Shortstop Dayne Parker of Roff (Okla.) High School has given Wichita State baseball coaches an oral commitment to become a Shocker in 2010-11, Parker said this afternoon.
“The facilities are really nice, and they have a crowd every game,” Parker said in a telephone interview this afternoon. “I really like playing in front of fans.”
Parker hit .480 with 11 home runs for his summer team, the Elk City Travelers, last summer. He visited WSU last weekend, including the intrasquad scrimmage that drew about 1,000 fans for the baseball and a first look at new artificial turf.
“I liked it a lot,” Parker said of the turf. “It’s probably the best you can play on.”
Parker hit .505 last spring as a junior for Roff High, located in southern Oklahoma. The average was among the top 15 batters in Oklahoma small schools, according to The Daily Oklahoman.
A series of “This Day in History” posts from Wichita State’s 1989 College World Series championship team.
May 16, 1989
The skinny: WSU catcher Eric Wedge is named MVC Player of the Year. Pitcher Greg Brummett is named Pitcher of the Year. Coach Gene Stephenson is named Coach of the Year.
The quote: “Last year, I was probably putting too much pressure on myself, trying to too hard to show everybody what I was made of. This year I tried not to put so much pressure on myself,” WSU pitcher Greg Brummett.
Big picture: Twelve Shockers are named to All-Valley teams.
WSU’s game Saturday was postponed due to rain. The teams will play two nine-inning games beginning at noon on Sunday.
Later this month, each Eagle sports reporter will pick the best story on their beat for 2008 and write about it as a way to end the year. It took me a few seconds to figure out the volleyball team’s unbeaten regular-season is the top candidate, although not without challengers. What is your pick? Let me know if missed something. Read More »
Texas Tech, from what I’ve been told, is one of those rare schools where the women’s team outdraws the men. Tennessee (before Bruce Pearl), Missouri State (in the LB glory days) and Connecticut (maybe). Can’t think of many others. Thirty minutes before the game and there are few people in the United Spirit Arena. Perhaps they are organizing a “please stay” rally for football coach Mike Leach.
Around the MVC:
- Todd Golden of the Terre Haute Tribune-Star takes on a message-board poster in the never-ending Internet battleground. Most of the time, I think it’s wise to let message boards be what they are – a place for fans to be fans. The problem is putting words on a forum viewed worldwide can hurt feelings. Not everybody sees message-board banter as harmless, especially when they or someone they know is the target of discussion by anonymous fans. Stay tuned for more. This issue isn’t going to fade away.
- For the Sycamores, of more immediate importance is their 0-5 start. Indiana State is 0-5 for the sixth time and history says a winning record is a longshot. The schedule offers little relief with Louisville and Purdue coming up.
- P’Allen Stinnett is back for the Jays.
- SIU defeated Saint Louis.
Before basketball, let me slip in some baseball news:
- Reliever Logan Hoch had surgery on his torn labrum on Thursday, likely knocking him out 2009 plans. Hoch did not throw this fall as he tried to rehab his way out of the injury. He will be missed on an already young pitching staff. I thought Hoch had a better 2008 than his numbers (2-1, 5.16 ERA) reveal and his 2009 would have been better. Read More »
Wichita State volleyball junior Melissa Granville is one of the MVC’s best back-row defenders and a person respected by the coaching staff for her volleyball smarts. I don’t know if coaching is in her future, but she seems like a natural. She knows what is going on all over the court at all times, which is probably one of the reasons she is so valuable to coach Chris Lamb.I enjoy talking to her because she explains volleyball in ways I can understand, which isn’t always easy. Read More »
A Web site called Ugly Fugly judges Wu-Shock the nation’s worst college logo. SI.com calls attention to the site.
Is this news? Does it matter, other than to prove too many people know how to work the Internet? Let’s just point out Shockers is short for Wheatshockers (the original nickname) and it is STALK of wheat not STOCK of wheat and move on. Wu can fairly be called weird, bizarre, even ugly to some tastes. There are reproduction issues when it is used in a small size. However, as a logo, it is unique and memorable (same thing goes for the Jayhawk).
The wait is almost over. WSU’s men’s basketball schedule will be released today. No surprises. The exhibition opponent is an unknown. While nobody is confirming or talking about it on either side, WSU is likely to scrimmage Kansas State on Nov. 1 in Manhattan. I want to make sure I credit KGSO for first getting the scrimmage news out there. Those voices are good about crediting the Eagle and Kansas.com, so back at them. Read More »
Wichita State’s long-desired game in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is a reality. The Shockers got some help from old friend Jean Prioleau, a former WSU assistant, to land a home-and-home series with TCU. The series opens in Fort Worth on Dec. 8. The Horned Frogs come to Wichita during the 2009-10 season. Read More »