Good morning! Need something to wake you up while your coffee is still brewing? Syd McKinney’s diving catch and throw to third base was an ESPN SportsCenter top-10 play over the weekend in a series win over Houston.

What else are we tossing into today’s Brew?

⚾️ Shockers take series over Tulane
🥎 Working for the weekend
​🌾 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 It’s Not Easy Being Green. Wichita State baseball banged out 15 hits, including a season-high seven doubles, knocking off Tulane by a score of 7-4 in yesterday’s Game 3 rubber match. The win secured the series victory, the Shockers’ first series win at Tulane in program history.

Chuck Ingram doubled to start the game, moved to third on a bunt single from Brock Rodden, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Garrett Pennington for a 1-0 advantage. And in the third, Jack Little rifled a two-out RBI double to plate Mauricio Millan, lengthening the lead to 2-0. Garrett Pennington doubled home a run with two away in the fourth, and Rodden made it 4-0 by beating out an infield single in the sixth.

After some Tulane scoring, the Shockers struck right back in the top of the eighth with three runs. Jordan Rogers came off the bench to start the rally with a leadoff double, and Kyte McDonald followed with a double of his own to give Wichita State a 5-4 lead. Chuck Ingram capped his monster afternoon by rifling an RBI single, coming in to score later in the inning on a double play grounder to restore the Shocker lead to 7-4.

Robert Cranz took it the rest of the way for Wichita State on the mound, turning in a dominant outing in relief. The right-hander fired 2.1 scoreless innings with a career-best five strikeouts, allowing just a single base hit and no walks. He set the side down in order in the ninth to secure the win.

🔼 When It Rains, It Pours. In a match that began outdoors and finished indoors, Wichita State men’s tennis weathered the storm on Senior Day and closed out Creighton by a score of 4-1. After losing the doubles point, the Shockers quickly bounced back, winning all four first sets. Orel Ovil was the first to finish winning his final home match as a Shocker (6-0, 6-3) and shortly after moving indoors due to lightning strikes in the area, Alejandro Jacome and Kristof Minarik closed out their matches in straight sets.

🔼 We’re Seeing Double. No. 71 Wichita State women's tennis team (also!) survived the elements and a mid-match venue change to defeat Creighton by a score of (again… also!) 4-1 and finish the year with a 7-0 home record. On a cold and windy Saturday morning, the Shockers led 3-0 after capturing doubles plus Nos. 5 and 6 singles, but were forced indoors due to lightning. Kristina Kudryavtseva delivered the clincher at No. 4 singles, rallying from 5-0 down to win the first set and overcoming an ankle injury in the second to win the match.

🔼 Keeping A Low Profile. Wichita State men’s golf finished sixth at the Hawkeye Invitational, thanks to Blake Lorenz leading the way and besting par in all three rounds and equaling his career best with a tie for third. The junior had just three holes worse than par for the entire tournament, ending two strokes back of the individual champion’s 10-under. And his 13 birdies were tied for eighth-most in the field, and he also added an opening round eagle on the par-four seventh.

🔼 Good Morning, Sunshine. Wichita State women’s golf is headed to the Sunshine State for the 2023 American Athletic Conference Championship. The fearsome fivesome of Mackenzie Wilson, Mar Vidal, Brooklyn Benn, Kenni Henson, and Megan Lucas will look to improve on a 9th place finish at last year's conference championship.

🔼 Looking Forward. After taking the first two weekend games (and earning the series victory) No. 20 Wichita State softball was shut out for just the third time this season and held to only three hits in yesterday’s series finale vs. Houston, falling by a score of 4-0. The Shockers saw their 12-game win streak come to an end, one shy of tying a school record.

Alison Cooper was lights out for 6.0 innings, but didn't get any run support to back her up as she struck out a career-high eight before Houston touched her up in the seventh inning for a pair of insurance runs. On offense, Wichita State managed just three hits, a double from Addison Barnard and singles from Lauren Lucas and Krystin Nelson.

🤔 SHOCKER TRIVIA

A Dirty Dozen. Wichita State softball is having a moment, y’all. They’ve won 12 of their last 13 games after this weekend’s series victory over Houston. Our question today is about just how dominant the Shockers have been over that span…

How many more runs has this team scored than opponents over these last 13 games?

Think you got it? Scroll on down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

🌾 ONE BIG THING

On the final day of the Kansas Relays, Brady Palen improved his NCAA rank with the sixth-highest high jump clearance in the nation this season to win the event.
 
After the weather conditions forced the high jump to be contested indoors, the sophomore cleared an outdoor personal-best 2.19m/7'2.25", defeating Kansas's No. 17-ranked high jumper, Devin Loudermilk.
 
And the day before that, Destiny Masters cleared a personal-best 1.83m/6’0” in the high jump to become just the second athlete in Shocker history to break the six-foot barrier.

📬 STICK WITH US

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📅 THE DAY AHEAD

Monday 4/17

⛳️ Women’s Golf @ American Athletic Conference Championship in Brooksville, Florida

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: 70 runs!

That’s an average margin of victory of more than five runs a game—which is even more impressive when you factor in that three of those 13 games were run-ruled early. Whew.

Have a great Monday, y’all.