In his third start — and first against a ranked opponent in No. 15 Missouri State — redshirt sophomore pitcher Cody Tyler cleared three innings without the Bears tallying a single run. 

The top of the first ended with back-to-back-to-back strikeouts, leaving two runners on base. It was a similar story in the second inning; after two hits, three outs followed. An inning later, Tyler led a one, two, three out inning. 

Tyler pitched a complete game, striking out five batters, allowing 11 hits on 117 pitches. He earned his first win of the season in three starts. 

Wichita State claimed two victories in the three-game conference series. 

Game 1

The left-handed starting pitcher, Tyler, earned the start after redshirt junior Willie Schwanke was pulled for concerns of a tender arm. 

Tyler pitched a complete game, allowing two runs. He walked no batters. WSU held off the Bears 9-2. 

Senior centerfielder Mikel Mucha led with three RBIs and in two hits, each hit coming in the later innings. 

Mucha singled into right field with two batters on base in the sixth inning. Freshman right fielder Dayton Dugas and senior Tanner Kirk rounded the bases to add two runs, giving WSU a six-run lead. 

Again at the top of the rotation, Mucha tripled down the right field baseline, and sophomore Trey Vickers scored for the ninth and final WSU run of the game. 

Dugas scored three RBIs; he also scored two runs in two hits. 

Game 2 

Injuries to two of the three starting pitchers in WSU’s rotation pulled redshirt senior Chase Williams out of relief duty, to take the mound for Saturday’s first game of a double-header. 

Williams allowed three earned runs in a little more than three innings pitched. The Bears scored the first run of the game with a single into center field with two batters on.  

Mucha scored the lone Shocker run with a single through the second base gap in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game 1-1 — the last time the game would be even before MSU ran away with the victory, scoring runs in the fourth, seventh and eighth innings, winning 6-1. 

Junior Reagan Biechler entered in the third inning for relieving duties. Biechler allowed four hits in three innings. He struck out three batters, highlighting the pitching rotation for WSU. 

Freshman pitcher Clayton McGinness finished the relieving effort. He, in addition to the two on the mound before him, allowed more than one run. 

The Shockers were limited to three hits, freshman Luke Ritter was the only Shocker to reach extra bases. 

Game 3

Sunday’s game was moved to Saturday for a double-header in preparation for inclement weather to end the weekend. 

WSU captured the victory and the series with an 11-1 victory over the Bears. The game ended in a mercy-rule; WSU held a 10-run advantage in the seventh inning. 

Redshirt freshman left fielder Josh Debacker advanced to second on a wild pitch. After the next batter he advanced to third on another wild pitch, and a batter later he rounded the bases, scoring on another wild pitch. The Shockers scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a quick lead. 

Dugas singled to center field in the third inning, scoring Debacker again for his second run of the game. WSU increased their lead to six runs. 

Dugas continued his efforts at the plate, driving in two more RBIs in the fifth inning with a single into center field. 

Junior pitcher Zach Lewis threw for his first win of the season in seven starts. He pitched a little more than six innings, throwing five strikeouts while allowing three hits and one run. 

Redshirt senior John Hayes completed the seventh inning, throwing two strikeouts to finish the Bears. 

Mucha, Dugas, sophomore Gunnar Troutwine and freshman Alec Bohm each reached base multiple times during the game. Dugas had three hits in all three of his at-bats. He drove in three RBIs while claiming one run for himself. 

WSU (13-23) next faces in-state rival Kansas at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence. The Shockers are in search of their third road victory of the season before returning home to host Bradley in a three-game conference series starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Eck Stadium.