WSU vs Utah Tech series

[WuDrWu]

Tommy looked very relaxed out there. He's kind of high strung, so I think that helped. Maybe just being at home made him a bit more comfortable IDK.

But a freshman that sat 93-97 with his heater works most every time. More of that please. Throwing 2 other pitches for strikes though makes ALL the difference.

Weird how we can average a shade below 6 runs a game vs Utah Tech but 8 runs a game vs 3 ranked teams. That's baseball I guess. Although as ShockerFever said we really blew some must score set ups, today especially. Seemed like we were trying for a 10 run inning each time we'd get the leadoff guy on.

Certainly things to work on. And I don't feel like Skip is settled on regulars at all. About the only thing settled is Dayvin Johnson in center and Camden Johnson somewhere (and of course Mo behind the plate most days).

I do like their approach to winning games. The pitching staff is further along than I could have possibly hoped. Good things aside, we're far from a finished product. I feel fairly confident in about 4 batting spots and 1 starter, 1 midweek starter and 4 guys in the pen. We need more producers...but as someone else said, it's good to work through these things when you're winning, and I'm not sure who thought we'd be better or even equal to the 7-3 start. I certainly didn't think we'd win 7 of the first 10.

Things are about to get a lot tougher though. Would sure love to see more of you out at the yard in the next couple of weeks!

[pogo]

I like the enthusiasm of this team. Lots of positives in the field the last few days and no base running errors like last couple of years. Third base made a couple of really nice plays to still get the out at first. Me likee a lot. Go Shocks

[ShockerExpress]

Lots to like and lots to work on.

Agree with what everyone else said - despite the runs being lackluster yesterday, it felt like there were much better swings than on Saturday.

Enjoyed going both Friday and yesterday. Love being able to bring in a beer and a lawn chair. Come out and bring friends!! It is legit a blast.

[1972Shocker]

Shocker fans enjoying the new deck.

[C0|dB|00ded]

Shocker fans enjoying the new deck.

This is what it looks like when a program is rebuilding.

[WstateU]

This is what it looks like when a program is rebuilding.

[1972Shocker]

Tommy looked very relaxed out there. He's kind of high strung, so I think that helped. Maybe just being at home made him a bit more comfortable IDK.

But a freshman that sat 93-97 with his heater works most every time. More of that please. Throwing 2 other pitches for strikes though makes ALL the difference.

This.

“If you watch Tommy, you know he’s a dugout leader and a very emotional kid,” Green said. “The difference (Sunday) was he was just locked in on being approach-based, process-based and if you watch the video, his slot from his slider to fastball to change was all very consistent. Most importantly, he didn’t get too wound up. That’s kind of his thing. But he’s a freshman and that’s what freshmen do. I think he really found himself in week 3 and was mentally really locked in.”

https://www.aol.com/dominant-pitchin...110000913.html

[Kung Wu]

So we have three weekend starters? Or will keep testing a little?

[Cdizzle]

So we have three weekend starters? Or will keep testing a little?

We have 3 weekend starters for Utah Tech.

[1972Shocker]

So we have three weekend starters? Or will keep testing a little?

I think for now we are set with Favors, Zang and LaPour. But how long that remains to be the case will depend on whether or not they can continue perform as they have recently.

I think we will continue to be searching for a dependable 4th starter, although like our bullpen, that might end up being by committee this year.

The next 10 games will be a very challenging stretch for this young and inexperienced team.

Favors, Zang and LaPour should each get a start against Long Beach State this coming weekend and against Gonzaga the following weekend..

A bigger challenge might be putting together the pitching for the 4 midweek games which include a game at OU tomorrow, 2 games vs Nebraska on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, and a Tuesday game vs K-State in a couple of weeks.

While the Shocks have played 10 games I think the coming 10 games are much more challenging as a whole that the 10 we have played. We will know much more about this team after this tough stretch.

[WuDrWu]

So we have three weekend starters? Or will keep testing a little?

I felt confident they would try someone else on Sunday, but they stuck with Tommy. It shows they have confidence in him. Favors, Zang & LaPour certainly appear to be the 3 arms most likely to give us length at this point. Mulhollon and Dobbs are the next likely starters. Michael needs to be better than he was at ORU. Tyler was fantastic for 5.0 innings....one assumes Tyler is most likely to get the ball tomorrow evening in Norman although I want to see MM again. His upside is too big to bury him deep in the bullpen.

I think Gavin Oswald will get a chance to start sometime. Still haven't seen Trevor Lee and assume there's a reason we haven't seen him (ie they aren't just holding him back to spring on the CWS teams) but 6'5" with velocity....I sure want to see what he can do at some point.

[1972Shocker]

RH: "College is Definitely a Different Animal" -- Trying Hard, But Not Too Hard

Wichita State pitcher Tommy LaPour as himself is plenty good enough. He doesn't need to be extra-strength Tommy LaPour and doesn't need to throw harder than hard.

"He's understanding just to be Tommy LaPour, not to try to be more than Tommy LaPour," catcher Alex Birge said after Sunday's 5-0 win over Utah Tech at Eck Stadium.

LaPour, a freshman from Blue Springs, Mo., wrapped up a strong weekend effort by the pitching staff with five shutout innings in which he allowed two hits, struck out eight and didn't walk a batter.

"We established the fastball early and that helps a lot," LaPour said. "A lot of it came back to being more poised on the mound. I was able to keep replicating. You make a good pitch and all you're trying to do is make another good pitch."

On Friday, Caden Favors struck out 10 and held the Trailblazers to five hits in an 8-0 win. On Saturday, four pitchers combined on a one-hitter in a 4-1 win with starter Daniel Zang holding Utah Tech hitless for 6 2/3 innings.

In all, the Shockers (7-3) held Utah Tech (1-11) to 11 hits and one run while striking out 36. Free passes would have been the quickest way to give an overmatched opponent life and the Shockers walked four, hit three batters and committed two errors.

"We executed the game plan really well," Shocker pitching coach Anthony Claggett said. "Any time you have a Friday guy like Favors to go in and do that, and do it efficiently, it puts together the rest of the weekend."

That success, the pitchers say, starts with preparation with Claggett. Wichita State subscribes to a scouting service that provides video and data. From that information, pitchers can prepare for how teams will approach hitting due to a coaching philosophy and which pitches in which location work.

"We break down hitters and teams and what they can or can't hit and what we can do to keep them off-balance," Favors said. "Claggs and (coaches) dive deep into it and I've got to trust them and their work, and then I'll trust my work."

Some pitchers learn better with video. Some do better with heat maps, spray charts and statistics. Coaches want to give pitchers as much information as possible, without overwhelming them.

"Some guys like to see the visual, whether it be video or heat maps and colors," Claggett said. "Some guys like the verbiage. Favors is starting to become much more knowledgeable about what he can use and what he can retain."

LaPour is in the early stages of learning the intricacies of college baseball. His talent is more than adequate to thrive.

Perfect Game ranked him the No. 1 right-handed pitcher in Missouri at Blue Springs South High School. DIBaseball ranked him the No. 2 freshman in the American Athletic Conference. He hit 99 mph in a fall scrimmage at Dallas Baptist and consistently reaches the mid 90s this spring.

In his first two outings against Little Rock and Auburn, he gave up 10 earned runs and walked five with three strikeouts over four innings.

"College is definitely a different animal," LaPour said. "You feel a lot of pressure from a lot of things and then it's taking a deep breath and stepping back - 'Man, it's just baseball. You've been doing this your whole life. Go out there and execute. You've got the stuff.'"

With help from coaches and advice from Favors and Zang, LaPour throttled back a bit on Sunday and let his natural velocity and movement roll. He kept his arm in the right place to throw off-speed pitches and repeated that delivery throughout the game.

"He was totally committed to being under control," coach Brian Green said. "With that, being a little more mechanically sound. When he went to the slider and went to the changeup, he wasn't lowering his (arm) slot. If you look at the video from this weekend to the previous two outings, anything off-speed the slot was low and he was just trying way too hard."

While the competition improves significantly over the next month, the Shockers are off to a good start replacing their weekend rotation and much of the bullpen from 2023. WSU's earned run average is 3.92 and the staff owns 92 strikeouts and 44 walks, numbers marred by a 16-walk effort in a 19-8 loss to Auburn.

Green likes his bullpen depth and his ability to play matchups with right- and left-handers. Junior lefty Hunter Holmes has six strikeouts and two walks in five appearances. In six appearances, sophomore Caleb Anderson owns 11 strikeouts and two walks.

"We're starting to look like we have an identity that we can mix-and-match on the mound," Green said. "We're getting quality starts for the most part. Friday and Saturday starts have been really good and then Tommy gave us one (Sunday)."