Oklahoma Hits the Road to Face Wichita State

Apr. 12 | Wichita, Kan. | Eck Stadium

Oklahoma

Wichita State

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Oklahoma Sooners
Record: 17-15-1 (4-5 Big 12) Coach: Pete Hughes (3rd Season) Career Record/Years: 604-456-3/20 Rank: NR

Wichita State Shockers
Record: 11-21 (1-2 MVC) Coach: Todd Butler (3rd) Career Record/Years: 158-165/6 Rank: NR

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Player to Watch
SS-Sheldon Neuse Neuse leads Oklahoma with a team-high 16 multi-hit games. He picked up a triple and a home run when the Sooners last faced Wichita State on March 8.

NORMAN, Okla. – The Oklahoma baseball team is back on the road after a 5-2 homestand to visit Wichita State on Tuesday night. The second match-up of the season between the Sooners and the Shockers is set for a 6:30 pm first pitch from Eck Stadium.

Oklahoma has won six of its last eight games dating back to a 5-2 win over Little Rock that ended a 10-game road swing. The Sooners are 17-15-1 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12 after taking two of three from Baylor over the weekend. OU hands the ball to freshman right-hander Jake Irvin (1-0) for the start on Tuesday. Irvin is coming off a five-inning win over Dallas Baptist last Tuesday to earn his first career win. He owns a 6.33 earned run average with 23 strikeouts in 21.1 innings of work. The Sooners are led offensively by junior shortstop Sheldon Neuse, whose slash-line ranks in the top four of each category in the Big 12. Neuse is batting .383 with a .483 on-base percentage and .692 slugging percentage. He has nine doubles, six home runs, five triples and 23 runs batted in. Senior right fielder Alex Wise and junior first baseman Austin O'Brien are both second on the team with .286 batting averages. Wise has lined a team-leading 10 doubles with 19 runs, while O'Brien is slugging .471 with 14 RBI. As a team, OU has 26 homers. Behind Neuse's six, senior left fielder Hunter Haley and junior infielder Jack Flansburg have four each.

Wichita State is 11-21 overall and 1-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference, after opening the conference season at Evansville this past weekend. Center fielder Mikel Mucha is the Shockers' top hitter at .333 with 36 hits and eight doubles. Two others are hitting over .300, including catcher Gunnar Troutwine (.306) and right fielder Greyson Jenista (.303). Troutwine leads the team in home runs and RBIs with five and 27. Freshman RHP Connor Lungwitz (2-0) will take the mound for the Shockers and enters the game with a 6.30 ERA through 10.0 innings of work.

Pitching Match-Up

Game	Oklahoma	Dallas Baptist
Tuesday	RHP-Jake Irvin, Fr. (1-0, 6.33, 23 K)	RHP-Connor Lungwitz, Fr. (2-0, 6.30, 13 K)

Last Time They Met

The Sooners scored two in the first and third innings on the way to a 4-2 win in Norman on March 8. Sheldon Neuse homered and tripled in a run in his first two at-bats. Freshman right-hander Austin Hansen recorded the win after pitching 2.2 innings without giving up a hit and striking out four. Junior right-hander JB Olson was credited with the save after a then career-high 4.0 innings pitched and five strikeouts. Three Oklahoma pitchers combined to strikeout a season-high 13 batters.

Sooner-Shocker Connections

Wichita State's third-year head coach Todd Butler played at Oklahoma for two seasons, 1987-88. He was named an ABCA All-American in 1988 and set the Sooner record for stolen bases in a season with 46. He is tied for 14th all-time at OU with 53. Junior right-hander Tyler Gibson spent his freshman season at Oklahoma in 2014 and made three relief appearances. After a season at Seminole State in 2015, the Wister, Okla. native has made seven appearances on the hill for the Shockers.

OU Career Leaders-Triples

Rank	Player	Seasons	3B
1.	Chip Glass	1993-94	21
2.	Terry Bogener	1975-78	18
3.	Willy Hill	1995-98	16
4.	Bill Severns	1972-75	15
	Baine Brooks	1986-87	15
	Sheldon Neuse	2014-16	15
6.	Keith Drumright	1973-76	14
	Chris Ebright	1987-89	14
	Byron Mathews	1990-92	14
10.	Jim Richardson	1985-86	13
	Derek Wathan	1996-98	13

Triple Nation

Oklahoma ranks second in the Big 12 and 57th in the NCAA with 10 triples. Sheldon Neuse is the team leader at five. He is first in Big 12 and fifth in the country. He recorded the 15th of his career against Baylor (4/9). Neuse has the fifth most career triples among active players in the NCAA and is now tied for fourth all-time at OU with Bill Severns (1972-75) and Baine Brooks (1986-87). His 15 are the most at OU in the Big 12 era.

National Player of the Week

For his efforts in the series win over Baylor, senior left fielder Hunter Haley was named a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball News on April 11. He hit .429 (6-for-14) in a 3-1 week for the Sooners and totaled eight RBI and three home runs; all of which came at the expense of the Bears. An OU player has earned the honor in each of the last three seasons as Haley joins former teammates Kolbey Carpenter (2/23/15) and Mac James (3/10/14).

Wild Walk Offs the Norm for the Norman Nine

Oklahoma has won four games in walk-off fashion this season, including each of the last three home Sunday contests. The Sooners added to their total with two to claim a series win over Baylor this past weekend. Oklahoma did not lead in either game until the winning run touched home. Sheldon Neuse singled and Jack Flansburg walked in the ninth of game one. Renae Martinez came in to pinch-hit and put down a sacrifice-bunt that was thrown away and allowed Neuse to score the walk-off run in a 4-3 win. On Sunday, in a game that featured four home runs by each side, it was three-straight singles that decided the game in extra innings. In the 11th, Cade Harris and Ben Hollas singled with two down to set up the game-winning hit for Flansburg; a 7-6 final. It marked the first series win for Oklahoma over Baylor since a 2012 sweep at home.

Up Next

The Sooners head south down I-35 for a three-game, conference set against TCU beginning Friday night at 7:00 pm. Game one will be televised nationally on FS1 and game three nationally on ESPNU.