⚾ Kansas Heads to Wichita State for Wednesday Night Matchup

Kansas (15-10) at Wichita State (18-10)
When	Wednesday, April 3 at 6 p.m. CT
Where	Wichita, Kan. // Eck Stadium
Watch	ESPN+
Radio	Jayhawk Sports Network + KLWN (101.7 FM/1320 AM)
Live Stats	Stats
Notes	Kansas | Wichita State | Big 12
Social Media	@KUBaseball | @kubaseball | Facebook

WICHITA, Kan. – Kansas will play at Wichita State on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. CT at Eck Stadium. The Jayhawks have won five of their last seven games after earning a sweep at BYU this past weekend.

The league sweep of BYU was the first for Kansas on the road since 2014 and the second series sweep this season. The Jayhawks hit five home runs and 12 doubles at BYU. Kansas has won the opening game of the first four conference series for the second time as a member of the Big 12, with the other being the 2000 season.

Kansas (15-10) ranks in the top five of the Big 12 in multiple team statistics. The Jayhawks are second in ERA (3.89), third in doubles (66) and WHIP (1.35), fourth in slugging percentage (.487) and double plays turned (21)and fifth in on-base percentage (.389).

Wichita State (18-9) is coming off a weekend sweep of Rice. The Shockers also have sweeps against Utah Tech and Gonzaga this season. Wichita State has posted a 12-4 record in home games this year and Wednesday night will wrap up a stretch of 12 of 15 games at home for the Shockers. Camden Johnson leads the Shockers at the plate with a .367 batting average and Derek Williams leads the Shockers with seven home runs.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Wednesday’s game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Fans can also listen to the game on KLWN (101.7 FM/1320 AM) and the Jayhawk Sports Network on KUAthletics.com and the Kansas Jayhawks app, with Brian Hanni and Gus Baylow on the call.

Live statistics can be found here, while live updates will also be provided on the team’s official X page @KUBaseball.

BIG 12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Kansas seniors Jake English and Reese Dutton each received Big 12 weekly honors, the conference office announced Monday. English was named the Big 12 Player of the Week and Dutton was selected as Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week.

English hit .500/.571/1.167 (6-for-12), with two doubles, two home runs, five RBIs, six runs scored, two walks and a 1.738 OPS. The Big 12 award was the first of his career.

Dutton recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts as he pitched eight dominant innings and allowed only one run at BYU on Thursday.

Dutton is the first Jayhawk since James Cosentino in 2017 to win Big 12 Newcomer of the Week twice in the same season.

English and Dutton are the first Kansas duo to receive a Big 12 weekly award in the same week since Casey Burnham and Ryan Cyr on May 6, 2019.

DUTTON DOMINATING
Reese Dutton has won six-straight starts and the last five have been quality starts. He is 6-1 with a 2.30 ERA this season.

Dutton, who transferred from USC Upstate for his final year of eligibility, is the first KU pitcher with six-straight wins since Jamie Splittorff in 1994 when he won his first eight starts to begin the season. He is also the first to have six wins in his first seven starts since Pete Smart in 2001.

Dutton is currently first in the Big 12 in wins (6), second in innings pitched (43.0), fifth in WHIP (1.05), sixth in opponent batting average (.204), seventh in ERA (2.30) and tied for eighth in strikeouts (43). In conference games only, Dutton leads the league in wins (4) and innings pitched (28.0).

FILTHY FRESHMAN
True freshman Dominic Voegele leads the nation among all freshmen with a 1.89 ERA. He has allowed one earned run in six of his seven starts and his only other start this season he allowed two earned runs. His 1.89 ERA also ranks 18th in the country.

Voegele is fourth in the Big 12 in ERA (1.89), fifth in opponent batting average (.193) and sixth in innings pitched (38.0) and WHIP (1.05).

Voegele was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 20th round of the 2023 MLB Draft this past summer, but he elected to come play at KU instead of signing a pro contract.

PLUS-PLUS PITCHING
As a team, Kansas has a 3.89 ERA. The trio of Dutton, Voegele and Patrick Steitz have started 20 of 21 weekend games and have combined for a 2.12 ERA, earning 11 wins in their 20 starts. Kansas is the only team with three pitchers ranked in the top 10 in ERA in the Big 12.

Out of the bullpen, Hunter Cranton has not allowed an earned run in 11 appearances this season (11.2 IP). He earned the save in both games of the doubleheader at BYU on March 29.

SERIES HISTORY
Kansas and Wichita State have met 87 times in a series that dates back to 1952. Wichita State leads the all-time series 51-36. Despite the advantage being in the Shockers favor, Kansas swept Wichita State in a home-and-home series last season. The season series sweep was the first for KU since the 2015 season.

Kansas defeated No. 25 Wichita State 7-5 in 10 innings last year at Eck Stadium on April 26, 2023 to complete the season sweep. Michael Brooks delivered a 2-run single with two outs in the 10th to break a 5-5 tie. The Jayhawks also defeated the Shockers 4-0 on March 8, 2023 in the KU home opener.

UP NEXT
Kansas will host West Virginia this weekend at Hoglund Ballpark in a three-game series. Game one of the series will be on Friday with first pitch at 6 p.m. CT. Fans can purchase tickets by contacting the Kansas ticket office at 785-864-3141 or by visiting the ticketing page here. Students receive free admission all season by presenting their KU student ID at the ticket booth.