Payton Tolle did what? Another 2-way gem for Wichita State baseball star vs. Creighton

Two-way sensation Payton Tolle has done a lot of impressive things in his brief career on the Wichita State baseball team.

Sunday’s performance can be added to the list.

Tolle finished with a career-high 12 strikeouts on the mound, then crushed a ball harder than almost any MLB superstar did all of last season to lead the Shockers to a 12-2, run-rule victory in seven innings over Creighton at Eck Stadium on Sunday.

WSU’s tracking system clocked a ball hit off Tolle’s bat with a 119.5 mph exit velocity, the highest ever recorded by the system. According to tracking data from MLB.com, that ball hit by Tolle would have the third-hardest hit ball in the majors from the 2022 season, harder than the hardest hit by stars like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Tolle finished with a game-high three hits, scored three runs and drove in two runs on offense, then pitched all seven innings, allowing two earned runs with five hits and no walks and 12 strikeouts.

For the season, Tolle is the best hitter on the Shockers with a .395 batting average, three home runs and a team-high 19 RBI. He also improved to 4-0 this season on the mound with a 3.00 ERA and 36 strikeouts to just seven walks in 30 innings pitched.

WSU improved to 10-8 this season behind an offensive explosion that featured 15 hits, including multi-hit performances from Tolle, Brock Rodden, Garrett Pennington, Mauricio Millan and Chuck Ingram.

Creighton (7-7) tagged Tolle for two runs in the top of the first inning, but managed just a lone single for the rest of the game. The left-hander retired 16 of the final 17 batters, striking out the final six hitters to put the finishing touches on his complete-game victory.

Ingram tied the game in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI single, then Rodden put WSU ahead with a 2-run double off the wall. Millan and Maize native Jaden Gustafson followed with back-to-back RBI singles in the third inning, then David Herring plated two in a 4-run fourth inning to put the Shockers up 8-2.

Ingram and Seth Stroh added RBIs in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the run-rule victory.

The Shockers took out some frustration after losing a 5-hour, marathon game in 14 innings on Saturday, a 13-6 loss where WSU rallied from behind in the eighth and ninth innings to force extras and had the winning run in scoring position in the first four extra innings. The series was initially slated to be played in Omaha, but was moved to Wichita due to freezing temperatures.

WSU will have a busy week with a single road game Tuesday night at Oral Roberts, a home game against Oklahoma State at 6 p.m. Wednesday, then a 3-game series at Eck Stadium starting Friday against Massachusetts.

Wichita State softball wins in walk-off fashion

Down to its final out, the Wichita State softball team rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning from two runs down for a walk-off 4-3 win over South Dakota State at Wilkins Stadium on Sunday.

It capped a 3-1 weekend in its home invitation, as WSU swept Northern Colorado, beat a top-55 RPI team in South Dakota State and lost 5-2 to Minnesota to bring the Shockers’ record to 23-6 with American Athletic Conference play beginning next weekend.

With the score tied at 1-1 entering the seventh inning of Sunday’s finale, South Dakota State hit a solo home run and then a RBI double to take a 3-1 lead.

WSU had a runner on first base when it delivered four straight 2-out singles to win the game. Lauren Lucas singled to left field to put two runners on, then Zoe Jones singled to the gap in right-center to score a runner. Lauren Mills tied the game with a single back up the middle, then freshman Taylor Sedlacek won the game for the Shockers with a walk-off grounder up the middle to score Jones from second base.