No. 5: Baseball bounces back to reach AAC finals

The Roundhouse | 26.06.2024 15:28:00

Countdown of top 2023-24 stories for Wichita State athletics:

By Paul Suellentrop

Shock baseball made its first big impression at the AAC Championship with an exciting run to its first title game as a member of the conference. After a difficult April, the Shockers vowed to heat up in May and did so, coming just before returning to NCAA play.


That week in Florida set up a promising finish for the coach Brian Greenhis first season. Green had to fill out most of his roster starting in June. The coaches brought in 14 junior college transfers and 19 freshmen to rebuild the roster.


Despite this turnaround, WSU finished with a 32-29 record, 15-12 in the American Athletic Conference and tied for third. The No. 95 RPI ranking is the program’s highest since the 2019 team finished No. 83.


“This group has given us so many positives to build on in our first year,” Green said. “It all starts with the culture and enthusiasm they brought to the dugout every day, even when we struggled in April.”



 

WICHITA STATE GOING FOR A BASE RUN RBI DOUBLE FROM LANE HAWORTH‼️#AmericanBSB X @GoShockersBSB pic.twitter.com/lnS705Z2xo

— The American (@American_Conf) May 23, 2024

The fourth-seeded Shockers defeated fifth-seeded UAB to open the tournament in Clearwater, Fla. They then won two of three games against top seed ECU to eliminate the Pirates. Josh Livingston hit twice to drive in seven runs in a 14-4 win over ECU in the first meeting.

The Pirates stayed alive with a 5-4 win over the Shockers two days later. Later that day, WSU advanced to the title game with a 12-2 victory. Freshman Brady Hamilton allowing two runs in five innings. Lane Haworth hit a three-run home run and Kam Durnin went 2 for 3 with two walks to drive in two runs.

Third-seeded Tulane ended WSU’s run with an 11-10 victory in the title game.

“They stayed focused on the process and played really good baseball at the end of the season,” Green said. “I’m very proud of the things they’ve done and the way they’ve prepared us for the future.”

senior pitcher Caden Favors earned Central All-Region second-team honors after going 9-4 with a 3.21 ERA in 17 appearances. His 5.35:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranked 18th nationally.

Favors also earned All-AAC honors at third base Camden Johnson and outfielder Derek Williams to the second team. Four Shockers made the All-Freshman team: Haworth, Johnson and the pitchers Tyler Dobbs and Tommy LaPour.

Walk-Off Wednesday 🔋@Mmillan2123 X @NCAABaseball pic.twitter.com/IXrR3RM0Pg

— Wichita State Baseball (@GoShockersBSB) April 4, 2024

Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for Strategic College Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at [email protected].