FORT WAYNE, IN – The Wright State baseball team defeated Purdue Fort Wayne 14-2 on Sunday afternoon, taking the series 2-1. Wright State is now 13-10 overall and 4-2 in the Horizon League.
The Raiders finished with 14 runs on 15 hits with two walks against their three strikeouts. They were led by
Boston Smith and
Ben Vore with three hits each, followed by
Jay Luikart,
Sammy Sass, and
Dane Thomas with two hits.
Carson Clark,
Patrick Fultz, and
Nate Manley each recorded one hit. The Raiders had three home runs in the Sunday afternoon matchup, one each coming from Luikart, Smith, and Vore. Clark and Manley each stole a base twice, and Thomas and Vore once each.
The Raiders got off to a slow start, with no runs or hits in the first three innings, before taking a 3-1 lead in the fourth. The two-run lead came from singles by Sass and Smith, and Baker grounding into a double-play for Sass to score. Wright State raised their advantage to seven in the fifth innings, starting with Thomas singling through the right side. Vore followed with a homer into left field, earning three RBI. A Fultz single tacked another run onto the fifth inning, for an 8-1 lead.
Wright State gained a double-digit advantage in the sixth, beginning with Thomas singling to right center. A Luikart three-run home run made the score 12-1, with Smith raising it to 13-1 with a solo homer to center field. The Mastodons added one run in the bottom of the sixth, 13-2. The final run of the day was scored in the seventh with a Vore single, 14-2. The afternoon matchup concluded after the seventh inning with the Horizon League's newly implemented ten-run rule.
Starting pitcher
Garret Simpson was awarded the win after putting in five and two third innings of work on the mound, allowing only two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and no walks.
PFW starting pitcher Sean Kasper was charged with the loss after allowing five runs on five hits with one strikeout in his four innings on the mound. The 'Dons finished the day with two runs on seven hits against their five strikeouts. They were led by Nick Sutherlin with two hits and one RBI.
