’s starting to really come around now. We’re starting to get really comfortable and really starting to attack the (strike) zone.”

The Shockers’ pitching depth virtually came out of nowhere this weekend. Tyler, Williams and Lewis were a combined 0-12 and all had ERAs above 5.00. A matchup against an MSU team with eight hitters batting .294 or better didn’t seem like a recipe for a turnaround.

Tyler allowed 11 hits on Friday but gave WSU its first game this season without a walk. Lewis retired 15 straight to start Saturday’s second game and was two outs from ending the game in the top of the seventh before MSU scored to put off the 10-run rule.

“We had two of three games that were pitched really well,” Butler said. “We didn’t have a pitcher with a win going into the weekend – we didn’t have a pitcher with one win. With Schwanke down, guys stepped up and that was big to see. I think we improved this weekend. We pitched much better than we have. A big key for us is throwing strikes, and we did that.”

Each of this week’s four starting pitchers, including Tuesday starter Connor Lungwitz, pitched in roles they didn’t have at the start of the year. Injuries to Sam Tewes and Willie Schwanke – and now, perhaps, Williams – have forced others into duty.

The Shockers have used more starting pitchers (eight) than those who have exclusively pitched in relief (seven) this season.

“I think we’re getting better on the mound,” Butler said. “But you have to carry it into the next day.”

The Shockers scored 21 runs in the series, their most since scoring 21 in losing two of three to Sam Houston State in early March. They collected three hits in Game 1 on Saturday but matched that in the first inning of Game 2.

That inning also included three walks and wild pitches on three consecutive pitches, all scoring runs from third base, by MSU starter Ryan Dunne.

Dunne’s wildness didn’t affect WSU’s aggressiveness, though. The Shockers notched 12 hits against four Bears pitchers and got multi-hit efforts from Mucha, Luke Ritter, Greyson Jenista, Alec Bohm and Dayton Dugas, who went 3 for 3.

The Shockers scored in double figures while allowing one run or fewer for the first time since a season-opening 11-0 win over Northern Colorado.

“This has definitely been the potential from the get-go,” said Ritter, a freshman. “I feel like the starting pitching was very good, it kind of set the tone for us. Then our bats woke up, we were aggressive and swung, and overall that helped us out a lot.”

This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 7:57 PM with the headline "WSU splits baseball doubleheader with Missouri State, wins series."