Baseball welcomes Youngstown State to Nischwitz Stadium

Friday, April 14

Dayton, OH

3 PM

Wright State University

Youngstown State

Photo by: Alex Underwood

Baseball welcomes Youngstown State to Nischwitz Stadium

4/13/2023 3:00:00 PM | Baseball

By: Alex Underwood, WSURaiders.com

DAYTON — The Wright State baseball program will host Youngstown State for a three-game series from April 14-16 at Nischwitz Stadium. Admission will be free for the entirety of the series. Friday's and Sunday's games will air on ESPN+, while live stats will be available all weekend.

Game 1 - Friday, April 14 - 3 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats
WSU LHP Sebastian Gongora (4-1, 2.43 ERA, 40.2 IP)
YSU LHP Braden Gebhardt (0-1, 6.06 ERA, 32.2 IP)

Game 2 - Saturday, April 15 - 2 p.m. - Live Stats
WSU RHP Jake Shirk (2-4, 5.98 ERA, 40.2 IP)
YSU RHP Aidan English (1-4, 6.85 ERA, 23.2 IP)

Game 3 - Sunday, April 16 - 1 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats
WSU RHP Luke Stofel (1-3, 4.01 ERA, 33.2 IP)
YSU - TBD

LAST TIME OUT
The Raiders got back in the win column with an 18-4 victory over Toledo on Wednesday. The Raiders enjoyed one of their top offensive performances of the year, tallying a season-high 19 hits and five home runs while reaching the scoreboard in seven different frames.

Seven Raiders had multi-hit games, led by Julian Greenwell with a 4-for-6 showing at the plate with a double, a homer, three runs batted in, and two runs scored. Andrew Patrick batted 3-for-5 with a solo roundtrip, three RBI, and three runs. Ty Roder (2-1) earned the winning decision after firing three shutout innings in relief. Garret Simpson was efficient in his first start of the 2023 campaign, allowing three runs on four hits and no walks while striking out three batters in four innings.

HISTORY VS. YSU
Wright State leads the all-time series 90-39. The Raiders went 5-0 against Youngstown State a year ago, outscoring the Penguins 36-13 in the stretch. The pitching staff allowed three or fewer runs in four games, highlighted by Sebastian Gongora tossing a three-hit shutout in WSU's 10-0 victory over YSU. Alex Theis went 2-0 with a 1.54 ERA and 15 strikeouts over two starts versus the Penguins in 2023.

SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State is 7-25 overall and sixth in the Horizon League standings with a 3-8 record against conference opponents. The Penguins enter the weekend with six losses in their last seven games, most recently falling to Toledo 18-9 at home. YSU boasts non-conference wins at Memphis, Baylor, and Pittsburgh but has yet to win a series this season.

The Penguins return several starters from a year ago, including Steven D'Eusanio, who is batting .297 with a conference-best 16 doubles. Trey Law has gone .374 at the plate with 19 runs batted and 25 runs scored. Friday starter Travis Perry has compiled a 3-3 record with a team-low 4.46 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 42.1 innings pitched. As a team, Youngstown State possesses a 9.21 ERA and has given up double-digit runs 16 times in 2023.

STAY HOT, AP
Andrew Patrick tops the Horizon League in runs scored (37) while possessing top-five conference marks in hits (2nd, 42), doubles (2nd, 12), triples (2nd, 3), slugging percentage (2nd, .686), OPS (2nd, 1.133), home runs (3rd, 7), stolen bases (3rd, 13), and hit by pitch (5th, 7). The Hilliard, Ohio native has recorded a team-leading seven three-hit performances.

GREENY IS BACK
Julian Greenwell has recorded a hit in seven consecutive games (6 multi-hit games) for the Raiders, climbing his batting average from .174 to .276. The junior has also driven in one or more runs in his last five games.

LIVING UP TO THE HYPE
Starting pitcher Sebastian Gongora — the preseason Pitcher of the Year by D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game USA — is 4-1 with a 2.43 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 40.2 innings of work. The redshirt sophomore has allowed three or fewer earned runs in five-plus innings in seven of his eight starts.

SPEED KILLS
The Raiders rank 64th nationally with 50 stolen bases. Andrew Patrick has swiped a team-high 13 bases, while Gehrig Anglin has stolen 12 bases in 23 games.

NEWCOMER SHOWING OUT
Cincinnati transfer Boston Smith is batting .295 with nine doubles, one triple, four homers, 20 RBI, and 18 runs scored in 29 games (22 starts). The Vandalia, Ohio native sits fifth in the Horizon League in slugging percentage (.583) and seventh in OPS (.995).

ACTIVE STREAKS
Clark » 9-game reached base streak
Greenwell » 7-game hitting streak
Sass » 7-game reached base streak
Fultz » 7-game reached base streak

"POWER 5" DOMINANCE
Wright State has knocked off a "Power Five" conference program 21 times since 2014, including twice this season.

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
2/25/23 — at Kentucky — W, 12-9
3/21/23 at Ohio State — W, 3-0

VETERAN GROUP
WSU returns 16 letterwinners and 11 starters from last year's team, including eight All-Horizon League recipients. Gehrig Anglin and Julian Greenwell collected All-League First Team honors, while Jay Luikart, Jake Shirk, and Alex Theis were named to the Second Team. Sebastian Gongora, Andrew Patrick, and Justin Riemer earned spots on the All-Freshman Team.

PRO RAIDERS
Sean Murphy, drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 2016, and Jesse Scholtens, drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2016, are the Raiders' two current Major League players. Murphy debuted with the Athletics in September 2019 and earned the Gold Glove award following the 2021 season. He signed a 6-year, $73 million contract extension with the Atlanta Braves in December 2022, which includes a $15 million club option for the 2029 season. Scholtens made his long-awaited debut for the Chicago White Sox on April 7, 2023. He struck out four batters while allowing only one run in three innings in his first-ever MLB appearance. Peyton Burdick was drafted by the Miami Marlins in 2019 and debuted for the organization on August 2022, finishing the season with four homers and 11 RBI. He is currently with the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. Joe Smith spent 15 years (2007-2022) in the big leagues as a reliever with eight different clubs and currently sits Top 40 all-time with 866 career pitching appearances.