Raidergang opens anticipated season at #11 Georgia Tech

Friday, February 18

Atlanta, GA

4 PM

Wright State University

#11 Georgia Tech

Photo by: Abbi Pritchard

Raidergang opens anticipated season at #11 Georgia Tech

2/17/2022 3:00:00 PM | Baseball

DAYTON — The Wright State baseball program opens its 2022 season with a three-game set against No. 11 Georgia Tech from February 18-20 at Russ Chandler Stadium. All three games will air on ACC Network Extra. Live stats will also be provided.

Game 1 - Friday, February 18 - 4 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats

WSU RHP Aaron Ernst - Did not play in 2021
GT RHP Chance Huff (1-0, 9.99 ERA, 24.1 IP) - 2021 stats

Game 2 - Saturday, February 19 - 2 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats

WSU RHP Jake Shirk (7-0, 2.01 ERA, 22.1 IP) - 2021 stats
GT RHP Zach Maxwell (2-2, 3.09 ERA, 32.0 IP) - 2021 stats

Game 3 - Sunday, February 20 - 1 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats

WSU LHP Sebastian Gongora - Did not play in 2021
GT RHP Aeden Finateri - Freshman

PRESEASON ATTENTION
The Raiders were projected to win the Horizon League in the conference's annual preseason poll, collecting 42 points and six first-place votes, ahead of UIC in second with 35 points. WSU also topped the D1Baseball.com preseason poll, in addition to Sammy Sass tabbing preseason Player of the Year and Andrew Patrick earning preseason Freshman of the Year.

TOP PROSPECTS
D1Baseball listed several WSU players as top positional and overall prospects ahead of the 2022 season. A pair of returners in Logan Tabeling and Alec Sayre were listed as top 250 prospects for the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft. Sass was ranked 17th among D1 catchers, while Sayre checked in as the 19th-best outfielder. A fifth-year senior in Zane Harris was listed as the No. 21 first baseman in the site's positional rankings.

RETURNING TALENT
Offensively, WSU returns eight players that appeared in over half of its games last season. The group includes all-conference selections Sass, Sayre, and Harris. The pitching staff features nine individuals who made eight or more appearances, led by Jake Shirk, who went 7-0 with a 2.01 ERA in 22.1 innings of work as a freshman.

ACTIVE STREAKS
» Justin McConnell has reached base in 23-consecutive games
» Justin McConnell owns a 7-game hitting streak
» Julian Greenwell has stuck out one of more batters in all 10-career appearances
» Jay Luikart has not allowed a run in six-straight appearances
» Bradley Deboutte has not allowed an earned run in five-straight appearances
» Logan Tabeling and Riley Perlich have not allowed a run in four-straight appearances

SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
A year ago, Georgia Tech went 31-25 overall and 21-15 against ACC opponents, which was good enough to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Nashville Regional. The Yellow Jackets captured a pair of wins over Indiana State but fell twice to No. 4 Vanderbilt, ending their season.

Tech enters the 2022 season ranked No. 11 by Perfect Game and No. 21 by D1Baseball. The Yellow Jackets boast seven players ranked in Perfect Game's top 300 MLB prospects and four in D1Baseball's top 100 prospects list, including preseason All-American catcher Kevin Parada.

HISTORY VS. GEORGIA TECH
The Raiders and Yellow Jackets met twice in 1990 at the Rainbow Spring Tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii. Heading into the tournament, Georgia Tech was ranked No. 1 in the nation for just the second time in program history. However, WSU knocked off the Yellow Jackets, 6-1, handing the favored team its third loss of the season. Tech went on to earn a 4-3 win in 10 innings over the Raiders in their rematch five days later.

COACHING SUCCESS
Alex Sogard, the seventh-youngest active head coach in Division I baseball, is 83-39 at the helm of the Raiders. Among fourth-year D1 coaches, he possesses the top winning percentage (.680), fewest losses, and third-most wins. Sogard collected 2021 ABCA/ATEC East Coach of the Year honors after guiding WSU to the 2021 Knoxville Regional. The Phoenix, Arizona, native led the Raiders to a 42-17 record in 2019, the most wins by a first-year head coach in program history. Wright State beat three ranked teams in 2019 and took down top-ranked Louisville in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign before going 35-13 in 2021 on the way to the Horizon League regular season and tournament titles. In June 2021, Sogard was named to the 2021 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team coaching staff.

LEADING THE NATION
Wright State led Division I baseball in the following statistical categories a season ago:

» Batting average (.339)
» Doubles per game (2.71)
» On-base percentage (.447)
» Scoring (10.5)
» Slugging percentage (.579)
» Quincy Hamilton - Bases on balls per game (1.17)
» Quincy Hamilton - Runs per game (1.62)

WSU TO THE MAJORS
Wright State saw three total players selected in Major League Baseball's 2021 first-year player draft, along with another two signing free agent contracts. The three selections, all inside the top 10 rounds, give the Raiders 16 total draftees over the last seven drafts dating back to 2015 and 40 total players in program history.