“Survive and advance.” Those are the three words that coach Brian Green has been repeating to his team since Wichita State’s must-win regular-season finale against South Florida on May 16.

The No. 7 Shockers followed this mantra throughout the American Conference postseason tournament, using gritty performances to take down No. 6 Florida Atlantic, No. 5 Memphis and No. 4 UAB in close, tense games.

However, after beating UAB (32-26) 14-12 in the first game of a doubleheader, Wichita State fell in the semifinals to No. 2 East Carolina (35-22-1) in eight innings by a score of 13-3 in its fifth game in four days on Saturday night in Clearwater, Fla.

The Shockers finished the season 31-29, a major improvement from last year’s 20-36 record.

“This is the most talented team I’ve been on, and I just love these guys,” catcher Ethan Gonzalez said on the ESPN+ broadcast after he secured five hits in the UAB victory.

Vs. UAB

Wichita State got off to a rocky start against UAB after junior starter Matthew Cuccias gave up a solo home run to John Paul Head in the bottom of the first. It was Head’s 21st homer of the season, which leads the American Conference.

A Kaleb Duncan RBI groundout and Ethan Gonzalez RBI single in the top of the second inning put the Shockers up 2-1. However, this lead didn’t hold for long, as Cuccias allowed another home run in the bottom of the second, this time a two-run shot, that put the Blazers ahead 3-2.

After Cuccias gave up an RBI triple in the bottom of the second, extending UAB’s lead to 4-2, junior lefty Reese Kortum replaced him with only one out. Kortum walked the first batter he faced, but struck out the next two to strand two runners in scoring position.

In the top of the third, the Shockers loaded the bases with two outs, but junior second baseman Zeb Henry grounded out in a 3-1 count. Kortum, a Nebraska native, allowed an RBI single in the bottom of the third, making the score 5-2 UAB.

Then, Wichita State struck back in the top of the fourth by scoring three runs. Jayson Jones hit an RBI single, Owen Washburn ripped an RBI double off the top of the right field wall and Nolan Ganter recorded an RBI groundout to tie it 5-5.

UAB immediately answered by hitting an RBI single off of senior right-hander Wyatt Foley in the bottom of the fourth. Senior lefty Heitaro Hayashi relieved Foley after this RBI and gave up a three-run bomb to left field against the first hitter he saw, putting the Blazers up 9-5.

Dax Sharp, a graduate left-hander, came in for Hayashi and recorded all three outs in the inning, while only allowing a walk.

In the top of the fifth, Wichita State loaded the bases again, this time with no outs. However, the Shockers only managed to drive in one run after a strikeout, RBI walk, infield fly out and another strikeout.

The Shockers trailed 10-6 going into the top of the seventh when the offense hit its stride and scored six runs. Gonzalez got the comeback started with a solo homer to left center field and Jones tacked on another run with an RBI single, cutting the UAB lead to 10-8.

Ganter brought in a run with a walk and senior right fielder Jacob Gutierrez notched an RBI on a fielder’s choice to tie the game 10-10. Duncan then slapped an RBI single to right center field and Gonzalez came up again in the top of the seventh, recording an RBI double that made the score 12-10 in WSU’s favor.

“Guys are fighting really hard at the plate,” Green said during the game on the ESPN+ broadcast. “The offense is critical, you just can’t throw at bats away. It’s about quality at bats and stacking them.”

The Blazers put up two runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie up the game at 12-12 before junior right-handed pitcher Brady Hamilton forced a double play on his first pitch to end the inning. Wichita State tacked on two runs in the top of the eighth after a Washburn RBI single and Ganter sacrifice fly.

In the ninth inning, both teams went 1-2-3, which hadn’t happened all game, so the Shockers’ 14-12 lead held. Wichita State put up 21 hits and UAB tallied 15, for 36 total hits and 26 runs altogether.

“We just play better when our back’s against the wall,” Gonzalez said on the broadcast.

Jones, a senior third baseman, finished the contest with three hits, two RBIs and three runs in six plate appearances. A senior designated hitter, Washburn recorded three hits, two RBIs and a run.

Gonzalez, a junior catcher, had the best performance at the plate despite having a .174 batting average going into the game. In six plate appearances, he notched five hits, three RBIs and two runs.

“I was really just trying to see everything up, trying to keep everything as simple as possible,” Gonzalez said.

Sharp threw the most innings at 3.1, but allowed four hits, three walks and three runs. Hamilton (4-8) earned the win after struggling in the ninth against Rice in its 5-4 loss on Thursday. He allowed just one hit, no walks and no runs in the last 2 2/3 innings of the game.

Vs. ECU

In Game 2 of the doubleheader on Saturday, Wichita State couldn’t recreate the same offensive success it had a game prior, and the pitching staff was clearly out of gas.

The Shockers went down 1-2-3 in the first two innings against East Carolina, finding themselves down 2-0 going into the third.

The Pirates added three runs in the bottom of the third inning against freshman left-handed starter Ethan Rogers, making the score 5-0 ECU. In the top of the fourth, Gutierrez recorded a sacrifice fly, scoring Ganter and cutting the lead to 5-1.

But East Carolina responded quickly in the bottom of the fourth with a bases-clearing double to right center field, pushing its lead to 8-1. With two strikes, Ganter notched a two-run single in the top of the fifth to get WSU’s first hit of the game to trim the Pirates’ lead down to 8-3.

It proved to be too little, too late for the Shockers, who were taken down 13-3 in a run-rule shortened game that ended in the bottom of the eighth after an ECU two-run homer.

Rogers (0-3) received the loss after allowing six hits, two walks and seven runs, five of which were earned, in 3 1/3 innings. Senior left-hander Brady Owens relieved Rogers and couldn’t find the strike zone, giving up one hit, five walks and three runs, while striking out four in 1 2/3 innings pitched.

Wyatt Foley, a senior right-handed pitcher, had the best outing for WSU throughout his 1 1/3 innings, allowing four hits, no walks and one run, while adding two strikeouts. Senior right-hander Karsen Richard threw the last inning for the Shockers and gave up two hits, no walks and two runs, to go along with three strikeouts.

Ganter accounted for two of Wichita State’s three hits, while also recording a walk, two RBIs and a run in the loss against ECU. Henry notched the other WSU hit and added a walk to contribute to the Shockers’ 11 total free bases.

The Sunflower

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