Raiders stay on the road for series at Memphis

Friday, March 1

Memphis, TN

5 PM

Wright State University

Memphis

2/29/2024 1:30:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes vs. Memphis Live Stats (Friday)Live Stats (Saturday)Live Stats (Sunday) Watch on ESPN+ (Sunday)

DAYTON – The Wright State baseball team will continue playing on the road as they head to Tennessee for a three-game series at the University of Memphis. The series will run from March 1-3 at FedEx Park Avron Fogelman Field. Fans can keep up with the action through live stats, and on ESPN+ in the series finale on Sunday.

Game 1 - Friday, March 1 - 5:00 p.m. ET - Live Stats
Game 2 - Saturday, March 2 - 3:00 p.m. ET - Live Stats
Game 3 - Sunday, March 3 - 2:00 p.m. ET - Live Stats - Watch

LAST TIME OUT
Wright State is coming off a four-game weekend series at the University of Oklahoma. They went 1-3 over the weekend, taking down the Power Five school in the series finale, 12-2.

The win can be partly attributed to four Raider home runs, one each from Drew Baker, Jay Luikart, Sammy Sass, and Ben Vore. With 12 runs on 15 hits in the Sunday game, as a team the Raiders held a.375 batting average, led by Drew Baker with a hit in each of his four at bats. Mychal Grogan was awarded the win after pitching six innings, allowing only two runs on four hits, two walks and two hit by pitch, with two strikeouts, after seeing 21 at bat.

The Raiders fell short in the first three games of the series, 20-0, 15-9, 10-3. In the Friday night opener, the Raiders struggled offensively with only five hits, four walks, and one hit by pitch, compared to the fifteen strikeouts in the loss. In the Saturday doubleheader, the Raiders saw improvements at the plate, recording 12 runs on 16 hits throughout the two games, with two home runs, four doubles, ten walks, and two hit by pitch. Notably, Luke Arnold and Jay Luikart each put up a two-run homer in game one, while Sammy Sass recorded two doubles in the second game.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Under direction of first year head coach, Matt Riser, Memphis is 5-5 on the season, going 4-2 at home and 1-3 for away game. The Tigers were picked to finish sixth in the American Athletic Conference, and currently sit fifth based on overall season records. Memphis is returning 18 players, with 19 newcomers on the year.

Making headway in the national statistics, the Tigers are currently No. 3 in the nation for double plays (11), and No. 31 in double-plays per game (1.10). They are No. 7 nationally with 20 home runs and No. 19 nationally for stolen bases (19). Starting in all ten games so far, sophomore, Pierre Seals has shown to be a standout for the Tigers this season, leading the team with a .351 batting average, with 13 hits, one triple, four home runs, eight walks, and three stolen bases. Alongside Seals is senior Brennan Dubose, leading Memphis with ten RBI and a .760 slugging percentage.

NATIONWIDE NUMBERS
Wright State currently sits No. 40 nationally averaging two stolen bases per game, and No. 55 for total stolen bases (14). The Raiders are No. 78 nationally for double-plays, and No. 79 in double-plays per game (.86). Sammy Sass and Drew Baker have shown to be standouts within national statistics. With four doubles on the season, Sass is ranked No. 65 nationally, while Baker's triple at Oklahoma on February 25 puts him at No. 49 in the nation.

PRESEASON ACCOLADES
The Raiders were claimed the top spot in the 2024 Horizon League preseason poll, with 34 points and four first-place votes. Multiple Raiders were awarded preseason honors by D1 Baseball. Jay Luikart and Andrew Patrick were honored in the top 100 outfielders, and Sammy Sass in the top 50 catchers. D1 Baseball named Patrick as the top prospect of the Horizon League, followed by Ty Roder as the number five prospect.

VETERAN GROUP
The Raiders are returning 25 athletes, 13 of which were starters in the 2023 season. Andrew Patrick, Sammy Sass, and Jake Shirk were awarded a spot on the All-Horizon First Team, while Patrick Fultz and Joey Valentine were added to the All-Freshman Team. Julian Greenwell, Andrew Patrick, Jake Shirk, and Joey Valentine earned Horizon League weekly honors, with Patrick and Shirk being awarded twice. Patrick was also named to the East-ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team.

ALL-REGION RECOGNITION – ANDREW PATRICK
Andrew Patrick was awarded 2023 East-ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team honors. Patrick earned his accolade after putting up a remarkable 326/.433/.703 with 21 doubles, four triples, 20 homers, 59 RBI, 72 runs, and 31 stolen bases, and starting in 61 of the 62 2023 games. Patrick sat alone as the only NCAA Division I player with 20-plus doubles, 20-plus homers, and 30-plus stolen bases. The Hilliard, Ohio native led the Horizon League in doubles (T-1st), home runs, runs, stolen bases, total bases (166), three-plus hit games (12), and multi-homer games (T-1st, 4) while ranking second in hits (77), triples, slugging percentage, and OPS (1.136).

2ND LIEUTENANT DUKE BENGE
This season the Raiders will be even closer to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, as recent Air Force Academy graduate 2nd Lieutenant Duke Benge will be training with both the Air Force and Wright State Baseball. He is currently enrolled in the sports management program at WSU and earning a master's degree in operational logistics on base as he waits for a spot in the Wright-Patterson pilot training program. Benge attended and played for the Air Force Academy over the past four seasons, notably becoming the first-ever cadet-athlete from Air Force or any service academy to make the NWL All-Star game.

STUDENT-athletes
WSU held a team average grade point average of 3.55 for the 2023 fall semester. 31 athletes finished with a GPA higher than 3.00, 23 with a GPA over 3.5, and 11 earned a 4.0 or higher. Since 2012, the Raiders have maintained a team GPA of 3.00 or above in 21 of their last 22 seasons. Fifteen student-athletes were added to the Spring 2023 Horizon League Academic Honor Roll, which requires a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or higher with at least three semesters at the same institution.

HEAD COACH – ALEX SOGARD
Head coach Alex Sogard has acquired many accolades in his time at WSU. Most recently, Sogard became the first Raider to win three Horizon League Coach of the Year honors. After leading the Raiders to a 39-23 overall record, earning their fifth HL Regular Season title, and to their third NCAA Regional Appearance, Sogard was awarded the 2023 Horizon League Coach of the Year title.

His Coach of the Year awards are not the only accomplishment Sogard achieved at WSU. In 2019, Sogard took the Raiders to a 42-17 record, tallying the most wins by a first-year head coach in program history. Sogard led the Raiders to three consecutive NCAA Regional appearances, 2021-2023, being named the 2021 ABCA/ATEC East Coach of the Year. In June 2021, Sogard was named to the 2021 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team coaching staff.

DRAFT TALENT
The 2023 draft gave attention to a few of the Raidergang. Middle infielder, Justin Reimer, was the first Raider to be picked in the 2023 MLB draft, being the 133rd pick in the fourth round. Before a season-ending injury, Reimer put up .323/.563/.645 through the first 12 games of 2023, with four extra-base hits (3 home runs), seven runs batted in, 12 runs scored, 15 walks, and three stolen bases. He reached base in all 12 games, including multiple times on eight occasions. Right-handed pitcher, Luke Stofel, comes in as the second Raider to sign a professional contract in Major League Baseball, joining the Detroit Tigers as a free agent. Stofel is the first Raider in nearly a quarter-century to sign with the Tigers, the previous being Busty Beam in the 20th round of the 1999 MLB draft. A notable mention, Alex Theis, signed a professional contract with the Florence Y'alls of the Frontier League.

PRO RAIDERS
The Raiders are no strangers to sending their athletes pro, with three current professional players, Peyton Burdick, Sean Murphy, and Jesse Scholtens. Burdick, drafted by the Miami Marlins in 2019, was recently traded to the Baltimore Orioles after his 2022 debut with the Marlins. Murphy debuted with the Athletics in September 2019 and earned the Gold Glove award following the 2021 season. In 2023, Murphy served as the starting catcher on the National League All-Stars. He team 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. Scholten recently made his debut with the Chicago White Sox in September 2023 after working his way through the minors.

BACK ON HOME TURF
The Raiders will be back in Nischwitz Stadium for their first home game on Wednesday, March 6 against Miami University.