Shocker catcher ends Fall World Series with dramatic home run, earns his team big reward

Shocker catcher ends Fall World Series with dramatic home run, earns his team big reward Shocker catcher ends Fall World Series with dramatic home run, earns his team big reward Kaia Bach Redshirt senior center fielder Kaleb Duncan slides through home plate in the Black and Yellow Fall World Series. The Yellow Team won the three-game series on Saturday at Eck Stadium. Evan Long, Sports Editor • October 13, 2026 After Shocker catcher Ethan Gonzalez had talked about the team’s play this fall, what he hopes to improve on for the spring and his huge at-bat in the annual Black and Yellow Fall World Series, he got to the question that he answered with the most enthusiasm.  How do you like your steak? “Medium rare!” he said with a grin. Gonzalez smacked a game-winning three-run home run over the left-field wall to lead the Yellow Team to a 3-1 victory and the World Series championship on Saturday at Eck Stadium. The winning team in the intrasquad series, which included three five-inning games, received a steak dinner, and the losers got hotdogs with no toppings. The game, and series, came down to an interesting matchup. With two runners on, Gonzalez faced junior right-hander Maddox Meyer, a newcomer from Omaha University, who likes to pound the strike zone and has been one of the Shockers’ top pitchers this fall.  Gonzalez is a gritty senior who has shown the ability to get red-hot throughout his career. He hit just .202 last season for the Shockers but finished on a high note, collecting five hits, including a homer, in a 14-12 victory over UAB in the American Conference semifinals. Gonzalez had a simple approach against Meyer.  “I really wasn’t thinking anything to be honest,” said Gonzalez, who hit .700 in the junior college world series before coming to WSU. “I was just gonna try to look for anything up, and if I see it up, I’m just gonna let it rip. “I was really sitting fastball, (and trying to) react to the curve – that’s basically what my approach was,” he added. “Maddox is a great pitcher. If I see anything up, see spin, I’m gonna hit it.” Reese Kortum, a 6-foot-5 senior lefty, started for the Black Team and sat down the first six batters he saw. He struck out sophomore outfielder Rhett Winchester to open the game and followed it up with another punchout. Last season, Kortum was 3-2 with a 5.65 ERA in 19 appearances.  “I made a couple critical adjustments with my arm slot, and I kinda changed my posture to give a different look this fall,” Kortum said. “I was mainly working sinker, cutter. I was able to spot those up pretty well. Flashed a splitter and sweeper in there as well for strikes. “Knowing the hitters, knowing what they like, knowing kinda how to approach them each pitch is very helpful.” In the bottom of the first, senior right fielder Max Buettenback hammered a two-run bomb to right field, putting the Black Team up 2-0. A newcomer from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Buettenback was Wichita State’s most productive offensive player of the fall season. He hit a walk-off grand slam against Kansas City Kansas Community College at Eck Stadium in the Shockers’ last fall exhibition. “He is a really good player,” head coach Brian Green said. “It’s gonna be really challenging to not see him in the lineup everyday. He moves really slow from a mental standpoint. He plays the game a pitch at a time. He is probably our most consistent competitor. (Buettenback) was one of our best players this fall.” Evan Escobar, a junior infielder on the Black Team, notched a leadoff double on the first pitch of the bottom of the second. The next batter hit a ball sharply to third base; junior AJ Velarde dove to his right and threw a laser to beat the runner at first before Nolan Ganter fired the ball right back to Velarde, who tagged Escobar out at third for a double play. “He’s gotten so much better,” Green said about Velarde. “He’s one of our best players. That was a legitimate great play. He’s a really good defender. He’s another guy that’s gonna be hard to not pencil in and play everyday.” Velarde, a third baseman who transferred from Midland College in Texas, also shined in the batter’s box during the fall season. He recorded three hits, two RBIs, one walk and one run in the Shockers’ 13-7 victory over Nebraska on Sept. 26 at Eck Stadium. Green mentioned that Buettenback and Velarde will most likely start for Wichita State in the spring barring any injuries or setbacks. “I think Buettenback is about as locked down as you can get out in right field. I think our team would agree with that,” Green said. “I think Velarde at third base is another lock-down guy. We have a lot of guys who are gonna play, but those two guys in particular — that’s about as consistent of a fall as you could possibly have. They both hit over .400, they both play really good defense and they both competed really well.” In the top of the third, Winchester hit a two-run homer for the Yellow Team that cleared the center field wall and tied the game at 2-2. The Yellow Team scored two more runs after a throwing error in the top of the fourth to take a 4-2 lead. Winchester and junior Matt MacDonald both smacked RBI doubles to extend the Yellow Team’s advantage to 6-2 in the top of the fourth. Simon Lemke, a senior right-hander, registered two strikeouts and a groundout to stop the bleeding, but the damage was already done as the Black Team allowed four runs in the frame. In the top of the fifth inning, sophomore infielder Liu Rodriguez Jr. hit an RBI single up the middle to cut the Yellow Team’s lead to 6-3. However, it was too little, too late as the Yellow Team won the third game to force extra innings with the scoreboard being reset and a runner starting on second each half inning. The Black Team took the opener 6-0 in the three-game set, and the two squads tied 6-6 in Game 2. So after the Yellow Team took Game 3, a tiebreaker was needed to determine a winner, and more importantly, who earned steaks. After Gonzalez’s three-run blast, Campbell Cassidy, a senior lefty, was trusted to close the game out for the Yellow Team. He notched a strikeout, single, sacrifice fly, walk and fly out to get the series victory. Cassidy’s teammates charged onto the field and dumped a bucket of ice water on him to celebrate. “Campbell was throwing harder,” Green said. “I was really pleased with him. He attacked it.” 1 Like This Story Share on Facebook Share on X Share on Reddit Print this Story Leave a Comment About the Contributors Evan Long, Sports Editor Evan Long is the sports editor for The Sunflower. He is a sophomore studying journalism and media production. After graduation, he plans to pursue a career in sports media. Long uses he/him pronouns. Kaia Bach, Photographer Kaia Bach is a photographer for The Sunflower. She is a freshman studying biological science and plans to pursue a career in dentistry. Bach uses she/her pronouns.