Missouri State at Wichita State

The series: 6:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday

Probable rotation: MSU, RH NIck Petree (7-2, 0.84 ERA); RH Cody Schumacher (4-0, 5.26); TBA. WSU, LH Josh Smith (4-2, 2.87); RH Tobin Mateychick (3-0, 3.86); LH Kris Gardner (3-1, 3.03)

•  The Bears won three straight before Tuesday's 1-0 loss to Saint Louis. MSU managed two hits and had an 11-game home win streak snapped. In MVC games, MSU swept Creighton, lost two of three at Bradley and won two against Illinois State before losing the final game to rain. The Bears also own two wins over Oklahoma State, defeated Kansas and Kansas State and won three of four against Oral Roberts. "They are the best team in this league," WSU coach Gene Stephenson said. "They have the highest RPI (No. 35), by far, and they've played a good schedule."

•  MSU RHP Pierce Johnson, the No. 1 starter, hasn't pitched since March 30 due to a forearm strain. Before the injury, Johnson went 2-3 with a 2.01 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings. "We expect to see him (Sunday)," Stephenson said. Petree, Johnson's Friday-night sub, is the leading candidate for MVC Pitcher of the Year. He leads the conference with a 0.84 ERA and hasn't allowed an earned run in 43 1/3 straight innings over six outings. The Bears are also without No. 3 starter Clay Murphy (5-1, 1.37), lost to a season-ending elbow injury earlier this month. Despite those injuries, MSU leads the MVC with a 2.57 ERA and its 334 strikeouts are 47 more than second-place Indiana State.

•  CF Spiker Helms leads MSU with a .523 slugging percentage and 17 doubles. He has hit five home runs, tied for the team lead with 3B Brent Seifert. 2B Kevin Medrano is hitting .298 with 13 doubles. DH Keenen Maddox is hitting .330 with a slugging percentage of .455.

•  MSU LHP Tyler Burgess and WSU RHP Cale Elam are on the 45-man National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award mid-season list. Burgess, a freshman, is 3-0 with a 1.21 ERA and eight saves. Elam, a sophomore, is 3-3 with a 1.19 ERA and seven saves.

•  WSU has won 20 of the past 24 meetings with MSU at Eck Stadium and the Bears have never won a series in Wichita. MSU won two of three last year in Springfield.

•  WSU 1B Casey Gillaspie has eight home runs, most by a freshman since Eric Wedge's 11 in 1987. WSU's freshman record is 19 by Joe Carter in 1979. Gillaspie is hitting .381 with six home runs and 15 RBI in his past 10 games.

•  Smith is 0-2 with a 7.36 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance against MSU over 11 innings. Last season, he gave up nine hits and four earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. Mateychick, a redshirt sophomore who missed last season with an elbow injury, will make the first weekend start of his career. Gardner will make his first weekend start after holding Oklahoma State to one hit over five scoreless innings in Tuesday's 2-1 win.

Wichita State's infielders are inexperienced, frequently play different positions and the two most experienced players are no longer with the team.

That should be enough to turn that unit into a problem area, as it was last season when Shocker infielders committed 67 errors. Not in this case. WSU's infield defense is solid when it needs to be and bold and decisive when it has to be, as in the late stages of Tuesday's 2-1 win over Oklahoma State in 11 innings. The Shockers might not know where they are going to play from day to day or inning to inning, but they do it well.

"We all have the same mind-set that, wherever we're put, we know we can get the job done and we're going to help the team," sophomore Erik Harbutz said. "That's the difference between this team and maybe teams in the past. There's not one guy that's bigger than the rest."

WSU (23-17, 5-4 Missouri Valley Conference) plays first-place Missouri State (27-11, 6-2) this weekend at Eck Stadium in a series the Shockers must win at least two game to consider themselves a contender.

If there are any egos in this group, they are well-hidden.

WSU coach Gene Stephenson regularly juggles his lineup to match up with pitchers. Junior Johnny Coy and freshman Casey Gillaspie share first base. Five Shockers started at second base, four at third and three at short. Despite that flux, WSU owns 16 errorless games, one more than last season. Its fielding percentage of .973, should it hold up for the season, would be WSU's best since the 2007 team fielded .974 and one of six over .970 in Stephenson's 35 seasons.

"It's real nice, because people don't get mad if they're not at their position," freshman Tyler Baker said. "They might think that in their head, but you can't tell."

The constants are Harbutz, at third or short, and sophomore Dayne Parker, at short or second. Their experience, good gloves and accurate arms provide the foundation. Harbutz possesses more range, so he is the preferred option at short. Parker is sure-handed at either position and expertly turns the double play at second base, likely the most difficult skill for an infielder moving from the left to the right side.

Their best asset is that they make the routine play. Harbutz has four errors in 32 games. Parker has seven in 39. In recent seasons, WSU's outfield ran down almost every ball, but the infield too often gave away outs.

"It started with the coaches this past fall and winter — that's what we wanted to define our team," Harbutz said. "We're all pretty solid defensively, and we take pride in that."

The Shockers might not know their starting role until an hour or two before the game. While the players might prefer more certainty, they know this team works with moving parts.

"We're not as selfish as we have been the last couple years, and we're willing to do whatever it takes to wins," Parker said.

Baker catches, the position coaches see him at in the future, and plays third. He found himself at second for the first time in the 10th inning of last week's 16-inning win at Kansas and started there a week ago at Evansville. Junior transfer Aaron Rea started six games at third and sophomore Josh Halbert started nine at second and three at third. Coaches suspect Gillaspie hits better when he plays first, whereas Coy is mature enough to not grind away in the dugout between at-bats as the designated hitter.

"Everybody is so versatile," Baker said. "He can put anybody out there and we know what we're doing."

Stephenson did stabilize the lineup the past three games, starting Gillaspie (first), Parker (second), Harbutz (shortstop) and Baker (third). There are no guarantees that will continue.

"(Assistant coach) Jim Thomas has done a really good job of acquainting them with all three positions, so that they know where to be, when to be and how to be," Stephenson said. "There's an unselfish attitude, and I think they are probably seeing the value in whatever helps the team win, first."

Stephenson started the season with even more infield depth. Then he kicked junior Walker Davidson, who started 59 games at second as a sophomore, off the team early in the season. Tyler Coughenour, who started 40 games at third in 2011, is indefinitely suspended for a violation of team rules and hasn't played since April 1.

That upheaval hasn't affected the infield chemistry. If the Shockers were going to crack, Tuesday's 2-1 win over Oklahoma State in 11-innings provided the perfect opportunity. Twice in the late innings, the Shockers cut down runners at second after a sacrifice bunt. They turned double plays to end the 10th and the 11th.

That execution on defense often eluded the Shockers in recent seasons. This group is making it a staple, even in the face of obstacles.

"When you can depend on your defense to make every play behind you, it sure does making pitching a lot easier," pitcher Kris Gardner said. "You don't have to try to strike everybody out when you know you've got seven guys behind you who you know can get the job done."