DAYTON — Standout pitching and timely hitting led the Wright State baseball program to a 3-1 victory over Ohio State on Tuesday night at Nischwitz Stadium.

The Raiders improved 26-18 overall with their second win of the season against the Buckeyes (22-23). Wright State limited OSU to just one run on eight hits while striking out 20 batters over the two games. 

WSU was held to six hits offensively but added seven free passes in the victory. Sammy Sass and Gehrig Anglin finished with RBI singles, while Patrick Fultz singled twice in four at-bats. Avery Fisher contributed with a double, a walk, and a run scored. Andrew Patrick helped out with an infield single, two stolen bases, and a run. 

Wright State's pitching staff gave up five hits, none for extra bases, while striking out 12 batters compared to three walks. Defensively, the Raiders were errorless for the 17th time this season.

Starting pitcher Garret Simpson had his best outing of the 2023 campaign tonight, as he kept Ohio State off the board in his first three innings of work before giving up one run on two hits and a walk in the top of the fourth. Joey Valentine (1-1) earned his first collegiate win after striking out a career-high four batters in two scoreless innings. Alex Theis allowed no runs on a hit and a walk in 2.2 innings out of the bullpen, striking out three batters in the stretch. Jay Luikart struck out the side on 16 pitches in the top of the ninth for his sixth save of the year. 

Patrick used his speed to put the Raiders in front 1-0 in the bottom of the third, as he recorded an infield single, stole second and third, and scored on a wild pitch. 

The Buckeyes evened the score at 1-all on an RBI single by Mitchell Okuley in the top of the fourth. OSU had two runners on first and second with one out in the same inning, but Valentine entered for Simpson and proceeded to strikeout back-to-back batters to end the frame.

Wright State got two runners on base in the bottom of the fifth, as Fisher led off the frame with a double and Julian Greenwell reached base on a hit by pitch. The two came around to score on consecutive two-out RBI singles by Anglin and Sass, giving the Raiders a 3-1 edge. 

The WSU pitching staff kept the Buckeyes scoreless on one hit and two walks for the remaining four innings of action to seal the victory. Valentine recorded the first out in the top of the sixth, while Theis finished off the frame and blanked OSU in the seventh and eighth. Luikart fired three strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning of work. 

The Raiders will return to play against Northern Kentucky for three games from May 5-7 at Nischwitz Stadium in a series that features two teams tied for first place in the Horizon League standings.