ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Wright State baseball program dropped its series finale at Oakland 6-3 on Sunday afternoon.
The Raiders fell to 25-18 overall and 15-6 in the Horizon League, while the Golden Grizzlies improved to 19-25 on the season and 11-10 against conference opponents.
WSU bested Oakland in hits (7-to-6) and walks drawn (5-to-4) but stranded ten runners on base and committed three errors defensively.
Luke Arnold led the Raiders at the plate with a solo home run and a single.
Jay Luikart drove in two runs on a solo homer and an RBI groundout.
Dane Thomas reached base a team-leading three times on a single and two walks.
Julian Greenwell contributed with a double and a run scored.
Starting pitcher
Luke Stofel (2-4) took the loss after giving up five runs, one earned, in 5.1 innings. He punched out six batters while walking just one.
Alex Theis tossed two innings out of the bullpen, allowing one run and recording four strikeouts.
Josh Laisure retired the last two batters in the bottom of the eighth.
The Raiders were the first team to reach the scoreboard in the conference contest, as Luikart hit a solo homer in the top of the second inning. However, Oakland answered back with four unearned runs on two hits, two errors, and a walk in the bottom of the frame to go up 4-1.
Arnold led off the fifth inning with a solo blast, which closed Wright State's deficit to 4-2. WSU loaded the bases with no outs in the same frame but failed to push any runs across.
The Golden Grizzlies extended their lead back to three runs, 5-2, after scoring on a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth. Both teams plated one run in the eighth inning, resulting in a 6-3 deficit for the Raiders.
Wright State brought the potential winning run to the plate in the top of the ninth, as the bases were loaded with two outs. However, WSU's next batter grounded out to seal the loss.
The Raiders will return home for an in-state meeting versus Ohio State on Tuesday, May 2, at 6 p.m.
