DAYTON — The Wright State baseball program continues its Horizon League season with a three-game set against Northern Kentucky from March 25-27 at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex. All three games will stream on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available.  

Game 1 - Friday, March 25 - 2 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats
WSU RHP Jake Shirk (0-4, 7.23 ERA, 23.2 IP)
NKU LHP Ben Gerl (2-2, 7.07 ERA, 28.0 IP)

Game 2 - Saturday, March 26 - 1 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats
WSU LHP Sebastian Gongora (1-1, 7.15 ERA, 22.2 IP)
NKU RHP Kyle Klingenbeck (1-3, 12.79 ERA, 19.0 IP)

Game 3 - Sunday, March 27 - 12 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats
WSU TBD
NKU TBD

LAST TIME OUT
The Raiders are coming off a 7-5 midweek loss at Ohio State. WSU trailed 7-0 after six innings of play but rallied back with five runs over the subsequent two frames to reduce its deficit to 7-5. However, the Raiders failed to push any runs across in its final chance at the plate. 

Despite tallying 10 hits and seven walks, Wright State stranded 12 runners on base, including two or more in the second, third, fifth, sixth, and eighth innings. Jay Luikart led the team by batting 3-for-5 with a double and two runs batted in. Relief pitcher Alex Theis had his best outing of the season, holding OSU scoreless on just one hit and no walks while striking out five in 2.1 innings.  

SCOUTING THE NORSE
NKU is 6-12 overall and 1-1 in conference play after splitting a doubleheader to UIC last weekend. On February 25, Northern Kentucky defeated defending NCAA Champion Mississippi State, taking down the No. 7 Bulldogs 7-6. 

The Norse lead the HL in several offensive categories, including batting average (.274), doubles (39), home runs (20), runs per game (6.0) and slugging percentage (.441). Manny Vorhees leads the pack in batting average (.333), doubles (8), and runs (15), while Treyvin Moss has driven in a team-best 20 runs. Relief pitcher Bryson Lonsbury has shined on the mound with a 2.50 ERA and two saves in 18.0 innings. The graduate student tossed five scoreless innings in NKU's 6-5 win against USC Upstate (3/12). 

HISTORY VS. NKU
The Raiders have won nine-straight games against NKU dating back to 2019. A season ago, WSU averaged 10.7 runs per game against the Norse en route to a perfect 8-0 record. Zane Harris batted .500 (7-for-14) with eight walks over the eight games, while Sayre added two homers and 11 RBI. Bradley Deboutte had one of his best outings of the season in WSU's 11-5 win versus NKU (3/6/20), tallying a three-inning save with six strikeouts. 

STAR IN THE MAKING
To date, Alec Sayre leads the Horizon League in batting average (.403), doubles (10), doubles per game (0.56), hits (29), hits per game (1.61), runs scored (15), total bases (45), and on-base percentage (.500). He also ranks second in the conference in walks (13), fourth in slugging (.625), and sixth in stolen bases (5). The sophomore outfielder has tallied 10 multi-hit performances, highlighted by a four-hit showing against Oakland (3/20). 

BREAK OUT STRETCH
Sayre has reached base in a team-high 10 consecutive games. The Dover, Ohio native is batting .500 (18-for-36) with seven doubles, two homers, 11 RBI, and 11 runs in the span. He has gone 4-for-4 in stolen-base attempts over the last 10 games.  

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 19th 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. The St. Clair, Mich., native has slugged his eight homers in just 59 at-bats this season.

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 (0.50) and 21st in total hit by pitch (9). Wright State sits atop the Horizon League in HBP (21) as a team.

HEATING UP
Over Luikart's last three games, he has gone 7-for-12 (.583) at the plate with two doubles, one home run, four RBI, and four runs scored. The sophomore recorded a career-high three hits versus Oakland (3/20) and Ohio State (3/22). On the mound, Luikart is 2-1 with a 0.00 ERA in four innings. He collected his first save of the season in WSU's 6-3 win over Indiana State (3/10). 

HE GETS ON BASE
Greenwell ranks fourth in the HL with a .458 on-base percentage. On the season, he is batting .290 with four doubles, a conference-leading two triples, two home runs, and 12 RBI.

NO FREE BASES
Garret Simpson ranks 27th nationally in walks allowed per nine innings (1.00). The sophomore has allowed just two walks in 18.0 innings pitched.

NEWCOMERS SHOWING OUT
Justin Riemer ranks second on the team with a .316 batting average and has added six RBI and eight runs. The redshirt freshman has started the last six games at second base. Drew Baker has batted .308 with three doubles and three RBI in limited action. He doubled twice in his first career start against Xavier.

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.

"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 89-51 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.