WICHITA, Kan. – No. 23 Wichita State won its fourth straight game and recorded its third series sweep of the season behind a 7-1 win over East Carolina on Sunday at Wilkins Stadium.
Wichita State (40-8, 13-2) picked up win No. 40 of the season, marking just the third 40-win season in school history, joining the 2005 and 2021 teams.
The Shockers completed the series sweep to conclude a successful senior weekend where they honored three seniors: Lauren Mills, Zoe Jones and Sydney McKinney.
McKinney scored three times on Sunday to go with a single and a double. Addison Barnard doubled twice to go with two RBI and three runs scored. Lauren Lucas went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI. Jones drove in a pair to go with a double.
Taylor Sedlacek and Lainee Brown rounded out the Shockers with a hit in the contest.
Alison Cooper earned a no decision in the start. She struck out three in 3.0 innings, allowing the lone run on two hits and a walk. Alex Aguilar was solid yet again in relief. She picked up her 13th win in 4.0 innings out of the bullpen, striking out four and allowing just two hits and a walk.
Cooper went to work quick in the top of the first, retiring all three Pirates on just nine pitches, including two strikeouts. Her offense then immediately put a pair of runs on the board. McKinney led off with a single, Barnard walked and Lucas laid down a perfect bunt single to load the bases. East Carolina was lucky to only allow two runs with the bases loaded and no outs, as Jones scored the first run on a sac fly and Sedlacek drew a bases loaded walk to make it 2-0. It marked the third time in the last two games stranding the bases loaded.
East Carolina cut the lead in half in the top of the second on a two-out solo home run.
Wichita State tacked on two more in the bottom of the second on an RBI double and RBI triple from Barnard and Lucas in back-to-back at bats.
Still holding on to a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth, the top of the order went back to work. Three doubles in the inning from McKinney, Barnard and Jones produced two runs, and the third and final run came across on an ECU error.
Up Next
No. 23 Wichita State is set to host No. 1 Oklahoma on Tuesday in the 2023 home finale at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.