Wichita State (0-5, 0-0 American) at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (2-3, 0-0 Southland)
Friday, February 25 | 6:00 pm | Corpus Christi, Texas (Whataburger Field)
TV: FloSports | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Jace Kaminska (0-0, 8.10) vs. RHP Tyler Miller (0-1, 9.00)

Wichita State (0-5, 0-0 American) vs. Pepperdine (4-0, 0-0 West Coast)
Saturday, February 26 | 12:00 pm | Corpus Christi, Texas (Whataburger Field)
TV: FloSports | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Payton Tolle (0-0, 1.50) vs. RHP Trevor Kniskern (1-0, 0.00)

Wichita State (0-5, 0-0 American) vs. Iowa (3-0, 0-0 Big 10)
Sunday, February 27 | 11:00 am | Corpus Christi, Texas (Whataburger Field)
TV: FloSports | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Will Stevens (0-1, 18.00) vs. RHP Marcus Morgan (0-0, 0.00)
 

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State continues their season-opening 12-game road swing on Friday evening with the the Kleberg Bank College Classic at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Shockers will battle the host Islanders of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday night, then take on Pepperdine and Iowa on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Wichita State dropped its fifth straight game to open the season on Thursday night, falling to Texas State by the score of 9-2 in San Marcos.  The game was originally scheduled to be played on Wednesday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington before being moved by the threat of winter weather in the Metroplex. The Shockers are coming off a 31-23 season a year ago, including an 18-13 mark in the American Athletic Conference that produced a third-place finish, WSU's best since joining the AAC in 2017. Wichita State is seeking their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since the 2013 season, a regional bid that was later vacated by the NCAA.

SHOCKER BASEBALL ON THE RADIO AND ESPN PLUS: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM will once again serve as the radio home for all Wichita State baseball broadcasts in 2022. Denning Gerig will have the call of this week's games, with former Shocker All-American pitcher Shane Dennis back on the mic beginning next Tuesday at Oral Roberts. "The Voice of the Shockers" and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kennedy joins the team later in the season following the conclusion of the men's basketball season. Pregame show begins approximately 20 minutes prior to first pitch. All WSU home games will air live on ESPN Plus (WatchESPN.com) with Dennis on the call. Live audio, in addition to live statistics, will be available for all games at GoShockers.com/listen and ShockerStats.com. 

SERIES HISTORY: Friday will be the first all-time meeting on the diamond between Wichita State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Shockers have met Pepperdine nine times, going 4-5, and Iowa ten times, winning all games. The last meeting with the Waves came in 2019, when WSU dropped a 13-8 decision in Tempe, Arizona. Current Shocker Jack Sigrist went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in the defeat. Wichita State won two of three games in Wichita in 2009, with Pepperdine taking two of three in Malibu in 2007. The Shockers have dominated the series with Iowa, winning all ten games, though the last meeting came in 2013. The game was played in Little Rock, Arkansas after winter weather played havoc with WSU's early season schedule, canceling scheduled series against Delaware and Fordham. The Shockers won that last meeting by the score of 5-3. 

SHOCKER NOTES: Thursday's defeat at Texas State did feature a pair of firsts for the Shockers in 2022, as Couper Cornblum recorded the first stolen base of the season with a swipe of third base in the fifth inning, and Brock Rodden launched the campaign's first home run with a two-run blast in the top of the eighth...after striking out 13 batters against Oklahoma on Tuesday, three Wichita State hurlers combined for only three punchouts on Thursday while handing out five walks...Thursday's game featured the Wichita State debuts of designated hitter Drew Miller, catcher Gage Williams, and starting pitcher Robert Cranz. Williams recorded his first collegiate hit with an eighth inning single...Cornblum finished the day 2-for-4, his third multi-hit game of the season.

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M CORPUS CHRISTI: The Islanders enter the weekend with a record of 2-3, having taken a series at UT Arlington before dropping a pair of games at home to #1 ranked Texas. Wednesday's game was a one-run affair, with Texas grabbing a run in the top of the seventh to hang on for a 5-4 victory after rolling to a 12-0 win on Tuesday. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi went 25-29 (20-14) a year ago, and were picked fourth in the eight-team Southland Conference preseason poll. The Islanders started the season 4-1 before losing 14 straight games, though the stretch did include defeats to Texas Tech, TCU, Rice, Texas, and Texas A&M. Right-hander Tyler Miller gets the ball for the Islanders on Friday night, a 6-7 junior from Houston who was almost exclusively a reliever a season ago, making just one start over the course of 17 appearances. He finished the season 3-3 with a 3.19 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 31.0 innings pitched. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is led by Head Coach Scott Malone, now in his 15th season at the helm.

SCOUTING PEPPERDINE: The Waves are off to a strong start in 2022, roaring out of the gates at 4-0 entering play on Friday. Pepperdine swept a series from Villanova by scores of 13-3, 6-4, and 10-7, then clipped UCLA in a midweek contest on Tuesday night, 7-5. Pepperdine scored six times in the top of the ninth to erase a two-run deficit, getting a go-ahead grand slam from shortstop John Peck that proved to be the game-winner. Defensively, the Waves have committed 11 errors through their four games, led by Peck's four. Pepperdine is coming off a 20-25 (12-15) season in 2021, and were picked fifth in the ten-team West Coast Conference preseason poll. Head Coach Rick Hirtensteiner has been with the program for 24 seasons, including seven as head coach, after a record-setting playing career for the Waves in the late 80s.

SCOUTING IOWA: The Hawkeyes had a dominant start to their season over the course of three games in Charleston, South Carolina at the Swig & Swine Classic, defeating Air Force, Ball State and Bucknell by a combined score of 26-3. Iowa pitchers combined for 46 strikeouts over 27.0 innings, allowing only six hits and 14 walks. The Hawkeyes went 26-18 a season ago, as the Big 10 played only conference games. Iowa was picked third in the Big 10 preseason poll behind Nebraska and Michigan, with preseason all-conference accolades for right-handed pitchers Adam Mazur and Dylan Nedved and first baseman Peyton Williams. The Shockers are very familiar with Iowa head coach Rick Heller, who led both Northern Iowa and Indiana State in the Missouri Valley Conference before taking over the Hawkeyes in 2013. He is one of nine coaches all-time and one of five active coaches to lead three different DI programs to a regional.

SLOW START: Wichita State has started a season 0-5 for the first time since the 1953 season, a year in which WSU played only 10 games. The Shockers began 0-3 in both 2012 and 2013, but in each case defeated Oral Roberts in the subsequent midweek game. 

SCHEDULE CHANGES: Since wrapping up last weekend's three-game series at Louisiana Tech, the Shockers have been battling the effects of winter weather that has pounded the midwest. Tuesday's game at Oklahoma was moved up from it's original start time, Thursday's game against Texas State was moved from Globe Life Field to San Marcos, and Saturday's scheduled game against Pepperdine has been changed from a 2:00 pm first pitch to noon.

THORN IN THEIR SIDE: Newcomer Sawyre Thornhill has been a consistent source of offensive production for Wichita State through the first five games of the season, the only Shocker to record a hit in each contest. The transfer from Northeast Texas Community College extended the streak with a fourth inning infield single on Thursday.

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLES: Freshman lefty Payton Tolle put together the best start of the season for Wichita State last Saturday at Louisiana Tech, flipping six innings of one-run baseball on just four hits. No other starter for either side completed more than five innings in any of the three games. Tolle then made his season debut at DH the following day, going 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.

TRANSFER TRACKER: The Shockers added 12 transfers to the 2022 roster, including six from Division-I programs. RHP Connor Holden (Murray State),  LHP Austin Wallace (Texas), LHP Adam Ketelsen (Iowa), INF Will Carpenter (Penn State), RHP Matt Boyer (Saint Louis) and RHP Grayson Jones (James Madison) all make their way to Wichita for 2022. 

LEANING ON THE LONE STAR STATE: 14 Shockers on the roster hail from Texas, easily the most of any one state. Oklahoma is next closest with nine, then four from Kansas. The Texans will have plenty of opportunities to shine in front of friends and family, as Wichita State plays ten games in the state of Texas in 2022 (one game in Arlington, three in Corpus Christi, three in Frisco, three in Houston).

POLL POSITION: The Shockers were picked fourth in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll, the highest preseason projection for Wichita State since joining the AAC in 2017. First baseman Garrett Kocis and RHP Jace Kaminska were both selected to the AAC Preseason All-Conference Team.

KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY: Shocker coaches Eric Wedge, Mike Pelfrey, Mike Sirianni and Director of Operations Loren Hibbs all have ties to the WSU baseball program. Wedge powered the Shockers to a national championship as the starting catcher in 1989, earning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors along the way. Pelfrey was an All-American starter who ranks second in program history in ERA (2.18) and strikeouts (366). Sirianni was a volunteer assistant coach for the Shockers in 2015 and 2016 before taking the head coaching position at Regis University. Hibbs helped WSU to the program's first-ever CWS appearance in 1982, and still holds the NCAA record for single-season runs scored with 125.

SUPPLEMENTING THE STAFF: The Shockers added volunteer assistant coach Conor Behrens (pronounced BEAR-enns) to the staff in late January after previous volunteer Easton Herring accepted a position with the Virginia Tech softball program. Behrens comes to Wichita after stops at Point Loma Nazarene and Central Missouri, where he helped the Mules to a national runner-up finish in 2021.

ON DECK: The Shockers are off on Monday before returning to action on Tuesday with a midweek game at Oral Roberts.