DAYTON – The Wright State baseball team will host two mid-week games, starting against Xavier University on Tuesday, March 12 at 3:00 p.m., and against Toledo on Wednesday, March 13 at 3:00 p.m. Fans can keep up with action on ESPN+ or through live stats.
 
Xavier - Tuesday, March 12 - 3:00 p.m. - Live Stats - Watch
Toledo - Wednesday, March 13 - 3:00 p.m. - Live Stats - Watch
 
LAST TIME OUT
Wright State is coming off a 3-0 weekend at Eastern Kentucky. The Raiders took the sweep 5-3, 17-11, and 21-16.
 
The Raiders put up a total of 43 runs on 46 hits. Leading in hits over the three games were Drew Baker (7), Jay Luikart (6), Sammy Sass (6), and Ben Vore (6). Carson Clark led with seven runs batted in, followed by Sass and Boston Smith with six, and Baker with five. Wright State totaled eight home runs, with Clark and Vore each adding two homers, and Smith with a grand slam in the series finale.
 
Chet Lax had a great game on the mound, with a 1.93 ERA in his 4.2 innings of work, allowing one run on three hits with seven strikeouts.
 
SCOUTING THE MUSKETEERS
Xavier is currently 8-8 on the season, going 7-8 on the road, with their lone home game a win.
 
The Musketeers currently hold a .262 team batting average, led by senior Tyler DeMartino who averages .407. Xavier has put 94 runs on 144 hits in their 549 at bats, with 31 doubles and 20 home runs and 74 walks. They have a lone triple, coming from Jared Cushing.
 
SCOUTING THE ROCKETS
Toledo currently has a 7-8 overall record, all in away games.
 
The Rockets have a .229 batting average, with 55 runs on 109 hits in their 477 at bats. They have 17 doubles, 15 home runs, and 49 walks, with 144 strikeouts. They are led by Luke Walton with a .353 batting average, five doubles and three home runs. Brayden White leads the team with 10 RBI on his 13 hits.
 
NATIONWIDE NUMBERS
Wright State currently ranks No. 35 in the nation with 1.71 home runs per game, and No. 40 with 24 home runs total. They sit at No. 50 nationally with a .510 slugging percentage.
 
Sammy Sass ranks No. 16 nationally with eight doubles on the season, and No. 16 with .57 doubles per game. Sass is also highly ranked in the toughest to strikeout, sitting at No. 34 after going up to bat 62 times with only four strikeouts. Julian Greenwell trails closely behind at NO. 36 with four strikeouts in 60 at bats.
 
IN THE LEAGUE
The Raiders are leaders in the Horizon League putting up a .972 team fielding percentage, and are tied for first with 24 home runs. They are second with a .304 batting average, just a one thousandth of a point away from the No. 1 Eastern Kentucky. They are also second with a .510 slugging percentage, 30 doubles, and a .403 on base percentage. On the mound, they come in second with an 8.15 earned run average.
 
The Raiders have three batters in the top five batting averages, with Drew Baker sitting second (.436), Sammy Sass fourth (.387), and Jay Luikart fifth (.371). Sass leading at the plate with eight doubles, is tied for first with 24 hits, and is second with 20 RBI. Luikart closely follows in third with 23 hits, and is tied for fourth alongside Ben Vore, each recording five home runs. Vore is third with a .821 slugging percentage. Gus Gregory sits tied for first with 16 walks, and is second with a .531 on base percentage.
 
Leading the HL on the mound is Jake Shirk. Shirk currently holds a 5.87 ERA, sitting third in the HL, and leads the league with only three walks allowed.
 
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.
 
STAYING AT HOME
The Raiders continue playing in Nischwitz Stadium through the weekend, as they open Horizon League conference play against Milwaukee for a three-game series Friday-Sunday, March 15-17. All three games will have free admission, as well as stream on ESPN+ and have live stats provided.