Baseball set for Tuesday meeting at Ohio State

Tuesday, March 22

Columbus, OH

6:05 PM

Wright State University

Ohio State

3/21/2022 3:44:00 PM | Baseball

DAYTON — The Wright State baseball program will match up against Ohio State on Tuesday, March 22, at Bill Davis Stadium. The midweek tilt is slated for a 6:05 p.m. start on Big Ten Network Plus. Fans can also follow the action with live stats.

Wednesday, March 22 - 6:05 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats
Probable Starters:
WSU RHP Sam Wirsing (1-0, 3.75 ERA, 12.0 IP)
OSU RHP Tyler Kean (0-0, 10.12 ERA, 2.2 IP)

LAST TIME OUT
Last week, the Raiders went 2-2 with a walk-off win versus Xavier and a series loss to Oakland. Sammy Sass scored on a wild pitch for the game-winning run in WSU's 2-1 victory over the Musketeers in 10 innings. After dropping a 4-2 decision in their conference opener to Oakland, the Raiders responded with a 14-2 rout, exploding for nine extra-base hits and a season-high five roundtrips. However, the Golden Grizzlies held on for a 6-5 win in the series finale.

SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State is 7-10 overall and 1-0 at home. The Buckeyes opened the season 3-0 but followed with a seven-game losing streak. Last week, OSU dropped a three-game series at UNC Wilmington.

Marcus Ernst leads the offense with a .453 batting average in 17 starts, while Zach Dezenzo possesses team-high marks in doubles (4), home runs (6), and RBI (19). Tuesday's starting pitcher Tyler Kean has recorded a 10.12 ERA over 2.2 innings in three appearances.

HISTORY VS. OHIO STATE
Wright State trails 18-24-1 in the all-time series. The teams last met in 2019, where the Raiders finished on the short end of a 6-5 decision. WSU's last win against Ohio State transpired at the 2016 NCAA Regional, taking down the Buckeyes 7-3.

STAR IN THE MAKING
To date, Alec Sayre leads the Horizon League in batting average (.414), doubles (10), doubles per game (0.59), hits (29), hits per game (1.71), total bases (45), and on-base percentage (.494). He also ranks second in the conference in walks (11), third in runs (14), and fourth in slugging (.643). The sophomore outfielder has tallied 10 multi-hit performances, highlighted by a four-hit showing against Oakland (3/20).

BREAK OUT WEEK
Sayre batted .533 (8-for-15) with four doubles, one home run, five runs batted in, and five runs scored over four games last week. The Dover, Ohio native slashed .533/.632/.1.000, walked four times, went 1-for-1 on stolen base attempts, and reached base two-plus times in all four games. In WSU's Sunday doubleheader against Oakland (3/20), Sayre was at his best, going a combined 7-for-10 at the plate with three doubles, one homer, four RBI, and four runs.

HE'S JUST A FRESHMAN
Chris Gallagher has recorded a 0.90 ERA with 13 strikeouts over his last six appearances. The freshman right-hander has pitched a combined 10.0 innings, allowing just one run on four hits. In Wright State's series against Oakland, he pitched 4.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

VETERAN POWER
Gehrig Anglin is tied for 16th nationally with a conference-leading eight home runs. The redshirt junior has homered in seven of his last 12 games and has reached base in 16 out of 17 games this season. He entered the 2022 campaign with three homers in 178 career at-bats. This season, the St. Clair, Mich., native has slugged his eight homers in just 59 at-bats.

BALL MAGNET
Julian Greenwell was plunked in four consecutive plate appearances at Georgia Tech and five times overall in the season-opening series. To date, Greenwell ranks 19th nationally in hit by pitch per game (0.53) and total hit by pitch (9). Wright State sits atop the Horizon League in HBP (20) as a team.

HE GETS ON BASE
Greenwell ranks fifth in the HL with a .449 on-base percentage. On the season, he is batting .276 with four doubles, a team-leading two triples, two home runs, and 12 RBI.

NO FREE BASES
Garret Simpson ranks sixth nationally in walks allowed per nine innings (0.54). The sophomore has allowed just one walk over 16.2 innings pitched.

CONSISTENT OUT OF PEN
Junior reliever Tristan Haught is off to a strong start with a 3.97 ERA in 11.1 innings of work out of the bullpen. The right-hander has recorded five scoreless outings, most recently against Xavier (3/16).

FINDING A GROOVE
In WSU's series opener versus Indiana State (3/10), Aaron Ernst earned his first quality start as a Raider by limiting the Sycamores to two runs on six hits and three walks in five innings. The senior recorded four strikeouts on the day and held ISU to no runs on no hits in his last two frames.

NEWCOMERS SHOWING OUT
Drew Baker is batting .333 with three doubles and three RBI in limited action. He doubled twice in his first career start against Xavier. Justin Riemer holds a .303 batting average with six RBI and seven runs. He has started the last five games at second base.

"POWER 5" DOMINANCE
After defeating Virginia Tech on March 4, Wright State has knocked off a "Power Five" conference program 19 times since 2014.

2/16/14 — vs. Michigan State (Neutral Site) — W, 7-1
3/1/14 — at #4 Oregon State — W, 6-2
2/22/15 - at #18 Ole Miss — W, 3-1
3/1/15 — at #11 Miami — W, 12-6
5/31/15 — vs. Notre Dame (NCAA Regional) — W, 4-0
2/26/16 — at #8 NC State — W, 10-8
3/5/16 — at Georgia — W, 3-1
6/5/16 — vs. #20 Ohio State (NCAA Regional) — W, 7-3
2/17/17 — at #10 Clemson — W, 6-4
2/19/17 — at #10 Clemson — W, 9-2
2/26/17 — at #4 South Carolina — W, 5-1
3/5/17 — vs. Pittsburgh (Neutral site) — W, 3-1
2/16/19 — at #10 Ole Miss — W, 9-5
2/24/19 — at #19 Oklahoma State — W, 5-4
4/3/19 — at Indiana — W, 15-4
2/19/20 — at #1 Louisville — W, 10-3
3/6/20 — at #11 Tennessee — W, 5-4
3/8/20 — at #11 Tennessee — W, 6-3
3/4/22 — at Virginia Tech — W, 11-5

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 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.

COACHING SUCCESS
Alex Sogard, the seventh-youngest active head coach in Division I baseball, is 89-50 at the helm of the Raiders. Among fourth-year D1 coaches entering the season, he possessed 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.