DAYTON — The Wright State baseball program scored seven runs in the first inning on its way to an 11-6 victory over Youngstown State on Friday afternoon at Nischwitz Stadium.
The Raiders improved to 18-16 overall and 8-5 in the Horizon League, while YSU dropped to 7-26 on the season and 3-9 in conference play. The three-game series will conclude with a noon doubleheader (both nine-inning games) on Saturday, April 15.
Andrew Patrick led WSU offensively with two home runs and five runs batted in, tying collegiate-high marks in both categories.
Sammy Sass batted 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while
Julian Greenwell finished with an RBI double, a triple, two runs, and a stolen base.
Avery Fisher reached base three times on two singles and a hit by pitch in addition to stealing a season-high three bases and scoring two runs.
Luke Arnold had a two-run double for his lone hit of the game.
Sebastian Gongora (5-1) struck out a season-high nine batters en route to the winning decision. The lefty held YSU to four runs on seven hits and three walks in 7.2 innings, blanking the Penguins in five frames.
Tristan Haught was charged with two unearned runs in relief for Gongora, while
Warren Hartzell recorded the final two outs in the ninth inning to seal the Raider victory.
Defensively, Wright State was errorless for the third consecutive game and the 11th time this season.
The Raiders sent 11 batters to the plate in their seven-run opening frame, tallying six hits, two hit by pitches, two stolen bases, and a sacrifice fly in the spurt. Patrick started the scoring with a two-run homer, while Arnold drove in two runs on a bases-loaded double.
Dane Thomas brought
Jay Luikart home on a sacrifice fly, followed by Fisher and Greenwell notching two-out RBI hits to increase WSU's edge to 7-0.
Wright State kept the momentum on its side, as Sass had his first triple of the year in the bottom of the second and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Luikart, extending Wright State's lead to 8-0.
The Penguins chipped away with an RBI single in the top of the third and a solo homer in the top of the fifth. However, Greenwell recorded a one-out triple in the bottom of the sixth and was brought home on a sacrifice fly by Patrick to push WSU's advantage to 9-2.
YSU scored two more runs in the top of the eighth, but Patrick put the game out of reach with a two-run homer — his second of the game — in the bottom of the frame.
