Baseball hosts Indiana State for three-game set

Thursday, March 10

Dayton, OH

3 PM

Wright State University

Indiana State

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3/9/2022 3:00:00 PM | Baseball

DAYTON — The Wright State baseball program hosts Indiana State for a three-game set from March 10-13 at Nischwitz Stadium. Radio and live stats will be available for the entirety of the series.

PROJECTED STARTERS
Game 1 - Thursday, March 10 - 3 p.m. - Tickets - Listen - Live Stats
WSU RHP Aaron Ernst (0-1, 17.05 ERA, 6.1 IP)
ISU RHP Matt Jachec (2-1, 2.84 ERA, 19.0 IP)

Game 2 - Friday, March 11 - 11 a.m. - Tickets - Listen - Live Stats
WSU RHP Jake Shirk (0-2, 9.24 ERA, 12.2 IP)
ISU RHP Jack Parisi (1-2, 8.04 ERA, 15.2 IP)

Game 3 - Sunday, March 13 - 1 p.m. - Tickets - Listen - Live Stats
WSU TBD
ISU RHP Jake Ridgway (0-0, 1.35 ERA, 6.2 IP)

LAST TIME OUT
The Raiders secured a 14-0 shutout over Dayton in its home opener on Tuesday, March 8, at Nischwitz Stadium. A 10-run sixth inning anchored the victory, as the Raiders brought 14 batters to the plate en route to ten runs on eight hits and three walks. Wright State's Sam Wirsing, Garret Simpson, Tristan Haught, Alex Theis, and Justin Hornschemeier combined for the nine-hit shutout. WSU extended its win streak to 17 games against the Flyers, dating back to the 2009 season.

GOOD TO BE HOME
A season ago, Wright State went 21-1 (.954) at Nischwitz Stadium, good for the highest home winning percentage in NCAA Division I. The Raiders were one of just eight D1 programs in the country to finish the year with a home winning streak of nine or more games. Since 2014, WSU has boasted a combined record of 147-26 (.849) at home.

BATS HEATING UP
WSU has averaged 7.25 runs over its last four games, highlighted by 11 runs at Virginia Tech (3/4) and a 14-run output against Dayton. Justin McConnell, Gehrig Anglin, and Andrew Patrick have batted above .400 in the span.

THE REAL DEAL
Simpson has gone 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA, five strikeouts, and no walks over his last two appearances. Against previously unbeaten Virginia Tech, the Mt. Washington, Ky., native pitched 4.2 innings out of the bullpen, allowing just one run on three hits and no walks while also punching out four batters. The strong outing led to his first-career win as a Raider. The Eastern Kentucky transfer held Dayton scoreless in 1.1 innings of work en route to a 14-0 home-opening victory. On the season, Simpson leads the pitching staff in earned run average (3.27), WHIP (.91), opponent batting average (.244), and least walks allowed (0).

VETERAN LEADER
Anglin leads the Raiders in home runs (4), RBIs (9), runs scored (9), stolen bases (3), and OPS (1.169). The redshirt junior has homered in three of his last five games and has reached base safely in every contest 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. Over the last seven games, the third-year sophomore has been hit on four occasions, increasing his total to eight. He was hit four times in 39 career games coming into the season. To date, Greenwell ranks third nationally in hit by pitch per game (0.80) and total hit by pitch (8). As a team, Wright State leads the Horizon League in HBP (16).

QUICK ON THE BASES
WSU has stolen 16 bases in ten games, good for the third-most among HL programs. Alec Sayre, Anglin, and Andrew Patrick are each 3-for-3 on stolen-base attempts. The Raiders recorded a season-high six steals against Dayton, a feat they have only reached twice since 2020.

SCOUTING THE SYCAMORES
Under the guidance of ninth-year head coach Mitch Hannahs, Indiana State is 6-4 overall with feature wins over BYU and Michigan. The Sycamores average 8.3 runs per game and rank 28th in the country in batting average (.314). Josue Urdaneta leads the team with a .435 batting average and 20 hits, while Sean Ross has driven in nine runs in eight games. Thursday's starter Matt Jachec has gone 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA in 19.0 innings of work.

ISU has posted back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a 2021 at-large bid following a 31-21 overall season and 14-10 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play.

HISTORY VS. INDIANA STATE
The Sycamores lead the all-time series 8-1. The schools last matched up during the 1997 season, where ISU won 16-9. Wright State won the first-ever meeting between the two teams in 1979 by a final score of 7-3.

"POWER 5" DOMINANCE
After defeating Virginia Tech last Friday, 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 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 85-47 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.