We had a few thunderstorms roll into the area at around 4:30 this morning (thanks for the wake-up call, Mother Nature), and the ground is a bit wet for today's game. The grass in the outfield is damp and could be a little slippery but most of the infield is fine, save for a few wet spots in the AstroTurf.

And yes, that's not a typo. AstroTurf is still on the infield here. I have heard though that the good folks in Wichita are considering a move to FieldTurf next year. Memo to WSU: MAKE THE MOVE.

The Shockers might've lost last night, but it certainly didn't drop the morale of the Wichita State faithful. The lines were back this morning in full force, and even in the press box, I can see tailgaters in black and yellow tents across from the stadium on 21st Street, and some on Perimeter Drive (though not on the grounds of the WSU golf course, which is also right here by Eck Stadium. I have to say this, Wichita State's got one of the nicest big-city campuses I've seen.

And they've also got this....

That's right...the original Pizza Hut building sits on the Wichita State campus. It was actually located a short distance away from the school, but was moved to the campus in honor of the Carneys, who were alums of Wichita State. How cool is that?

Ok, back to the game at hand.

Both teams are going to hope for an offensive revival here today. Sure, everyone loves a pitcher's duel now and then, but 1-0 games aren't going to win over fans, players or coaches on a consistent basis. Both UCI's Dave Serrano and WSU's Gene Stephenson want more offense from their squads today. There's no doubt that it could happen. Both teams can hit well, and both teams have stolen a lot of bases this season, which means there is a great chance that we could outscore yesterday's game by the end of the first. However, both teams send great pitchers again to the mound as starters.

Wichita St. - LHP Rob Musgrave (10-2, 2.71 ERA)
UC Irvine - RHP Wes Etheridge (12-4, 2.67 ERA)

So what should we watch for today? Here's today's keys to the game...

*Offense in the first two innings - Both teams want to be pushing runs across the plate early, trying to set the tempo of the game. Musgrave and Etheridge are outstanding pitchers, but they need to make sure and shut down their opponents early, especially Etheridge, since the Shockers will be batting first and the fans will be rocking.

*Leadoff Hitting - The stat showed why the score was low yesterday. I think this is the stat of the Super Regional. The team that can get its leadoff guys on will win.

*Errors - Both teams played pretty clean ball yesterday. Will the added pressure of this game cause a few mistakes to go around?

*Power Hitting - Nothing makes life easier for a team than that first home run. So far, we've had one double as the only extra base hit of the series. These teams need to stretch those singles out and unleash some power on a windy day here in Wichita.

*Weather - Here's the NOAA Weather Radar...

We had rain earlier, and the forecast calls for more storms later today. Will rain delays play a factor? I don't know about UC Irvine, but I know from covering the Missouri Valley Tournament that the Shockers are quite used to extensive rain delays.

We should have a great one on our hands today, as first pitch is set for a few minutes past noon. Can Irvine claim a ticket to Omaha? Can Wichita State keep their season alive? We're set to find out!

I'll return at the end of the game with complete analysis and a wrapup of today's game. To follow the action with live pitch-by-pitch information, head to CSTV.com's GameTracker!