Raiders ready to travel for midweek matchup at Xavier

Tuesday, March 26

Cincinnati, OH

3 PM

Wright State University

Xavier

Photo by: Jordan Wommack

3/25/2024 4:00:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes at Xavier Live Stats Radio Broadcast

DAYTON – The Wright State baseball team will taking a short trip to Cincinnati for a midweek game against Xavier on Tuesday, March 26 at 3:00 p.m. Fans can keep up with the action through live stats or Xavier's radio broadcast.

Xavier - Tuesday, March 25 - 3:00 p.m. - Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
Wright State is coming off a three-game series against Purdue Fort Wayne, going 2-1 over the weekend, 16-13, 2-11, 14-2.

The Raiders finished the series with 32 runs on 35 hits with eight walks in their 109 at-bats, for a .321 team batting average. They were led by Boston Smith, hitting .583 percent with seven hits over the three games. Smith also led the team with six RBI, 14 total bases, and two home runs, earning four of his RBI on a grand slam in the series opener against the Mastodons. Nate Manley added five hits over the weekend, one of which being a double. Jay Luikart and Ben Vore each recorded four hits and a home run.

Duke Benge and Garret Simpson were each awarded a win over the weekend, as Benge pitched three innings on Friday, allowing no runs with four hits and one strikeout. Benge held the 'Dons to hitting .333 in his time on the mound. Garrett Peters was awarded the save on Friday after preventing three 'Dons from scoring. Simpson earned the win on Sunday after putting in 5.2 innings of work on the mound, allowing two runs on seven hits, holding PFW to hitting .318 and striking out four batters. Sunday starter Josh Laisure also struck out four batters in his time on the mound. The lone loss can was charged to Saturday starter Ty Roder, after allowing six runs on eight hits with two walks in 3.1 innings of work.

HISTORY VS. XAVIER
Wright State holds the all-time series record over Xavier 43-36, with their last matchup being early this month on March 12, where the Raiders came out victorious 7-6. The two teams are split 5-5 in their last ten matchups.

SCOUTING THE MUSKETEERS
Under direction of seventh year head coach Billy O'Conner, Xavier currently has an 11-13 overall record, going 4-3 at home and 7-10 on the road.

The Musketeers have a .269 team batting average, with 139 runs on 221 hits in their 821 at bats. They have tallied 49 doubles, two triples, 35 home runs, and 106 walks, with 197 strikeouts. Xavier is ranked No. 41 in the nation with 35 home runs and No. 53 with 49 doubles. They are led by Isaac Wachsmann's .386 batting average and .719 slugging percentage. Matt McCormick leads the team with 17 runs score, 27 hits, 25 RBI, and nine home runs.

On the mound, the Musketeers have a team ERA of 6.85, holding their opponents to hitting .281. Xavier has struck out 196 batters this season, led by Nick Boyle with 34 batters struck out.

JAY LUIKART ON THE NATIONAL LEADERBOARD
Jay Luikart is becoming a common name when it comes to national rankings. Luikart's 39 hits put him No. 17 in the nation, just seven below Georgia's Charlie Condon with 46. He is No. 20 averaging 1.70 hits per game. With 72 total bases and 34 RBI, Luikart ranks No. 25 in the nation, and No. 28 averaging 1.48 RBI per game. The Ashland, OH native is No. 43 in the nation with nine home runs.

NATIONWIDE NUMBERS
Wright State's 9.2 runs per game currently ranked No. 22 in the nation. With 212 runs and 259 hits, the Raiders are No. 25 and No. 26 respectively. The Raiders sit No. 30 with a .314 batting average and are No. 31 with a .525 slugging percentage. Wright State is ranked No. 31 with 38 home runs, and No. 32 averaging 1.65 per game.

Alongside Luikart, three other Raiders have made a name for themselves within national rankings. Sammy Sass's .47 doubles per game put him No. 36 nationally, while his mere six strikeouts in 83 at bats rank him No. 25 in the toughest to strikeout. Boston Smith comes in at No. 12 nationally with three triples, and No. 21 with .14 triples per game. Ben Vore's .792 slugging percentage has him sitting No. 36 in the nation.

National stats on the mound include Jake Shirk's 1.24 walks per inning, ranking him No. 30. With 12 pitching appearances each, Chris Gallagher and Garrett Peters sit No. 31 nationally.

IN THE LEAGUE
The Raiders lead the Horizon League with 212 runs on 259 hits, averaging 9.2 runs a game. Wright State has recorded a league leading 49 doubles, averaging 2.13 per game, and 38 home runs, 1.65 per game. Offensively, the Raiders lead the league with 18 doubles plays on the season and a .972 fielding percentage. Their .314 batting average, .525 slugging percentage, and ten sacrifice flies rank them second in the HL.

Stat leaders in the Horizon League include Jay Luikart's 39 hits and 72 total bases, Ben Vore's 28 runs and three sacrifice flies, Sammy Sass's nine doubles, and Boston Smith's three triples. Sass leads the conference as the toughest to strikeout with just six strikeouts in 83 at bats. Drew Baker's 1.32 runs per game put him at the top of the league, closely followed by Vore with 1.27 (2) and Sass with 1.16 (6).

The Raiders dominate the statistical leaders at bat, taking up three of the top five spots in RBI per game (Luikart – 1.48, 2; Vore – 1.41, 3; Sass – 1.21, 5). Luikart and Vore rank highly in the league, sitting two and three with 43 and 31 RBI, and two and five with nine and seven home runs, respectively.

Leading on the mound is Jake Shirk, with a 5.25 strikeout-to-walk ration and 1.24 walks allowed per nine innings.

JAY LUIKART-BATTER OF THE WEEK
Jay Luikart was named the Horizon League baseball batter of the week on March 19, being the first Raider to be awarded a HL player of the week award in the 2024 season.

Luikart batted .611 (11-for-18) with a 1.111 slugging percentage, three doubles, two home runs, 12 RBI, and five runs scored in four games over the week, greatly leading the team to a 3-1 record. Luikart recorded a league leading and career best of five hits in his six at bats against Toledo, including one double and a home run in his five RBI. The Ashland, Ohio native averaged .500 at bat in the Horizon League opening weekend, recording two doubles and a home run against Milwaukee. Luikart led the team with seven RBI over the Panthers, and reached 11 total bases.

FRESHMAN STANDOUTS
Standout freshmen for the Raiders this season include Brayden Shoetzow on the mound and Nate Manley at catcher. Shoetzow has made five appearances on the season, being awarded two saves, first at Louisiana and later at Eastern Kentucky. The Granger, Indiana native averages a 5.40 ERA, with three earned runs on the season.

Manley got off to a slower start for his first year of collegiate ball. The anticipated redshirt did not appear in a game until March 15 for the series against Milwaukee. Manley recorded his first collegiate home run in the series finale against Milwaukee, and broke the personal record with two homers against Akron just two days later. In his seven appearances, Manley has tallied 13 hits, four walks, and ten RBI, and currently leads the team with a .520 batting average.

SMITH'S GRAND SLAM
After being down 10-6 going into the sixth, Wright State made a comeback to win the series opener at Purdue Fort Wayne, 16-13. After adding only one run in the sixth, the Raiders took the seventh inning lead, beginning with Dane Thomas scoring on a throwing error and a walked RBI by Vore, lowering the PFW lead to one. With the bases loaded, Boston Smith took the first pitch for a homer to left center, giving Wright State a 13-10 lead, paving the way for their Friday win.

POWER FIVE WIN
Wright State took down Power Five school Oklahoma 12-2 earlier this season. In the run-heavy series finale, the Raiders put up 12 runs on 15 hits, with four walks and only five strikeouts. Leading the way for the Raiders was Drew Baker with a hit in each of his four at bats. Following him was Patrick Fultz, Julian Greenwell, Sammy Sass, and Ben Vore, each putting up two hits. Gus Gregory, Parker Harrison, and Jay Luikart each gave a single hit on the day. The Raiders recorded four home runs on the day, one each from Baker, Luikart, Sass, and Vore.

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.

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
Wright State will be back at Nischwitz Stadium for a three-game series against Oakland on March 28-30. All three games will stream on ESPN+ and have live stats provided.