Shockers defeat Central Arkansas, remain undefeated

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Freshman Wes Philips slides into home on a throwing error by Justin Treece in the third inning of Tuesdays game against Central Arkansas. The Shockers beat the Bears 6-9 in the matchup.

Freshmen Wes Phillips and Sam Tewes helped rally the Wichita State Shockers to their fourth win of the season Tuesday. The Shockers beat the Central Arkansas Bears 6-9 despite an attempted comeback late in the game.

“The story to the game was Sam Tewes,” WSU coach Todd Butler said. “First outing, a true freshman… he was in total command of the game.”

Tewes started on the mound for the Shockers. He was given the win in the matchup, allowing 1 run off 0 hits in 4.1 innings with two strikeouts.

After a walk and two outs to start the third, WSU found the sweet spot against Bears pitcher Brandon Schmidt. That’s when Phillips scored the first run of the game on an RBI double to left field.

An RBI by Tanner Dearman and a wild pitch that allowed him to score from third gave WSU a 3-0 lead.

Phillips, a Wichita native, said playing on the team has been a dream come true for him.

“I’ve been wanting to, since I was in second grade, be a Shocker and be on this baseball field,” Phillips said. “It’s a blessing.”

Phillips said being at home has given him a lot of support from neighbors, friends and family coming out to watch him play. He went three-for-five in the game with three RBI.

Daniel Kihle started a four run onslaught in the third inning after hitting a home run over the left center wall.

Kihle said he saw the pitch coming after a signal from a Bears coach tipped him off that he was likely to be thrown a changeup. He didn’t see the solo homer coming though, he said.

“I thought I was out,” Kihle said. “I caught it and kind of threw my bat over.”

A throwing error to first allowed Dearman onto base and Phillips to come home. Casey Gillaspie doubled for two more runs before the inning was over.

Phillips scored the last points for the Shockers with a double for 2 RBI in the fourth.

Though they scored one run in previous innings, the Bears came alive in the ninth with five runs before closing pitcher Foster Vielock shut them down. Vielock was awarded with the save.

Butler said the team has done a good job so far heading into a streak of away games, but doesn’t want them to think about what’s ahead of them.

“I just want them to come play every day,” Butler said. “Not to worry about the next day, worry about the game we’re playing, and give our best effort.”