Baseball set for 12th annual Joe Nuxhall Classic

Wednesday, March 30

Cincinnati, OH

2 PM

Wright State University

Miami (OH)

3/29/2022 3:30:00 PM | Baseball

DAYTON — The Wright State baseball program will compete in the 12th annual Joe Nuxhall Classic against Miami (OH) on Wednesday, March 30, at UC Baseball Stadium in Cincinnati. Fans can follow the action with live stats.

Wednesday, March 30 - 2 p.m. - Live Stats
Probable Starters:
WSU RHP Sam Wirsing (1-1, 4.86 ERA, 16.2 IP)
Miami RHP Lazaro Marquez (0-0, 6.00 ERA, 3.0 IP)

ABOUT THE JOE NUXHALL CLASSIC
The Joe Nuxhall Classic features Wright State, Xavier, Cincinnati, and Miami (OH), with the tournament rotating each year between UC Baseball Stadium in Cincinnati and McKie Field at Hayden Park in Oxford. The yearly event is in honor of former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Joe Nuxhall, the youngest player ever to appear in a Major League game at just 15 years, 316 days. The two-time National League All-Star selection went on to play for the Reds from 1952-60 and again from 1962-66. Immediately after retiring, he embarked on a 40-year career as a broadcaster for the team from 1967 to 2006. He passed away in 2007.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
Miami is 8-13 overall and 5-6 against conference opponents. The Redhawks opened the year 7-7 and 4-0 in MAC play after a four-game sweep versus Bowling Green but lost six of their next seven games.

Miami is among the national leaders in several national categories, including doubles per game (11th, 2.52), triples per game (12th, 0.48), and sacrifice bunts (30th, 14). Cole Andrews leads the Redhawk offense, as he is batting .326 with team-leading marks in doubles (10), home runs (4), RBI (18), OPS (1.034). The pitching staff has tallied a pair of shutouts and ranks fifth in the MAC with a 5.84 ERA.

HISTORY VS. MIAMI
Miami leads the all-time series 47-42. The teams last met in March 2020, where the Raiders earned a 16-5 midweek victory over the Redhawks. Jay Luikart batted 3-for-4 with a triple and four runs batted in while starting pitcher Tristan Haught allowed just two earned runs in six innings. The remainder of the 2020 season was canceled two days later due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, Wright State combined for 49 runs en route to a Horizon League series sweep at Northern Kentucky. The Raiders exploded for a season-high 18 runs in the series opener before winning the next two games by final scores of 14-11 and 17-10, respectively. As a team, Wright State batted .365 over the three-game stretch and added nine doubles and seven home runs. The Raiders also went 10-for-12 on stolen-base attempts and committed just one error defensively.

MAKING A STATEMENT
Julian Greenwell was named Horizon League Batter of the Week after batting .625 (10-for-16) with eight RBI and seven runs scored last week. In all four games, the sophomore tallied two or more hits, a walk, and a run to help the Raiders to their first series sweep of the season. To add, Greenwell recorded a perfect .1000 fielding percentage with 18 putouts while also going 1-for-1 on stolen-base attempts. The Columbus, Ind., native was at his best in WSU's 18-4 victory at NKU (3/25), going 2-for-3 at the plate with a career-high four RBI and two runs to go along with a walk and a steal. Greenwell reached base five times on three hits, a walk, and a hit by pitch in Wright State's series finale versus the Norse.

HE GETS ON BASE
On the season, Greenwell is batting .351 with five doubles, two triples, two home runs, and 20 RBI. He leads the conference in triples, on-base percentage (.510), and hit by pitch (11) while also possessing top-five HL marks in runs (T-2nd, 20), RBI (3rd), batting average (4th), and hits (4th, 26).

REMEMBER THE NAME
Alex Theis has gone 1-0 with a 1.22 ERA and 12 strikeouts over his last two appearances, allowing just one run on five hits and two walks in a combined 7.1 innings of work. Against Ohio State (3/22), the left-hander held the Buckeyes scoreless on one hit and no walks while striking out five in 2.1 innings. The New Riegel, Ohio native collected his first win of the season and a quality start in WSU's Sunday finale at NKU (3/27), allowing one run on four hits in five innings. Theis recorded a season-high seven strikeouts in the win to help seal a road sweep.

VETERAN POWER
Gehrig Anglin is tied for 10th nationally with a conference-leading 10 home runs. The redshirt junior has homered in nine of his last 15 games and has reached base in 19 out of 20 games this season. He entered the 2022 campaign with three homers in 178 career at-bats. The St. Clair, Mich., native has slugged 10 homers in just 75 at-bats this season.

In addition to home runs, Anglin leads the Horizon League in slugging percentage (.773), runs batted in (26), OPS (1.189), and total bases (58).

PATIENT AT THE PLATE
The Raiders have walked 115 times through 21 games, good for 58th nationally and first in the conference. WSU drew a season-high 13 free passes in its series finale against Northern Kentucky.

STAR IN THE MAKING
To date, Alec Sayre sits atop the HL in hits (31), doubles (10), and doubles per game (0.48). He also ranks second in walks (16), third in batting average (.365), fourth in runs scored (19), and fifth in RBI (17) and on-base percentage (.466). The sophomore outfielder has tallied 10 multi-hit performances, highlighted by a four-hit showing against Oakland (3/20).

BALL MAGNET
Greenwell was plunked in four consecutive plate appearances at Georgia Tech and five times overall in the season-opening series. To date, Greenwell ranks 17th nationally in hit by pitch per game (0.52) and 13th in total hit by pitch (11). Wright State sits atop the Horizon League in HBP (28) as a team.

HEATING UP
Over Luikart's last six games, he has gone 14-for-28 (.583) at the plate with three doubles, two homers, eight RBI, and 10 runs scored. The sophomore has recorded a career-high three hits versus Oakland (3/20), Ohio State (3/22), and NKU (3/25). On the mound, Luikart is 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA in 5.2 innings. He collected his first save of the season in WSU's 6-3 win over Indiana State (3/10).

NEWCOMERS SHOWING OUT
Justin Riemer ranks sixth on the team with a .288 batting average and has added 10 RBI and 11 runs. The redshirt freshman has started the last nine games at second base. Drew Baker has batted .333 with three doubles and three RBI in limited action. He doubled twice in his first career start against Xavier (3/16).

ACTIVE STREAKS
Sayre » 13-game reached base streak
Sass » 12-game reached base streak
Greenwell & Luikart » 6-game hitting streaks
Greenwell & Sass » Have scored in six-straight games
Gehrig Anglin » 5-game hitting streak
Jay Luikart » Has an RBI in four-straight games
Anglin & Harris » Have homered in back-to-back games

"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 92-51 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.