With the season on the line, the top of Wichita State’s batting order powered the Shockers past South Florida in a must-win game on Saturday in Tampa, Fla.
Seniors Jaden Gustafson, Jayson Jones and Owen Washburn willed Wichita State to an 8-5 10-inning victory in the regular-season finale, allowing the Shockers to earn a spot in the American Conference Championship as the No. 7 seed.
“Survive and advance — we just experienced it,” coach Brian Green said in a post-game huddle posted on the team’s X account. “Now, we can breathe.”
The Shockers (28-27, 12-15 American) salvaged the last contest of the three-game series against South Florida (32-21, 11-16) behind the bats of Gustafson, Jones and Washburn, who combined to go 6 for 14 with two home runs, five RBIs and three runs scored.
Wichita State faces No. 6 Florida Atlantic at noon on Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla., in a first-round single-elimination game. WSU lost two of three games to the Owls last weekend, but took the series finale Sunday by a score of 4-1.
If they win, the Shockers will advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket and take on No. 3 Rice on Thursday.
While the Shockers’ top hitters were difference makers, Wichita State used small ball to go on top in the series finale against South Florida. With the score tied 5-5 in the top of the 10th, graduate shortstop Alex Ulloa laid down a bunt to the pitcher, and Kaleb Duncan slid safely head first into home plate to put Wichita State up by a run.
Green described the safety squeeze very simply: “Perfect execution.”
Ulolla’s sacrifice was no surprise — the Shockers finished the regular season with 41 sacrifice hits, the most in the American Conference.
Junior catcher Ethan Gonzalez followed with a fly ball that glanced off the right fielder’s glove for an error that added two insurance runs for the Shockers, making it 8-5.
WSU also performed well on the mound with junior right-hander Johnny Nuanez getting the start in the most important game of the season. In seven innings, Nuanez allowed five hits, no walks and three runs, two of them earned, to go along with six strikeouts.
Heitaro Hayashi, a senior lefty, threw the last 1 2/3 innings for the Shockers and allowed no hits, no runs and only one walk against the six batters he faced.
“Johnny showed up again,” Green said to his team. “Hayashi, you’re going to be right back on the mound again when it matters. You’ve gotten us here.”
The Shockers needed Saturday’s victory after they dropped games to South Florida on Thursday and Friday.
In a 4-1 loss on Thursday, Wichita State managed only two hits, one of which was an opposite-field homer by Jones, a third baseman. His shot down the right-field line put WSU up 1-0 in the top of the fifth inning.
But South Florida responded immediately, scoring in the bottom of the inning to tie it and going ahead for good with a two-run blast in the sixth. The Shockers had opportunities to score, but went 0 for 10 with runners on and 0 for 6 with men in scoring position.
In Friday’s loss, Wichita State couldn’t hold a 6-4 seventh-inning lead and lost 7-6 in 10 innings. WSU showed resilience by battling back from a 4-0 deficit with three runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh — two coming on a clutch two-out single by Jacob Gutierrez.
The Bulls won the game off losing pitcher Brady Hamilton (3-7) when a grounder skipped by Ulloa with the infield in.
Despite the previous losses, the Shockers ended the series in the win column to extend their stay in Florida. Hayashi worked a perfect 10th inning, with the final out coming when Jones caught an infield pop up, after which he hugged Ulloa, yelling “Let’s go baby.”
