The roles of freshman Jack Little and senior Sawyre Thornhill are intertwined for Wichita State.
With both healthy, Wichita State has won seven of eight games and worked its way into the national rankings and to the top of the American Athletic Conference standings.
With both healthy and getting on base, the conference's best hitting team is deeper and faster. The Shockers are moving closer to interim coach Loren Hibbs' vision for an offense that puts pressure on pitchers from the top of the lineup to the bottom.
On Friday, the Shockers defeated Memphis 12-3 with a 14-hit attack that featured home runs by Garrett Pennington and Payton Tolle and four doubles.