Baseball

After dropping game one of a three-game series against Tulane over the weekend, the Shockers’ baseball team split the final two games and lost their first American Conference series of the year. 

Wichita State now sits 21-12 and 5-4 in league play and are tied for fourth in the conference.

In game two Friday, the Shockers avenged Thursday’s loss with a 7-4 win. 

Three Shockers recorded extra base hits, with two home runs from senior Owen Washburn and doubles from Jayson Jones and Owen Rush. The pitching complemented the hot bats, as Wichita State gave up just a single run after four innings of work from starter Brady Hamilton.

WSU concluded the series Saturday with an 8-1 loss to the Green Wave. Much like in the series opener, the Shockers couldn’t find production at the plate, managing just six hits in 32 at bats.

Johnny Nuanez (3-1) was tagged with the loss on the mound after allowing four runs on five hits in 1 2/3 innings. Jones did extend his hitting streak to 24 games, however, despite the Shockers’ first series loss in the American this year.

The Shockers will stay home for their next game against Kansas State at 6:05 p.m. Tuesday at Eck Stadium. The Shockers fell to the Wildcats in Manhattan earlier this year. 

Softball

After a game one loss on Thursday, the Shockers’ softball team regained momentum with back-to-back wins over Tulsa to conclude the weekend series and snap a four-game skid. 

WSU is now 21-15 and 9-6 against league opponents. Currently, the Shockers are in third place in the conference.

Friday’s 7-1 win was highlighted by a complete game from sophomore Ava Sliger (5-1) in the circle. She gave up just four hits and repeatedly forced the Golden Hurricane into weak pop ups or grounders to the infield.

Wichita State took advantage of the solid pitching, recording 12 hits, six RBIs and playing small ball. The Shockers didn’t record a home run throughout the night, but four of their runs were manufactured from singles.

The momentum the team gained from the game two win carried over into a 9-3 victory in the series finale Saturday afternoon.

WSU put up three-run innings in the second and sixth, respectively, and piled on two in the fourth.

Next up, the Shockers will host Oklahoma State Wednesday at Wilkins Stadium. WSU and the Cowgirls will finish a game that was suspended March 10 this season due to inclement weather before playing a full seven-inning game shortly after.

Track and field 

Over the weekend, the WSU track and field team competed at the Midwest Classic and the Friends Spring Open last Thursday and Friday, picking up 10 first place finishes along the way.

At the Friends Spring Open, junior Kelvin Kipyego, freshmen Greyson Ellensohn and Austin Carrera and senior Riley Vandaveer finished all in the top four in the men’s 1,500, with Kipyego placing first after a time of 3 minutes, 49.92 seconds. 

Junior Tyler Carroll and freshman Asher Buggs-Tipton finished in first and second in the 110-meter hurdles, respectively. In the men’s steeplechase, sophomore Victor Kemboi got a first-place finish with a time of 9:50.50. 

Sophomore Chairo Ogbebor and freshman Andre Pentecost Jr. finished earned gold and bronze in the long jump after marks of 7.17 meters and 6.82 meters, respectively. 

In men’s discus, freshman Eli Johnson and sophomore Jarrett Schmidt also finished in first and third. Finally, senior Beau Kerschen finished first in the hammer throw with a distance of 58.86 meters. 

On the women’s side of the Friends Spring Open, seniors Lucy Ndungu and Lea Jerkovic and sophomore Faith Ekart swept the podium in the 1,500-meter. 

Freshman Keely Hoback finished first in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:00.82. Senior Mattelyn Swartz finished first in the high jump with a mark of 1.70 meters. 

The Shockers swept the podium in the pole vault, as sophomore Kylie Scott finished in first with teammates Lilly Charest and Shellamae Farmer close behind in second and third place.

The track and field team will be in multiple meets next weekend. 

The Shocker multis will be in College Station, Texas, to compete in the 44 Farms Team Invitational on Thursday and Friday. The rest of the team will be in the Grizzly Gold Invite in El Dorado, Kan., on Friday and the Arkansas Spring Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. on Saturday.

Men’s tennis

Wichita State’s men’s tennis team concluded its regular season with a 6-1 win over old Missouri Valley Conference foe Drake on Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa. The Shockers concluded the regular season at 13-9, the highest win total since the 2020-21 campaign.

Wichita State started the match strong, winning the doubles point in a 2-0 decision. 

Five Shockers went on to win their singles matches in straight sets. Drake’s only point came from a three-set win on singles court No. 3.

Wichita State will now prepare for the American Conference Championship from April 15-19 in Tulsa, Okla.

Women’s tennis

WSU women’s tennis extended its win streak to 15 matches by beating Liberty and North Texas over the weekend on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, in Denton, Texas. 

The Shockers are now 17-3 and 5-0 in conference play. The team’s three losses came early in the spring schedule against then-No. 6 Oklahoma, then-No. 10 Oklahoma State and Long Beach State. 

Wichita State beat Liberty 4-0 Saturday to begin its weekend. 

The Shockers won two of three doubles matches to clinch the doubles point. Junior Xin Tong Wang and seniors Theodora Chantava and Vichitraporn Vimuktananda picked singles wins to give WSU the sweep.

On Sunday, the Shockers beat North Texas 4-1 to conclude their weekend and extend the win streak. 

The Mean Green’s only point came after winning the doubles point. Chantava and Vimuktananda both won their matches in straight sets, while seniors Kristina Kudryavtseva and Tatyana Nikolenko picked up wins in three sets.

The women’s tennis team will play its final two matches before the American Conference Championship. The Shockers will play Creighton at 4 p.m. Friday and Tulsa at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Both matches are scheduled at the Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex.

Men’s golf

Wichita State’s men’s golf team finished fifth out of 25 teams last Tuesday and Wednesday at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic in Maricopa, Ariz. 

The Shockers shot rounds of 282, 289 and 276 to finish 17 strokes under par and claim their top 10 finish. No. 28 Southern California won the Wyoming Cowboy Classic after rounds of 272, 282 and 284 to finish 26 strokes under par.

Senior Jose Carletta shot nine under par and finished in fifth as Wichita State’s best individual scorer. 

Next up, the men’s golf team will travel to Columbia, Mo., to play in the Tiger Invitational hosted by the University of Missouri on Monday and Tuesday. 

The tournament will conclude the regular season for the Shockers before the American Conference Championship from April 27-29 at the Ritz Carlton Members Club in Sarasota, Fla.