With Independence Day on Friday, I thought it’d be good to look back at some firework-packed Wichita State baseball and softball games from the last 10 years.
In no particular order, here are four games that feature long bombs and big hits, with the full-game footage available on YouTube, to kick off the 4th of July weekend.
No. 1: Softball loses 19-16 shootout against Oklahoma in March 2025
Just last season, the Shockers’ softball team went wire-to-wire with No. 2 Oklahoma, but ultimately lost 19-16. Even though WSU lost, the program’s single-game total runs (35) and attendance (1,245 fans) records were broken. Both teams combined for eight homers.
No. 2: Softball rolls over Central Florida in 10-0 run-rule win in April 2018
The Shockers mashed three multi-run home runs en route to a 10-0, five-inning run-rule shortened win and subsequent sweep over Central Florida in April 2018. Mauriana Jamele hit a grand slam, Ryleigh Buck added a two-run shot of her own and Madison Perigan hit a three-run homer in the fifth. WSU allowed three hits the whole game.
No. 3: Baseball comes back to win against Oklahoma 9-8 in April 2015
In April 2015, the Shockers trailed by six runs at home against a No. 25-ranked Oklahoma team, but managed to steal a 9-8 win thanks to a four-run third inning and big hits from Sam Hilliard in the sixth and eighth innings. Taylor Sanagorski mashed a two-RBI homer in the third that capped off the four-run surge and Hilliard’s triple in the sixth and a go-ahead single in the eighth helped WSU boom past the Sooners.
No. 4: Hilliard hits a three-run bomb to advance the baseball team in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship in May 2015
Less than a month after helping snag a win against a top-25 opponent, Hilliard came up in crunch time in May 2015 to help the Shockers advance in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship against Illinois State, 4-3. WSU trailed 3-1 headed into the bottom of the eighth inning, and with two runners on base, Hilliard sent one over the right field wall to take the go-ahead lead, which proved enough for the win.
