DAYTON — The Wright State baseball program's win streak ended at seven games as the Raiders fell to Xavier 16-8 on Wednesday at Nischwitz Stadium.
The Raiders dropped to 13-11 on the season, while Xavier improved to 13-12 overall. WSU will return to action with a three-game series at Northern Kentucky, starting on Friday, March 31.
Offensively, WSU tallied ten hits (five for extra bases) and seven walks.
Sammy Sass batted 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored, while
Carson Clark finished with two singles, a sacrifice fly, and a walk.
Boston Smith launched a three-run homer for his lone hit of the day.
Andrew Patrick,
Drew Baker, and
Luke Arnold contributed with a double and an RBI apiece.
Patrick Fultz walked a team-leading two times.
The pitching staff struck out 13 batters but gave up 12 earned runs on 18 hits. Starting pitcher
Ty Roder (0-1) took the loss after allowing five runs, three earned, on two hits and three walks in 1.1 innings.
Chris Gallagher and
Tristan Haught were tagged for four runs apiece in relief, while
Josh Laisure gave up two unearned runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Joey Valentine was a bright spot out of the bullpen, holding the Musketeers scoreless in 1.1 innings.
Garret Simpson recorded two strikeouts in a scoreless eighth inning of work.
Xavier combined for 11 runs after three innings of play, which included a five-spot in the top of the second and four runs in the third frame.
Wright State kept itself within striking range with six runs in the span, resulting in an 11-6 deficit at the end of the third inning. Sass drove Patrick home on an RBI single in the opening frame, while Arnold had an RBI double in the bottom of the second and came around to score on a groundout. Smith scored Sass and Fultz on a three-run homer in the bottom of the third.
The Musketeers cushioned their lead to 15-6 after plating four runs on five hits — all with two outs — in the top of the sixth inning.
The Raiders chipped away with two runs on two hits in the bottom of the seventh, as Baker delivered an RBI double and Clark scored
Ben Stoner on a sacrifice fly. However, Wright State was blanked in the eighth and ninth frames to seal its first midweek loss of the year.