SCENE SETTER: The Shockers return to American Athletic Conference play with a three-game series against preseason league favorites East Carolina. It's the first trip to Greenville for Wichita State since the 2018 season, when the Shockers routed ECU 14-3 on Friday night but the Pirates responded with consecutive wins to take the series. Wichita State has lost three consecutive games entering the weekend, the last two with a 3-1 lead entering the eighth inning. On Tuesday against sixth-ranked Oklahoma State, the Cowboys scored three times with two outs in the eighth to take a 4-3 lead, later adding an insurance run in the ninth.