The Wright State baseball team scored three times in the second and never looked back as the Raiders took the rubber game of the three-game series Sunday afternoon against #10 Clemson, defeating the Tigers 9-2 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
WSU used the long ball in building the 3-0 advantage in the second as after Gabe Snyder singled, went to second on a passed ball and scored on an Adrian Marquez double to left center, Seth Gray followed with his first collegiate home run, a two-run shot center.
Clemson answered with a solo home run in the fourth, only to see Wright State respond with two runs in the top of the fifth. Back-to-back doubles by Kevin Whatley and Gray produced the first run and after Gray went to third on a Brandon Giltrow bunt, Matt Morrow plated Gray with a sacrifice fly to center.
The Raiders tacked on a single run in the seventh on a Zach Weatherford grounder, another in the eighth on a Gray sacrifice lfy and two more in the ninth on a JD Orr RBI single and Weatherford scoring on a wild pitch.
The Tigers hit another solo home run in the ninth, but managed no more runs as the trio of Danny Sexton, Jeremy Randolph and Derek Hendrixson held Clemson to six hits while striking out nine. Sexton (1-0) earned the win as he allowed just one run and four hits in 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts.
"I'm not surprised we won today," said Wright State head coach Jeff Mercer. "I woke up this morning 100% confident we'd take the series."
The victory is the 13th for WSU over a ranked program since the start of the 2007 season. It marks the first time the Raiders have won two games over a ranked program in a series since taking the final two of a three-game series at #18 Mississippi February 24 and 25, 2007.
At the plate, Gray finished with two hits, four RBi and three runs scored while Orr had two hits.
Wright State (2-1) heads back to the Palmetto State next weekend for a three-game series against South Carolina. The Raiders and Gamecocks will play single games on Friday (4:00), Saturday (3:00) and Sunday (1:30).
