Baseball
After an 11-4 win on Friday, Wichita State’s baseball team was able to kick off the season with a series sweep of Northern Colorado for the Shockers’ best start since the 2018 season.
On Saturday, the Shockers beat UNC 14-1 in seven innings via run rule. The next two games were shortened, as well.
The Bears struck first on an RBI single in the first inning, but WSU put up three in the third and six in the fourth to run away with the game.
A two-run double by junior MJ Sweeney gave the Shockers their 10th run in the fifth. WSU hit two home runs and stole five bases during the game.
On Sunday, the teams finished the series with a doubleheader after inclement weather on Saturday forced just one game after two were scheduled.
In game one, the Shockers picked up their second straight run rule victory with an 11-0 shutout.
WSU scored one run in the first inning before exploding for 10 in the fifth, including a three-run homer off the bat of senior Jason Jones and back-to-back two-RBI extra base hits by graduate student Alex Ulloa and junior Zeb Henry.
WSU picked up a 7-3 win in the series finale, which was also shortened to seven innings for the four-game sweep. Like in games one through three, the Shockers took an early lead and didn’t look back. As a team, WSU hit .355 with eight home runs and 40 RBI.
Next up, the Shockers travel to the Aloha State to play Hawaii in a four-game series from Thursday to Sunday.
Men’s tennis
WSU’s men’s tennis team split on their road trip to Boise, Idaho against Boise State and Denver. The Shockers’ record sits at 5-7 after the games on Friday and Saturday.
WSU started the weekend with a 6-1 loss to Boise State. The Shockers’ only point came from a singles win by senior Alejandro Jacome.
They rebounded from the loss with a win against unbeaten Denver on Saturday. WSU beat the Pioneers, 5-2.
Freshman Pablo Roche Alcaya and sophomore Zaid Al Mashni secured the doubles point on court one after the teams split the results on courts three and two.
In singles, senior Luke Bracks won his match in straight sets, 7-5 and 6-3. Roche Alcaya, Al Mashni and sophomore Ilias Worthington all won their matches, as well.
Next weekend, the Shockers will head down south to play Abilene Christian and UT Arlington on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Track and field
The Shockers participated in two meets over the weekend as the American Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship approaches: the Tyson Invitational (Friday) and the Ichabod Invitational (Friday to Saturday).
Twenty-two WSU athletes finished on the podium in their respective events.
During the Tyson Invitational, junior Josh Parrish tied a personal best in men’s 60- meter hurdles to finish in third. Freshman Vivien Joritch Kipkorir finished with a time of 9:28.81 in the women’s 3000 meters to place her in third.
Senior Jelese Alexander finished first in the 60 meters with a time of 7.59 seconds during the Ichabod Invitational. She also finished second in the high jump with a mark of 1.77 meters.
Jason Parrish got a second-place finish in the 200 meters with a time of 21.42. In the 60-meter hurdles, freshman Keely Hoback finished first with a time of 8.68 seconds. Jason Parrish, junior Tyler Carroll and freshman Brody Anderson swept the podium in the men’s 60-meter hurdles.
Other highlights included first- and second-place finishes for the men’s and women’s 4×400-relay teams, respectively.
The Shockers will travel to the Steve Miller Invitational next Friday for their final meet before the indoor conference championship.
Women’s tennis
WSU’s women’s tennis team swept the state of Kansas by beating Kansas State on the road last Friday, 4-2. The Shockers beat KU the previous weekend.
The Shockers swept to earn the doubles point, and only dropped singles matches on courts four and six. The other singles matches ended in straight sets for WSU or were left unfinished.
WSU also secured its fifth Power Conference win with the victory over the Wildcats.
