Good morning! Get up Shockers fans, it’s game day! WSU softball heads to Tampa to face off in the semi-finals later this morning, so here’s a little something to get you hyped up before the big game.

What else are we tossing into today’s Brew?

🥎 Talkin’ Titles
⛳️ More Talent
​🌾 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 The Nitty Gritty. And no, we’re not talking about the dancing kind of griddy. Sitting just two games back of first place in the AAC standings, Shockers baseball has a real chance to make some ground up this weekend at home against South Florida as the regular season starts winding down to a close.

Since joining the AAC, South Florida and Wichita State have engaged in some close games as their lifetime 7-8-1 record stands to show. Brock Rodden and Garrett Pennington will look to continue to bring the bats with their team leading 13 home runs a piece on the season. Payton Tolle, who is set to make a start on the mound this weekend, will also look to add some offensive firepower with his .320 batting average and 10 home runs.

This group is highly motivated and after dropping out of the NCAA top-25, are on a mission to prove they belong. Friday’s game begins at 6:00pm at Eck Stadium, so be sure to fill those seats and get ready to see some serious action out on the diamond all weekend long.

🔼 Talkin’ Titles. Heading into the AAC Championship, the Shockers enter the tournament as the number one overall seed. For their efforts during the regular season, WSU earned their first-round bye into the semi-finals having to only win two games to take the AAC crown.

After winning 40+ games for just the third time in school history, the Shockers will certainly be favored to make a run at things this time around. A powerhouse group loaded with talent, including NCAA hit leader Sydney McKinney and pitching aces Alex Aguilar and Lauren Howell, will look to lead the group to its first AAC title since 2021. The 2023 AAC regular season champs will start their journey to the title later today at 11:00am, and you aren’t going to want to miss any of the action.

🔼 More Talent. Women’s golf is bringing in some new talent as head coach Tom McCurdy announced the addition of Kate Tilma who will be joining the program next season. Tilma, a Wichita native, comes to us from Kansas State and will be a sophomore next year with three years left of eligibility.

The budding freshman competed in three events during her time in Manhattan averaging 78.56 strokes per event. “Our program just got better. Her game is rock solid, hits it far, and is a great ball striker,” said Coach McCurdy. Tilma, who was the first female to win both the Kansas Junior and Kansas Amateur in the same year (2020), is ready to hit the ground running for next year.

🔼 Different Field, Same Success. At this point, we all know that softball player Sydney McKinney is quite good at what she does. But, of the field, she displays a different kind of talent. Read this story, courtesy of D1Softball, about McKinney’s success outside of softball in the world of art.

🔼 Off To The Races. WSU’s track and field squad is headed to the AAC Outdoor Championships this weekend to compete for a chance at the conference title and to qualify for NCAA Tournament play. Day 1 of the title race (pun intended) starts today and will go through the weekend to determine winners in each event.

Stay up to date on all the action this weekend on the team’s socials to see which Shockers come home with some AAC hardware.

🤔 SHOCKER TRIVIA

Battle Tested. The Shockers head into the AAC Tournament with an impressive resume including some tough wins. It wasn’t an easy road, but WSU proved that they can hang with the best of them.

The question today—how many top-10 wins did Shocker softball accumulate on their way to the AAC number one seed?

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

🌾 ONE BIG THING

We know this Shockers softball team is talented, but now we have the awards to back that up. The American Athletic Conference announced its regular season awards earlier this week, so here is the complete list of Shockers who earned some type of reward for their work.

Sydney McKinney: AAC Player of the Year; All-Conference First Team

Sami Hood: Defensive Player of the Year; All-Conference Second Team; All-Rookie Team

Alex Aguilar: Rookie of the Year; All-Conference Second Team; All-Rookie Team

Zoe Jones: All-Conference First Team

Addison Barnard: All-Conference First Team

Lauren Lucas: All-Conference First Team

Lauren Howell: All-Conference Second Team

Lainee Brown: All-Conference Second Team

Taylor Sedlacek: All-Rookie Team

Oh, and not to mention WSU also came away with the AAC’s Coaching Staff of the Year award. The conference’s number one seed will square off, with all of its new accolades, later today against Tulsa for a chance at the AAC Championship.

📬 STICK WITH US

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📅 THE WEEKEND AHEAD

Friday 5/12

👟 AAC Outdoor Championships in Tampa, Florida | Live Stats | ESPN+

🥎 Softball vs. Tulsa @ 11:00am in Tampa, Florida | ESPNU

⚾️ Baseball vs. South Florida @ 6:00pm at Eck Stadium | ESPN+ | Tickets

Saturday 5/13

👟 AAC Outdoor Championships in Tampa, Florida | Live Stats | ESPN+

⚾️ Baseball vs. South Florida @ 2:00pm at Eck Stadium | ESPN+ | Tickets

🥎 Softball vs. TBD @ 1:00pm in Tampa, Florida | ESPNU

Sunday 5/14

⚾️ Baseball vs. South Florida @ 11:30am at Eck Stadium | ESPN+ | Tickets

👟 AAC Outdoor Championships in Tampa, Florida | Live Stats | ESPN+

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Three!

The Shockers knocked off #9 Arkansas and #2 Oklahoma State (twice!). It just goes to show that in the postseason, anything can happen if WSU puts their mind to it.

Have a great weekend, y’all.