Raiders ready to open Horizon League play at home

Friday, March 15

Dayton, OH

3 PM

Wright State University

Milwaukee

Photo by: Jordan Wommack

3/14/2024 4:30:00 PM | Baseball

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

DAYTON – The Wright State baseball team will begin Horizon League play on Friday as they ready to host Milwaukee. The two will face off Friday-Sunday, March 15-17, with ESPN+ live streaming provided for the games on Friday and Saturday, and live stats provided for all three games.

Game 1 - Friday, March 15 - 3:00 p.m. - Live Stats - Watch
Game 2 - Saturday, March 16 - 2:00 p.m. - Live Stats - Watch
Game 3 - Sunday, March 17 - 1:00 p.m. - Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
Wright State is coming off two midweek wins, going against Xavier (7-6) and Toledo (22-9).

The Raiders put up a total of 29 runs on 29 hits in 70 at-bats over the two games. Jay Luikart led the team with five hits, followed by JP Peltier, Boston Smith, and Ben Vore with four each. Ben Vore recorded an astounding nine RBI in the two games, with Luikart adding five RBI and Julian Greenwell adding four. Leading in extra-base hits was Smith, after making all three of his hits against Xavier doubles, and recording a triple against Toledo. Vore recorded two doubles and a triple, and Greenwell and Luikart both hit it out of the park.

Starting pitchers Garrett Simpson and Joey Valentine each earned a win during the week. Valentine secured his win against Xavier by allowing just one hit in three innings of work, holding Xavier to a .100 batting average. Garrett Peters earned the save against Xavier, pitching one and two-thirds innings and preventing any runs with two runners left on base. Simpson earned the win against Toledo by pitching five innings, allowing three runs on five hits, holding Toledo to a .263 batting average, and leading the team with three strikeouts.

HISTORY VS. MILWAUKEE
Wright State holds the all-time series record over Milwaukee, 81-66, with their last matchup being in the Horizon League Championship tournament, in May 2024, where the Raiders came out victorious, 2-1. Wright State has won seven of their last ten matchups. Both teams do better when they are the host team, as the Raiders hold a 45-25 at home record against the Panthers, but are 23-31 when playing at Milwaukee.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Under direction of first year head coach Shaun Wegner, Milwaukee currently has a 1-13 overall record, all in away games.

The Panthers have a .209 batting average, with 38 runs on 94 hits in their 450 at-bats. They have 16 doubles, 4 triples, and 37 walks, with 135 strikeouts. They are led by Sean Tillman, averaging .333 at bat, recording 17 hits in his 51 at bats with four RBI. Carson Hansen leads the Panthers with five RBI and six doubles. Tyler Bickers is nationally ranked No. 39 with three sacrifice bunts (No. 49 0.21 sacrifice bunts/game).

Probable starters for the Panthers include right-handed pitcher Luke Hansel (0-2), left-handed pitcher Adrian Montilva (0-2), and left-handed pitcher Riley Peterson (0-0). Hansel currently leads the team with a 2.28 ERA, closely followed by Montilva with a 2.41 ERA. Peterson has held batters to a .190 batting average, allowing eight runs on four hits with six walks and three strikeouts.

NATIONWIDE NUMBERS
Wright State currently ranks No. 20 nationally with 185 hits on the season. They are No. 30 with a .317 team batting average, and No. 31 in scoring (9.1 runs/game), and No. 36 with 146 total runs. The Raiders sit No. 34 recording 28 doubles, and No. 37 with 2.38 doubles per game. They are No. 35 in home runs (26) and No. 38 in home runs per game (1.62).

Sammy Sass is No. 11 nationally with nine doubles on the season, and No. 23 with .56 doubles/game. Luikart sits No. 22 in both hits (28) and hits per game (1.75), while Sass closely trails at No. 31 in hits (27). Drew Baker sits No. 28 nationally with 1.50 runs per game, while Ben Vore is No. 27 with a .870 slugging percentage. With two triples on the season, Boston Smith is No. 23 nationally. On the mound, Garrett Peters is No. 13 in the nation with nine pitching appearances.

IN THE LEAGUE
Wright State currently leads the Horizon League with a .317 batting average, 146 runs, 185 hits, 38 doubles, 26 home runs, and eight sacrifice flies. They are second in the HL with a .529 slugging percentage, 90 walks, and a .418 on-base percentage.

The Raiders have three batters in the top five batting averages, with Drew Baker sitting second (.432), Ben Vore fourth (.391), and Jay Luikart fifth (.389). Sass leading at the plate with nine doubles, and is second with 23 RBI and 27 hits. Luikart leads in hits (28), and is fourth recording five home runs. Vore is third with a .870 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 next week, as they host Akron for a Tuesday afternoon game on March 19, at 3:00 p.m. Fans can keep up with the action through live stats.