DAYTON — The Wright State baseball program defeated Northern Kentucky 7-3 to secure the series sweep on Sunday afternoon at Nischwitz Stadium.
The Raiders improved to 29-18 overall and 18-6 in HL play with their fourth consecutive victory. NKU dropped to 26-20 on the season and 15-9 against conference opponents. The teams entered the weekend tied for first in the Horizon League standings with 15-6 records.
Luke Stofel (3-4) headlined the Wright State pitching staff, as he limited the high-powered Norse offense to just one run on three hits and three walks while striking out six batters in 6.0 innings of work.
Tristan Haught and
Joey Valentine added scoreless outings in relief.
Julian Greenwell paced the Raider offense by batting 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs batted in, and a run scored.
Patrick Fultz came through with a two-run double, two walks, and a run.
Dane Thomas hit 2-for-3 with an RBI double, a walk, two runs, and a stolen base, while
Luke Arnold added a single, a double, and a run.
Gehrig Anglin reached base three times on an RBI single and two hit by pitches.
Sammy Sass contributed with a single and his fifth sacrifice fly of the year.
NKU scored on a wild pitch in the opening frame, while starting pitcher Kaden Echeman kept Wright State scoreless through five innings of action.
The Raiders erupted for six runs on four hits and four free passes in the bottom of the sixth to go up 6-1. Thomas started the scoring with an RBI double, followed by a bases-loaded walk by Greenwell, an RBI single by Anglin, and an RBI sacrifice fly by Sass. Fultz punctuated the inning with a two-out, two-run double.
The Norse cut their deficit to 6-3 with a two-run homer in the top of the seventh, but WSU's Greenwell recorded an RBI single in the bottom half of the frame to extend the Raider edge to 7-3.
Haught blanked the visitors in the eighth, while Valentine fired a scoreless ninth with three strikeouts to seal the win and series sweep.
Wright State will continue its homestand with a Tuesday meeting versus Dayton. The midweek tilt will start at 6 p.m. and air on ESPN+.
