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| WSU senior Tanner Welch slides into home plate. For up-to-the-minute Shocker baseball news, visit goShockers.com. |
2002 Shocker Baseball Off to a Blazing Start
Wichita State’s baseball team is attacking the 2002 season with a vengeance, aiming to rebound from last year’s second-place finish in The Valley — the first time that had happened since 1986. WSU finished the 2001 season with a 42-24 record, but failed to make the NCAA Tournament field.
The Shockers began the season Feb. 15 at the Coca-Cola Classic in Mobile, Ala., which featured WSU, Northwestern State, Charlotte and host South Alabama. The Shockers, who beat Northwestern State 5-4 and then South Alabama 4-3, saw two familiar faces when they took to the field in their 7-3 defeat of Charlotte. Former Shocker Loren Hibbs, who begins his 10th year as the head coach for the 49ers, played for WSU from 1982-84, was a graduate assistant coach from 1985-87 and an assistant coach from 1987-92. Since 1999, Greg Brummett has been the 49ers pitching coach. Brummett played for the Shockers from 1986-89 and was named the College World Series MVP in 1989 when WSU won the national championship.
After opening the season on the road, WSU returned home for a two-game series against Southeast Missouri State Feb. 23-24, which the Shockers won, 9-4 and 8-7, followed by a 10-1 win over Fort Hays State March 6. Cal State Fullerton, which finished third in the 2001 College World Series, visited Wichita March 8-10 for a three-game series. WSU defeated the Titans, 3-1, in the first game; lost the second, 10-1; and roared back in the third, blasting CSF 13-4. Next came a three-game series against Louisiana-Lafayette on March 15-17. Wsu took the first two games, 6-1 and 3-1, but lost to ULL 9-7 in the last game of the series.
The Shockers’ remaining 2002 schedule is also challenging, including a road trip to Long Beach State, which is another 2001 NCAA postseason team. But head coach Gene Stephenson, his coaches and players are all gunning for postseason play, and fans are looking forward to The Valley postseason tournament, which will be in Wichita for the fourth consecutive year, and the 13th time in the last 15 years. The tournament is slated for May 22-25.
