WICHITA, Kan. – Completing a stretch of 10 consecutive contests away from home to begin their 2023 season, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies will battle the American Athletic Conference's (AAC) Wichita State Shockers in three games at Eck Stadium from Friday-Sunday, March 3-5.

SERIES SETUP

• Who – Wichita State (4-3) vs. Oakland (1-6)
• Best Ranking – Wichita State – NR; Oakland – NR
• When – Friday, March 3 (4 p.m.), Saturday, March 4 (2 p.m.) and Sunday, March 5 (2 p.m.)
• Where – Wichita, KS (Eck Stadium)
• Watch – ESPN+ (Friday & Saturday)
• Listen (Radio) – Shocker Radio Network (all three days)
• Live Stats – GoShockers.com
• Social Media - @OaklandBSB & @GoShockersBSB

SERIES HISTORY
Friday will be the first-ever meeting between the Golden Grizzlies and Shockers.

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday

• Oakland – So. RHP Hunter Pidek: 1 game, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, .077 BAA, 4 IP, H, 2 BB, 4 SO
• Wichita State – Jr. RHP Clark Candiotti: 2 starts, 0-1, 4.82 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, .350 BAA, 9.1 IP, 14 H, 5 ER, BB, 7 SO

Saturday

• Oakland – R-Sr. RHP Brett Hagen: 2 starts, 0-1, 4.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, .212 BAA, 9 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 6 SO
• Wichita State – So. LHP Payton Tolle: 2 starts, 1-0, 4.09 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, .220 BAA, 11 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 5 SO

Sunday

• Oakland – Sr. LHP Travis Densmore: 2 starts, 0-1, 11.74 ERA, 2.35 WHIP, .353 BAA, 7.2 IP, 12 H, 10 ER, 6 BB, 8 SO
• Wichita State – TBA

OAKLAND OVERVIEW

• The Golden Grizzlies began their season with three games against the Southland Conference's Lamar Cardinals from February 17-19, all of which ended in one-run finals
• Most recently, Oakland played the Big 12 Conference's Kansas Jayhawks in four neutral-site clashes at The Depot at Cleburne Station in Texas from February 24-27, winning the series finale, 6-3
• Their six runs in the victory over the Jayhawks were a season-high for the Golden Grizzlies, who are averaging three runs and six hits-per-game
• 14 pitchers have seen action for Oakland thus far in 2023, including eight who have made multiple appearances

WICHITA STATE OVERVIEW

• Former Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners manager Eric Wedge was the Shockers' head coach from 2020-22, but he stepped away from the program in October due to health concerns
• Longtime Charlotte 49ers head coach and Wichita State alum Loren Hibbs is serving as the program's interim head coach for the 2023 season
• The Shockers began their year by dropping two of three to the Big West Conference's Long Beach State Dirtbags, but responded by winning the final three of their four-game set with the Western Athletic Conference's (WAC) Utah Tech Trailblazers, who were known as the Dixie State Trailblazers until their 2022 name change
• Junior first baseman Garrett Pennington is off to a blazing start for Wichita State, hitting .469 (15-32) with three home runs and eight RBI
• Serving as the designated hitter when he is not pitching, Tolle boasts a .345 (10-29) batting average with a pair of doubles

VERSATILE LUX SWINGING HOT BAT
Starting games at first base and both corner outfield spots so far in the young season, as well as playing second base earlier in his collegiate career, graduate student Gabe Lux's bat has been hot regardless of where he is playing defensively.

Hitting an even .400, Lux's 10 hits, four of which are doubles, in his 25 at-bats mean he is responsible for 23.8 percent of the Golden Grizzlies' knocks this season and he has hit safely in three-straight games.