Good morning! It’s been 10 years since Tyler Baker, a.k.a. The Squirrel Man, captured the hearts (and squirrel) of Shockers fans. If you haven’t familiarized yourself with this piece of WSU baseball history yet, take a second this morning to dive into this awesome moment.

What else are we tossing into today’s Brew?

⛳️ Standout Shocker
🏆 Weekly Awards
​🌾 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Movin’ On Up. Heading into the last game of the regular season, the Shockers, after clinching the AAC title and a series sweep against Tulsa, climbed up to No. 18 in the D1 Softball Rankings. The ranking made history as it’s the highest mark any WSU softball team has ever achieved.

The Shockers, as it stands, are just one of five softball programs in the nation with 40+ wins, but WSU is the only school out of the five to not have a top-10 spot in the rankings. People can go ahead and keep sleeping on this team, but we already know, the giant has been awoken, and our team is ready to show the softball world what they’re made of.

🔼 Standout Shocker. After putting together some of the most consistent consistent rounds of the year, the AAC named junior Blake Lorenz to the AAC All-Conference Team. Lorenz becomes the 105th member of the team in Shockers’ history, and the first since the 2021 season.

Lorenz was the calm amidst the storm that is the sport of golf, finishing with a team-high 98 birdies on the season and led the team with a 72 stroke average per round. He also recorded the best individual finish in seven out of ten tournaments including a pair of top-five finishes.

🔼 Scoring Is Overrated. It may not have been the offensive performance Shockers fans have become accustomed to, but WSU got the job done against Kansas State in a narrow 1-0 victory.

The top of the third inning produced the game’s only run thanks to an RBI single from catcher Mauricio Millan. The Shockers racked up five other hits in the game, but were unable to bring anyone else across the plate. Luckily, the defense stood strong, including another highlight from Millan after he caught a man stealing. Kansas State was in scoring position in the seventh, but Brock Rodden fielded the ground ball and got the double play to keep the game scoreless.

The biggest and best performance of the night went to pitcher Nate Snead, who closed out the game’s final two innings. Snead came up clutch in the ninth; with the tying run in position, the count at 3-2, and two outs, Snead snuck one right past the batter to send the Wildcats packing. It was the first time a team had held Kansas State scoreless all year.

WSU will look to continue their roll this weekend as they get back into AAC play against Houston.

🔼 Closing Time. The Shockers will hit the road tonight for the regular season finale against Kansas. After earning the one seed for AAC postseason play, and a regular season championship locked up, a win would just be a cherry on top of a historically great season.

Earlier this season, the Shockers hosted the Jayhawks and beat them by six runs after scoring eight unanswered runs. It’s safe to say that Shockers fans should expect no different from the previous matchup. And if history indicates anything, it’s that the Shockers have a good chance of winning, with Shockers holding the advantage with an all-time record of 73-23-1.

Tune in tonight on ESPN+ to watch the girls close the season out in style as they head into the postseason strong and ready to do some damage.

🤔 SHOCKER TRIVIA

All We Do Is Win. By now you know that Wichita State softball is pretty good, and by pretty good, we mean historically good. The wins have piled on for the Shockers this season, but not everyone thought WSU would have the success we have had thus far.

The question today—do you know where Wichita State was projected to place in the AAC in the official preseason rankings?

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

🌾 ONE BIG THING

Here’s your weekly reminder that the Shockers are among the best in the AAC when it comes to the diamond. Three more WSU athletes were placed on the AAC Weekly Honor Roll for their efforts last weekend.

• Lauren Howell was given the honor after her outings against Tulsa where she went 2-0 with a 1.75 ERA. She allowed just seven hits across both performances and tossed a complete game in Saturday’s duel.

• Sydney McKinney made the honor roll after another incredible weekend where she went 7-10 with 6 RBI’s and three stolen bases. At this point, we’ve become accustomed to her greatness, and yet, she just keeps on delivering.

• Payton Tolle earned his weekly award with his performances at the plate and on the mound. Tolle went 5-10 with two doubles and two home runs in last weekend’s series, and started a game where he went seven innings, allowed one run and recorded nine strikeouts.

📬 STICK WITH US

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📅 THE DAY AHEAD

Wednesday 5/3

🥎 Softball at Kansas @ 5:00pm CT on ESPN+ | Watch

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: 2nd place!

The Shockers were picked to finish second behind UCF in the AAC this year. It seems like the team took that personally and beat the breaks off that prediction…

Have a great Wednesday, y’all.