Wichita State’s Cody Tyler uses lunch routine to prepare for Friday’s start

Wichita State pitcher Cody Tyler will eat lunch on Friday at McAlister’s Deli and order the southwest turkey melt, as he does before every start. He will go alone and he will eat his sandwich, drink a glass of water and preview the game from start to finish.

“I relax and get my mind ready,” he said. “I like to imagine myself going through the game, from the beginning of the game when they announce your name, running out to the mound, all the pregame stuff. I like to envision that in my mind before it actually does happen, so I know I’m ready for it.”

Tyler started the routine last summer in North Carolina, picking the restaurant because he knew he could continue in Wichita. While he doesn’t consider himself superstitious, he’s not changing.

“The southwest turkey melt, I love that,” he said. “I’ve never gotten anything other than that and I don’t really want to.”

Wichita State (13-24, 3-3 Missouri Valley Conference) faces Bradley (16-13, 2-3) this weekend at Eck Stadium with its starting rotation back to health. Willie Schwanke, who skipped last weekend’s usual Friday start with a strained biceps, will pitch Sunday. Tyler will take the Friday start for a second weekend with Zach Lewis on Saturday.

Schwanke’s return strengthens WSU’s rotation as it comes off a 2-1 series win over Missouri State. The Shockers are in fourth place in the MVC and enjoy what appears to be a favorable schedule. They play two more road series, at Southern Illinois and at Illinois State, and don’t face first-place Dallas Baptist until the last weekend of the season.

The opportunity is there for WSU to push its way toward the top of the MVC. WSU has won 33 straight games over Bradley at Eck Stadium, a streak that started in 1998.

Schwanke threw a 50-pitch bullpen on Tuesday and considers himself ready to go. He suspects the mound at Evansville, where he started on April 8, caused him to land differently and put a strain on his biceps and pectoral muscles.

“It’s just been kind of an annoying thing, especially when you’re going good and feeling confident on the mound and something like this lingers,” he said. “It’s been getting better steadily, so we’ll go from there.”

WSU coach Todd Butler may put Schwanke on a pitch count, so he moved him to Sunday rather than force the bullpen into action in the series opener.

“The guys did a good job last weekend stepping up and filling in for him,” Butler said.

Tyler, a redshirt sophomore from Terrell, Texas, got it started with a complete-game victory over Missouri State. He held the MVC’s top hitting team to 11 hits and didn’t walk a batter in a 9-2 victory.

“I think he’s really competing well and I think that’s the key,” Butler said. “He looks very determined and you can see that in his face and in his body language.”

Tyler said he threw around 80 percent fastballs against the Bears, up from around 65 percent in his previous outing. Coaches are harping on fastball command as a way for pitchers to cut walks and Tyler listened. In three games against MSU, the Shockers walked three batters, one intentionally.

“At the beginning of the season, I struggled with walks,” Tyler said. “I knew I would overcome that. I didn’t really do anything different. I knew to just stick with the things I do best and I’d get myself out of it.”

Using the fastball more often helped.

“You do need the other stuff, but a fastball is ultimately going to help you with anything, as far as getting people out,” he said. “We proved that all weekend. It proved that guys were getting themselves out and that worked pretty well for us.”

When Tyler finishes his lunch, the game will also be finished. He takes his imagination to the end, with him walking off the mound to greet teammates.

“Obviously, it ends with a win,” he said. “I’m shaking hands on the field and everybody had a good night.”

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 5:28 PM with the headline "Wichita State’s Cody Tyler uses lunch routine to prepare for Friday’s start."