KWCH - Kansas News and Weather - Shockers Escape Bradley
Member Center:
by Richard Smith
Wichita State pitching coach Brent Kemnitz says the measure of a great pitcher is his ability to get his team out of a jam.
If so, Travis Banwart was certainly a great pitcher Friday, tossing seven and a third scoreless innings and escaping numerous jams in leading the Shockers to a 3-0 series-opening win.
Bradley put runners on base in every inning, and the WSU junior put them off base in every inning he pitched, striking out 10 Braves.
The performance was crucial in a game where offense was hard to find for both sides. A second-inning Tyler Hill sacrifice fly was all the offense WSU could muster until Dusty Coleman finally bought them some breathing room with a two-run double in the seventh inning, pushing the lead out to 3-0.
From there, the bullpen took care of the rest, with Noah Booth and Noah Krol combining on an inning and two-thirds of one-hit relief to lock up the win.
Wichita State moves to 23-5 overall and remains in the Missouri Valley lead at 4-0. The Shockers send Aaron Shafer to the mound for game two of the series Saturday afternoon.
