SB Preview: Tulsa (April 5-7)
League play rolls on when the Golden Hurricane visits Wilkins Stadium this weekend, April 5-7. Wichita State and Tulsa are set to play at Wilkins Stadium on April 5-7. The teams have a record 37-28 all-time, including 10-2 in the last 12 meetings. Wichita State avoided a series sweep with a 7-5 win over Charlotte. The last time Wichita State was swept by a conference opponent was in 2015 against Southern Illinois. Wong was named the No. 1 2nd baseman in Softball America's position rankings. Barnard has 81 career home runs, the most all time at Wichita State and in American Athletic Conference history, and is currently 16th most in NCAA history. The team's RPI is 34 and the Shockers have played the nation's 22nd toughest schedule.
Published : a month ago by Wichita State Athletics in Sports
• League play rolls on when the Golden Hurricane visits Wilkins Stadium this weekend, April 5-7.
• Wichita State is 37-28 all-time vs. Tulsa, including 10-2 in the last 12 meetings.
• Wichita State avoided a series sweep with a 7-5 win in the finale at Charlotte last Saturday. Wichita State has never been swept in an American Conference series. The last time they were swept by a conference opponent was in 2015 vs. Southern Illinois.was named the NFCA National Player of the Week and American Athletic Conference Player of the Week on March 26. In three games last week Wong hit an incredible .625 (5-for-8) with the 4 HR and 11 RBI.
• Softball America named Wong the No. 1 2nd baseman in its position rankings this week.
• Wichita State is 7-3 in its last 10 games.
• Wichita State's RPI is 34 as of April 4 and the Shockers have played the nation's 22nd toughest schedule.
• Of Wichita State's 29 games this season, eight have come against ranked opponents. They are 2-6 in those games.
• Wichita State has five wins against ranked opponents dating back to last season.
• The American Athletic Conference is rated the 6th best conference according to RPI behind only the SEC, Big 12, Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten.
• Wichita State ranks 6th nationally in home runs per game and 14th in slugging percentage.was named the D1 Softball National Freshman of the Week and American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27.
• Barber ranks 3rd nationally in strikeouts per 7.0 innings and 22nd in saves.
• Softball America nameda Preseason First Team All-American.
• Barnard is one of 50 on the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.
• Barnard has 81 career home runs, the most all time at Wichita State and in American Athletic Conference history.
• Barnard became the 6th player in NCAA history with 70 career home runs and 50 career stolen bases, and is the only active DI player with 80+ HR and 60+ SB.
• Barnard ranks 3rd among NCAA DI active players in career home runs with 81, nine behind Miami'sand seven behind Oklahoma's
• Her 81 home runs are currently 16th most in NCAA history.
• Head Coachwon her 700th career game on March 9 vs. Florida Atlantic.Under fifth year head coach, the Golden Hurricane are 23-11 to start the 2024 campaign and tied for 3rd in the league standings at 8-4. Picked to finish 7th in the preseason coaches poll, Tulsa has already exceeded expectations in 2024. Just a couple weeks ago, Tulsa knocked off No. 4 Oklahoma State, 3-0. The Hurricane come into the weekend fresh off a series sweep of UAB. Tulsa hits .323 as a team, led by a pair of .400 hitters in(.422) and(.400). Edwards leads the team in triples (4) to go with 3 HR and 23 RBI.has a team-high 13 doubles to go with 24 RBI. In the circle, Tulsa relies on three pitchers led by. Moore is 8-5 with a 2.95 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 85.1 innings.leads Tulsa in appearances with 18 and is 7-2 with a 2.19 ERA. Freshmanis 7-1 in 60.0 innings with a 2.45 ERA, but opponents are hitting just .183 against her.Wichita State and Tulsa first met in March of 1994 and have faced off a total of 65 times. The Shockers hold a 37-28 lead in the all-time series, and have won 10 of the last 12 meetings. Tulsa snapped Wichita State's seven-game win streak vs. the Hurricane in last season's AAC Championship. Since 1994, Wichita State and Tulsa have played every year with the exception of a two-year gap in 2012 and 2013.At the 2022 Niner Invitational, Charlotte jumped out to a 4-0 lead only to see Wichita State come back with four runs in the 4th and a run in the 5th to tie the game at 5-5. However, the Niners would strike back with a five-run 6th inning to take down Wichita State, 10-7.went 3-for-4 behind a grand slam. She drove in five of the team's seven runs.Wichita State avoided a series sweep at Charlotte with a 7-5 win in the finale on March 30. The Shockers held late leads in each of the first two games, but couldn't finish the job falling, 4-3 and 11-7. In the opener, Wichita State led 2-1 entering the bottom of the 6th, but gave up three runs. Ansolo home run in the 7th made it a one-run game at the end. In Game 2, Wichita State fell in an early 4-0 hole, but came all the way back to take a 7-4 lead in the top of the 6th. Charlotte would respond with a 7-run bottom of the 6th to steal another win.homered twice and drove in five runs andhit a solo home run. In the finale it was the Barnard andshow. The duo combined for two doubles, two home runs and five RBI.Wichita State hit the jackpot with the addition offrom the transfer portal. Wong ranks 3rd nationally in batting average (.495), 6th in slugging pct. (.958), 7th in OBP (.575) and tied for 24th in home runs (11). She is one of only three players hitting above .455 with at least 10 HR.In conference play Wichita State's offense has been powered byand. The quartet is responsible for 66% of Wichita State's hits, 70% of its home runs and 61% of its RBI's. Those four are 61-for-127 (.480) at the plate with 15 doubles, 19 home runs and 49 RBI. The rest of the team is hitting a combined 31-for-169 (.183) in AAC games.Over her last two startshas returned to form, tossing back-to-back complete game shutouts with wins over East Carolina and UTSA. In her last 10.0 innings in the circle, she's allowed no earned runs on four hits and 16 strikeouts. She set a new career high in strikeouts vs. UTSA with nine. In her first eight appearances this season she had a 10.92 ERA in 16.2 innings with 14 strikeouts and 13 walks. Opponents were hitting .378 against her.No Shocker was hotter in the month of March than. The junior hit .477 (21-for-44) with five doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, eight walks and has scored 15 runs. She started the season 1-for-26 (.038). She tied her career high with three hits twice in the month of March.Fresh off a four-home run weekend,was named Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week and American Athletic Conference Player of the Week on March 26. In the series vs. UTSA, Wong was 5-for-8 (.625) with four home runs, 11 RBI and five runs scored. Three of her four home runs came in the finale where she went 3-for-3 with a career-high six RBI. She's the first Shocker to earn National POW honors sincein 2023.Four days before the home opener vs. Florida Atlantic on March 8, Wichita State announced it had sold out its season ticket allotment for the first time in school history.Wichita State has never shied away from playing a tough schedule, and that is no different in 2024. The Shockers have already played eight teams ranked in the NFCA Top 25: No. 8 Clemson, No. 25 Auburn, No. 20 South Carolina, No. 15 Arkansas (twice), No. 14 Missouri (twice) and No. 4 Oklahoma State. No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 4 Oklahoma State come to Wilkins Stadium in the coming weeks.Wichita State checked in at No. 34 in the fifth week of RPI rankings on April 4. The Shockers have already faced 8 teams in the Top 65, including No. 6 Missouri, No. 10 Oklahoma State, No. 15 Clemson, No. 16 Arkansas (twice), No. 22 Auburn, No. 26 South Carolina, No. 30 Kansas (twice), No. 33 Charlotte (three times), No. 44 Florida Atlantic (three times) and No. 47 Nebraska (twice). The Shockers still have games against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 10 Oklahoma State, No. 51 Tulsa (three times), No. 54 North Texas (three times) and No. 62 South Florida (three times).Wichita State hosts top-ranked Oklahoma for a midweek tilt at Wilkins Stadium on Tuesday, April 9 at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.