DAYTON — The Wright State baseball program rallied back for a 9-7 victory over Miami (OH) on Wednesday afternoon at Hayden Park.
The Raiders improved to 10-10 overall and 2-0 against the Redhawks (4-18) after winning for the seventh time in their last eight games.
Offensively, WSU totaled nine hits and nine free passes.
Andrew Patrick led the Raiders by going 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, a home run, two runs batted in, and two runs scored, in addition to a walk and a hit by pitch.
Jay Luikart tallied two singles and a run, while
Gehrig Anglin and
Sammy Sass recorded RBI singles.
Boston Smith finished with a two-run double and a bases-loaded walk.
Josh Laisure (2-0) received the winning decision after firing four shutout innings out of the bullpen. The sophomore gave up only one hit and one walk while striking out a career-high five batters.
Joey Valentine earned his second save of the season as he held Miami to one unearned run in the last two innings of play.
The Raiders helped out the Redhawks with three errors defensively, leading to five unearned runs scored.
Wright State raced out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The Raiders batted around in the early start, scoring on an RBI single by Sass, a sacrifice fly by
Julian Greenwell, and two bases-loaded walks.
The lead did not last for long, as Miami plated five runs on four hits, two free passes, and an error in the bottom of the second. The Redhawks extended their edge to 6-4 in the following frame on an RBI bunt.
Wright State evened the game at 6-all in the top of the fifth on a two-run double by Smith. Greenwell led off the sixth with a hit by pitch, reached second on a walk, and scored on an RBI single by Anglin.
Patrick cushioned the Raider lead to 9-6 with no outs in the top of the eighth as he blasted a two-run homer over the left field wall.
Miami reduced its deficit to 9-7 in the bottom of the ninth after scoring on an error and had a walk-off opportunity with runners on first and third with two outs. However, Valentine held off the late charge with a game-sealing strikeout.
WSU will return home for a three-game series versus conference foe Oakland from March 25-26 at Nischwitz Stadium.
