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@WSUBaseball Opens NCAA's

Raiders Make Sixth NCAA Appearance Since 2006







The Wright State baseball team will open play in the 2018 Stanford Regional against the host Cardinal Friday night at 10 PM at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond.  The game will be aired live on ESPN2, a first for the program.  It will mark the seventh tournament appearance for the Raiders, and sixth since 2006.  The first game of the tournament pits #2 seed Baylor vs. #3 seed Cal State Fullerton.

 
What: NCAA Stanford Regional
When: June 1-4, 2018
Location: Stanford, CA (Sunken Diamond)
Friday Game: Wright State vs Stanford 10 PM (ESPN2/Watch ESPN App)
Saturday Game: Wright State vs Baylor or Fullerton 3 PM or 8 PM (Watch ESPN App)
The tournament is a double-elimination format, with the winners and losers of each Friday game squaring off on Saturday – game times for Saturday are 3 p.m. for Friday's losing teams and 8 p.m. for Friday's winning teams. Wright State has never met any of the other three teams in its bracket.  All games are available on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN application. 

Fans can also follow the action using Live Stats (accessible through wsuraiders.com) and on Twitter (@WSUBaseball).

The Horizon League Champions will enter regional play with a 39-15 overall record after winning its last eight games and 15 of the last 17.  The Raiders, 69th in the RPI, are currently 17-11 on the road and 3-1 on neutral fields.  Wright State took home the Horizon League title with three straight wins and outscoring their opponents 32-11 last weekend.  Peyton Burdick was named the Tournament MVP as he hit .333 with a home run and five RBI.  Seth Gray, Bentley Jones, JD Orr, Caleb Sampen, Chase Slone and Ryan Weiss were also named to the All-Tournament Team. 

Led by HL Player of the Year Gabe Snyder and Coach of the Year Jeff Mercer, 11 total Raiders were placed on the Horizon League teams.  In addition to Snyder, Matt Morrow, Chase Slone, Burdick and Weiss were named to the First Team.  Gray, Orr, Zane Harris and senior Derek Hendrixson were chosen to the Second Team while Harris and Quincy Hamilton were named to the Freshman Team. 

WSU ranks among the nation's best in several categories, including fielding (5th), scoring (8th), stolen bases (8th), runs (10th), winning percentage (12th), and hits (37th). Individually, Snyder ranks seventh nationally in RBI, while Burdick is 15th.  Orr is fourth in stolen bases, and Weiss 25th in wins.

The Raiders won two of three games in February at #20 Louisiana as well as three games against 2018 NCAA Tournament teams Hartford and Kent State.  Wright State has advanced to the NCAA Tournament three of the last four years, winning two games in 2015 (Illinois Regional) and 2016 (Louisville Regional).

#1 Stanford Cardinal
  • 44-10 overall record, 22-8 in Pac-12 play
  • Won its 18th Pac-12 conference championship, and first since 2004
  • Winning National Titles in 1987 and 1988, Stanford has appeared in 31 NCAA Tournaments since 1981
  • Ranked #3 in the country by the NCBWA. and finished second in the RPI
  • Record at home is 30-3 on the season
  • Had eight wins over ranked opponents, including a three-game sweep over fellow regional qualifier Cal State Fullerton
  • Rank second in the NCAA in team ERA at 2.85
  • Led the Pac-12 in team ERA at 2.85 and opposing batting average at .223
  • Three starting pitchers have an ERA under 3.00
    • Brendan Beck: 6-0 record with 2.44 ERA
    • Kris Bubic: 8-1 record with 2.73 ERA (considered a top prospect for the MLB draft)
    • Tristan Beck: 8-4 record with 2.99 ERA
  • Sophomore closer Jack Little was named first-team All-American by Baseball America and second-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.  In 23 appearances Little has pitched 41.0 innings, earning 15 saves and has an ERA of 0.66.  He's holding batters to a .170 average, and has issued just seven walks.
  • Cardinal hit 54 home runs on the season, second best in the Pac-12
  • Pre-season All-American shortstop Nico Hoerner batted .349, and leads the team in hits (75), doubles (16), triples (5) and stolen bases with (14).  He finished second in runs (43) and total bases (107).  Hoerner is considered one of the better prospects in the upcoming MLB draft.
  • Sophomore first baseman Andrew Daschbach leads the team in home runs (16), RBI (61), slugging percentage (.571) and total bases (116).  His 16 home runs are the most from any Cardinal since 2008.
  • Second baseman Beau Branton lead Stanford in batting average (.379) and on-base percentage (.458)
  • Under first-year head coach David Esquer led the Cardinal to their most wins since 2004.  Esquer succeeded legendary head coach Mark Marquess, who retired after 41 years at the helm.
 
#2 Baylor Bears
  • 36-19 overall record with a 13-11 record in Big 12 play
  • Ranked #29 in the country by the NCBWA and 32 in the RPI
  • Finished fifth in Big 12 regular season play, but won the Big 12 Conference Tournament for the first time
  • Enter the NCAA tournament having won their last six games, and winning 20 out of their last 22 games
  • Making its 20th NCAA appearance, and second straight for the first time since 2009-2012
  • Rank 11th in the NCAA in team ERA at 3.19
  • Led the Big 12 in team ERA at 3.19 and opposing batting average at .235
  • Rank second in the Big 12 in team batting average at .289 and RBI's with 330
  • Third-team All-American Cody Bradford has a 7-5 record, the second best ERA in the Big 12 at 2.38, and the second most innings pitched at 90.2 innings
  • Pitcher Hayden Kettler has the seventh best ERA in the Big 12 at 3.64, has pitched the fourth most innings at 81.2, and has an 8-4 record which tied for the most wins in the Big 12
  • Sophomore catcher Shea Langeliers was named second-team All-American by Baseball America. He's hitting .247 with a career-high 46 runs, 17 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 34 walks, four steals and 43 RBI. Additionally, he's thrown out 23 of 33 base stealers on the season.
  • Designated hitter Richard Cunningham led the team with a .344 batting average, which was sixth best in the Big 12 while hitting nine home runs and 38 RBI's
  • First baseman Andy Thomas hit .343 on the season which was seventh best in the Big 12, starting all 55 games for the Bears
  • Third baseman Davis Wendzel was tied for the Big 12 lead in doubles at 21, while also batting .319 with eight home runs and a team-high 45 RBI's
  • Head Coach Steve Rodriguez is 95-71 in three seasons at Baylor, and 380-369 overall after 12 seasons at Pepperdine
 
#3 Cal State Fullerton Titans
  • 32-23 overall record with an 18-6 record in Big West play
  • Ranked #30 in the country by the NCBWA with a 52 RPI
  • Enter the NCAA tournament having won 13 out of their last 16 games
  • Finished first in Big West regular season play by three games
  • This marks the 27th consecutive, and 39th overall, post-season appearance for the Titans. The second longest streak in America behind Florida St.
  • Have won four national titles (1979, 1984, 1995, 2004)
  • Won last year's Stanford regional by beating the host Cardinal in back-to-back games
  • Led the Big West in team ERA at 3.52 and had a 2.85 team ERA in conference play
  • Led the Big West in team batting average during conference play with a .296 mark
  • Pitcher Colton Eastman has a 9-3 record, and ranks third in the Big West in ERA at 2.26, while throwing the most innings in the conference at 103.2
  • Pitcher Tommy Wilson has a 6-0 record, and ranks fifth in the Big West in ERA at 2.93, and has the most wins in the Big West (6) without earning a loss
  • Second baseman Hank LoForte led the team with a .341 batting average which was fourth best in the Big West, and has a .397 on-base percentage while hitting 33 RBI's on the season
  • Center fielder Mitchell Berryhill had a .308 batting average which was ranked 13th in the Big West, while also stealing nine bases which was good for seventh in the conference
  • Catcher Daniel Cope batted .286 on the season, and led the Titans with 40 RBI's which was fourth best in the Big West, and also led the team with five home runs on the season
  • Head Coach Rick VanderHook is 267-150 in his seventh season

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Players Mentioned

Peyton Burdick

#40 Peyton Burdick

OF
6' 0"
Sophomore
Seth Gray

#18 Seth Gray

IF
6' 3"
Freshman
Quincy Hamilton

#36 Quincy Hamilton

OF/LHP
6' 0"
Freshman
Zane Harris

#39 Zane Harris

1B
6' 5"
Freshman
Derek Hendrixson

#4 Derek Hendrixson

RHP
5' 10"
Redshirt Junior
Matt Morrow

#1 Matt Morrow

IF
5' 10"
Junior
JD Orr

#35 JD Orr

OF
5' 11"
Sophomore
Caleb Sampen

#8 Caleb Sampen

RHP
6' 3"
Sophomore
Gabe Snyder

#30 Gabe Snyder

1B
6' 5"
Redshirt Junior
Ryan Weiss

#20 Ryan Weiss

RHP
6' 4"
Redshirt

Players Mentioned

Peyton Burdick

#40 Peyton Burdick

6' 0"
Sophomore
OF
Seth Gray

#18 Seth Gray

6' 3"
Freshman
IF
Quincy Hamilton

#36 Quincy Hamilton

6' 0"
Freshman
OF/LHP
Zane Harris

#39 Zane Harris

6' 5"
Freshman
1B
Derek Hendrixson

#4 Derek Hendrixson

5' 10"
Redshirt Junior
RHP
Matt Morrow

#1 Matt Morrow

5' 10"
Junior
IF
JD Orr

#35 JD Orr

5' 11"
Sophomore
OF
Caleb Sampen

#8 Caleb Sampen

6' 3"
Sophomore
RHP
Gabe Snyder

#30 Gabe Snyder

6' 5"
Redshirt Junior
1B
Ryan Weiss

#20 Ryan Weiss

6' 4"
Redshirt
RHP