HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — The Wright State baseball program secured a 6-2 series-opening win over Northern Kentucky on a rainy Friday afternoon at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.
The Raiders improved to 14-11 overall and 6-1 in the Horizon League with their sixth consecutive win over a conference opponent. WSU and NKU (13-11, 4-3 HL) will continue the three-game set on Saturday, April 1, at 1 p.m.
Starting pitcher
Jake Shirk (2-3) collected the winning decision after limiting the Norse to two runs, one earned, on six hits and three walks while striking four batters in 5.2 innings of work.
Alex Theis struck out five batters and allowed no hits in 2.1 innings of scoreless action out of the pen, while
Jay Luikart blanked NKU in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Offensively, Wright State finished with 13 hits, three walks, and three stolen bases.
Sammy Sass batted 2-for-5 with a solo home run, while
Patrick Fultz delivered a pair of RBI singles.
Dane Thomas stood out with two singles, a walk, a run scored, and a stolen base.
Andrew Patrick reached base a team-high four times on a single, two free passes, and an error. In addition to pitching the ninth, Luikart contributed to the lineup with an RBI single and a walk.
Sass put the Raiders on the board in the top of the first inning with a solo home run, his third in a series opener over the last three weekends. NKU evened the score at 1-all in the bottom of the frame with an RBI single.
Carson Clark led off the top of the second with a single, while Patrick reached base on a hit by pitch. Fultz brought the pair home on a 2-out, 2-run single, which gave Wright State a 3-1 edge.
The Norse threatened with two runners in scoring position with one out in the bottom of the second, but Shirk induced a fly out and groundout to get out of the inning unscathed. The right-hander held on to the momentum by blanking Northern Kentucky in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to preserve WSU's two-run lead.
NKU took advantage of two Wright State errors in the bottom of the sixth inning, cutting its deficit to 3-2 on a sacrifice fly.
Thomas and Patrick led off the top of the seventh with back-to-back walks, but the Raiders' next three batters were retired to halt the potential scoring opportunity. Theis blanked the Norse in the bottom of the seventh and eighth frames to maintain the 3-2 edge.
Wright State added three insurance runs on three hits, two walks, and an error in the top of the ninth to cushion its lead to 6-2. Thomas singled, stole second, reached third on an error, and scored on a wild pitch to get things started. Fultz and Luikart followed with RBI singles.
Luikart took the mound in the bottom of the ninth and kept the Norse scoreless to seal the conference win for WSU.
