Baseball hosts UIC for three-game series

Thursday, April 14

Dayton, OH

3 PM

Wright State University

UIC

Buy Tickets

4/13/2022 1:00:00 PM | Baseball

DAYTON — The Wright State baseball program returns home for a three-game series against UIC from April 14-16 at Nischwitz Stadium. Friday's and Saturday's games will stream on ESPN+, while live stats will be available for the entirety of the series.

Game 1 - Thursday, April 14 - 3 p.m. - Tickets - Listen - Live Stats
WSU RHP Jake Shirk (3-4, 5.58 ERA, 40.1 IP)
UIC RHP Jeff Zack (0-1, 7.36 ERA, 3.2 IP)

Game 2 - Friday, April 15 - 2 p.m. - Tickets - Watch - Live Stats
WSU LHP Sebastian Gongora (2-1, 8.35 ERA, 36.2 IP)
UIC LHP Nate Peterson (2-2, 4.22 ERA, 42.2 IP)

Game 3 - Saturday, April 16 - 1 p.m. - Tickets - Watch - Listen - Live Stats
WSU LHP Alex Theis (3-0, 4.13 ERA, 24.0 IP)
UIC RHP Tyler Ingram (1-4, 2.70 ERA, 36.2 IP)

LAST TIME OUT
Wright State is coming off a 13-4 loss at Xavier on April 12. The Musketeers gained a 13-1 advantage by the sixth inning, which was too much for the Raiders to overcome. Justin Riemer paced WSU in the loss by going 3-for-5 at the plate with a double, a walk, and an RBI. Donnie Nicodemus, Garret Simpson, Justin Hornschemeier, and Henry Von Hollen each had scoreless outings in relief.

A weekend ago, WSU collected its third series victory in a row, taking two out of three from Bradley on the road. In Saturday's doubleheader against the Braves, the Raiders earned a 2-0 shutout in the opener before falling 5-4 in 10 innings in game two. Wright State's offense exploded in the Sunday finale en route to a series-clinching 20-5 victory.

SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC is 9-16 overall under the guidance of first-year head coach Sean McDermott. The Flames are 3-3 against Horizon League opponents after splitting a doubleheader against NKU, taking a game from Milwaukee, and earning a series win over Oakland. In non-conference action, UIC collected a series victory at California.

Offensively, UIC sits sixth in the HL in batting average (.225), doubles (41), and home runs (15). Bryan Rosario has batted .340 with seven doubles, one triple, two homers, and 14 RBI, while Rayth Petersen has stolen a team-leading eight bases in 11 tries. The Flames have used pitching to their strength, possessing the second-lowest ERA (5.56) in the conference. Tyler Ingram is 1-4 on the mound but ranks second among Horizon League starters with a 2.70 ERA.

HISTORY VS. UIC
Wright State leads the all-time series 93-65, which includes five wins in a row over the Flames. The teams last met in the 2021 Horizon League Championship, where the Raiders advanced to the title game with a 15-4 win. Quincy Hamilton shined at the plate with a pair of roundtrips and five RBI. Tyler Black and Sammy Sass also homered, while Damon Dues added two hits and a stolen base.

RUNS FOR DAYS
Wright State sits 34th nationally with a conference-best 7.8 runs per game. The top-five individual run-scorers in the HL sport the Green & Gold, led by Jay Luikart in first with 31 runs. The Raiders have pushed across 10-plus runs in seven of their last 12 games.

STAR IN THE MAKING
To date, Alec Sayre possesses top-five HL marks in hits (2nd, 42), doubles (2nd, 12), batting average (3rd, .353), runs (4th, 27), RBI (4th, 28), and OPS (5th, 1.016). He has totaled a team-best 13 multi-hit games and has gone 6-for-6 on stolen base attempts. In WSU's 17-10 win at PFW (4/2), Sayre batted 3-for-6 with two homers and a career-high seven RBI.

HEATING UP
Over Jay Luikart's last 15 games, he has gone 25-for-57 (.439) at the plate with seven doubles, two triples, five homers, 15 RBI, and 21 runs scored. The sophomore has recorded a career-high three hits versus Oakland (3/20), Ohio State (3/22), NKU (3/25), and Bradley (4/10). On the mound, Luikart is 2-1 with a 1.08 ERA and four saves in 8.1 innings. He collected his first save of the season in WSU's 6-3 win over Indiana State (3/10).

HE GETS ON BASE
On the season, Julian Greenwell is batting .330 with seven doubles, two triples, four home runs, and 28 RBI. He leads the conference in triples, on-base percentage (.493), and hit by pitch (13) while also possessing top-five HL marks in runs (3rd, 28), OPS (3rd, 1.053), RBI (T-4th), and walks (5th, 21).

CONSISTENT ON THE MOUND
Projected Thursday starter Jake Shirk is 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA and 18 strikeouts over his last four visits to the mound. The sophomore has given up three or fewer earned runs while lasting five-plus innings in each appearance.

RACKING UP K'S
Projected Friday starter Sebastian Gongora ranks fourth in the Horizon League with 46 strikeouts. The redshirt freshman has punched out five or more batters in his last four starts, including a season-high 10 in just five innings at NKU (3/26).

REMEMBER THE NAME
Projected Saturday starter Alex Theis has gone 3-0 with a 1.56 ERA and 25 strikeouts over his last four outings, allowing just five runs, three earned, on 18 hits and four walks in a combined 17.1 innings. 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 struck out a career-high nine batters at Purdue Fort Wayne (4/3) en route to his second win of the year.

VETERAN POWER
Gehrig Anglin is tied for 34th nationally with a conference-leading 11 home runs. The redshirt junior homered nine times in a 15-game span, starting at Oral Roberts (2/28) and ending against NKU (3/27). He entered the 2022 campaign with three homers in 178 career at-bats. The St. Clair, Mich., native has slugged 11 homers in just 109 at-bats this season.

In addition to home runs, Anglin sits second in the Horizon League in RBI (29), third in slugging percentage (.606), and fifth in runs (26).

PATIENT AT THE PLATE
The Raiders have walked 166 times through 30 games, good for 33rd nationally and first in the conference. WSU drew a season-high 13 free passes in its series finale against Northern Kentucky.

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 total hit by pitch (13) and 21st in hit by pitch per game (0.45). Wright State sits atop the Horizon League in HBP (44) as a team.

NEWCOMERS SHOWING OUT
Riemer ranks fourth on the team with a .308 batting average and has added 17 RBI and 22 runs. The redshirt freshman has started the last 18 games at either second base or shortstop. Drew Baker has batted .258 with three doubles and five RBI in limited action. He doubled twice in his first career start against Xavier. Over Chris Gallagher's last 12 appearances, he has recorded a 0.96 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 18.2 innings.

ACTIVE STREAKS
Riemer » 18-game reached base streak
Luikart » 14-game reached base streak
Riemer » 4-game hitting streak
Gallagher » No earned runs allowed in four-straight appearances

"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 97-55 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.