Wichita State baseball kept its postseason hopes alive over the weekend, taking two of three games from East Carolina in a pivotal American Athletic Conference series at Eck Stadium.
Fueled by an offensive surge and timely pitching, the Shockers improved to 15-31 overall and 7-14 in AAC play, pulling into a three-way tie for eighth place in the conference standings. With only the top eight teams advancing to the AAC tournament, the series win was a vital step forward for WSU’s late-season push.
“I think we have six games left, we need to win three to four to get into the tournament,” head coach Brian Green said.
Friday
Senior pitcher Grant Adler set the tone early in the series opener, throwing six innings and allowing just three earned runs while striking out five. His command kept ECU’s offense off balance through the first six innings, surrendering only two hits.
The Shockers struck early offensively, with senior Josh Livingston driving in the first run in the first inning. Wichita State capitalized on a meltdown by ECU’s pitching staff in the second inning, as three consecutive walks were followed by an RBI single from sophomore Kam Durnin.
Another run scored on a bases-loaded walk, and senior Jordan Rogers delivered a two-RBI double to put the Shockers ahead 5-0.
Four of those five runs came with two outs on the board, highlighting the Shockers’ clutch hitting.
Despite a late ECU rally that brought the Pirates within a run, Wichita State held on thanks to a strong bullpen effort. Junior Aaron Arnold recorded two strikeouts in the eighth, and junior Nick Potter sealed the win with a ninth-inning strikeout for the save.
Saturday
Coming off a strong series-opening win, Wichita State couldn’t keep the momentum going in game two, as both the bats and defense struggled in a 6–1 loss.
Sophomore Brady Hamilton started on the mound and was solid early. He retired the first six batters he faced. But trouble started in the third, when he issued a pair of walks and allowed a run after a costly defensive error by senior Mauricio Millan.
“We have to play better defense,” Green said. “We had two errors, one that I thought was a tweener base hit, in my opinion. But we made defensive mistakes.”
More defensive miscues in the fourth and fifth innings allowed East Carolina to build a 3-0 lead, despite just modest offensive production by the Pirates.
The Shockers’ offense was ice cold, managing just one hit through the first seven innings — a sixth-inning single from sophomore Kaleb Duncan. Wichita State couldn’t crack the scoreboard until the eighth, when senior Cole Dillon doubled and junior Davis Mauzy followed with an RBI single.
WSU cycled through six pitchers in total, including junior Colton Vercoe, who escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth but surrendered multiple hits in the seventh.
Senior Hunter Holmes, junior Karsen Richard, sophomore Drew Iverson and junior Caleb Anderson all saw time out of the bullpen. Iverson surrendered a solo home run to open the ninth, capping ECU’s scoring.
Green voiced his frustration after the loss.
“A major concern for me today was the lack of adjustments at the plate,” Green said. “We had one hit through seven innings, so we have to make adjustments if we want to win tomorrow.”
Sunday
Tensions were high early in the series’ rubber match, as two controversial calls by the umpire crew in the opening innings sparked frustration in the Shockers’ dugout. Green was ejected in the first inning after arguing a questionable ruling, It set an emotional tone for the rest of the game as the Shockers walked off in the ninth inning, 8-7.
Despite the early chaos, Wichita State responded with resilience. Sophomore Jeremiah Arnett started on the mound and gave up a first-inning run but settled in quickly. He allowed another run in the fourth before senior Jace Miner relieved him.
The Shockers made the adjustments Green had demanded after the previous game and exploded for five runs in the fourth inning. Duncan drove in one with a fielder’s choice bunt, sophomore Camden Johnson drew a bases-loaded walk and Durnin added two RBI on a sacrifice fly that was misplayed in the outfield.
Dillon, who had a hit in the previous game, drove in another run in the fifth. But East Carolina wasn’t done. The Pirates also scored a run in the fifth inning, closing the lead to 6-3.
Miner was relieved in the seventh after hitting the leadoff batter. Arnold entered the game but ran into immediate trouble, surrendering multiple hits and allowing ECU to load the bases with no outs.
A throwing error by Rogers allowed two runs to score, and another run came in before Arnold was pulled. Senior Owen Reynolds entered but gave up the game-tying run before exiting with a knee injury.
Potter took over in a pressure-packed moment and got out of the inning with no further damage.
The game was tied, 7-7, heading into the eighth inning. Potter gave up an early single but quickly settled back in to get out of the inning.
In the ninth inning, Wichita-born junior Jaden Gustafson walked it off for the Shockers with an RBI single on a 1-0 count.
Next up
Wichita State will host a midweek showdown against BYU. The first pitch is scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, at 6 pm.
