Salukis shut down

Pitching has always been one of the Shockers strong suits, but on Friday night, the team’s bats heated up before run, ruling the Southern Illinois Salukis 10-0 in seven innings.

At the bottom of the first, the Shockers started things off quickly gaining a 5-0 lead against the Salukis thanks to a two-run double by Casey Gillaspie and a three-run homer by Chase Simpson.

After the initial lead, pitcher A.J. Ladwig silenced Southern Illinois for the remainder of the game only letting them get two hits off of him.

“I think he located very well,” Shocker head coach Todd Butler said. “He made it a little tough for them.”

In the bottom of the fifth, Simpson was once again an integral part of the Shockers’ offense by getting a double before being driven in by Tyler Baker’s single extending the lead to 6-0.

Wichita State showed promise offensively once again in the bottom of the sixth, but left the bases loaded despite Garret Bayliff, Tanner Dearman, and Tanner Kirk’s base hits.

In the bottom of the seventh, Micah Green brought Dayne Parker home with a sacrifice fly to center making the score 7-0. Southern Illinois then managed to walk in Baker extending the lead to 8-0. Finally, the Salukis’ torture was relieved when Bayliff singled to right field, advancing Kihle and Kirk home, which ended the game.

While the game ended with 10 men left on base, each player had at least one base hit, which is a breath of fresh air especially after the on-road hitting struggle the boys faced only a week ago.

“I think we just tried to simplify things, mainly our swings,” Simpson said of their offensive adjustment.

Saturday will determine if the Shockers can continue their momentum as they match the Salukis up once again at 2 p.m. at Eck Stadium.