Raiders to take on NKU for week five of HL play

Friday, April 12

Highland Heights, KY

2 PM

Wright State University

Northern Kentucky

Photo by: Jordan Wommack

4/11/2024 3:30:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes at NKU Live Stats Watch on ESPN+ (Friday)Watch on ESPN+ (Saturday)

By: Jordan Wommack

DAYTON – The Wright State baseball team will travel to Northern Kentucky University for a three-game series against the Norse, beginning Friday, April 12. Fans can keep up with the action on ESPN+ on Friday and Saturday, or through Live Stats for all three games.

Game 1 - Friday, April 12 - 2:00 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats
Game 2 - Saturday, April 13 - 1:00 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats
Game 3 - Sunday, April 14 - 12:00 p.m. - Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
Wright State is coming off a midweek 43-run game, falling short to Miami (OH) by just one run, 22-21.

The Raiders finished with 21 runs on 23 hits with seven walks against their nine strikeouts. They were led by Sammy Sass and Ben Vore, each recording four hits, with Patrick Fultz closely following, adding three hits. Jay Luikart, Nate Manley, Andrew Patrick, and Boston Smith each recorded two hits, with Drew Baker, Carson Clark, Julian Greenwell, and Gus Gregory each adding one hit. Sass, the previous week's Horizon League Batter of the Week, recorded four home runs, tallying six RBI on the day. Vore added two homers, followed by Luikart, Manley, and Smith each recording one. Both Vore and Smith recorded one triple on the day. There were four Wright State doubles, one each coming from Clark, Fultz, Gregory, and Luikart.

Duke Benge (2-2) was charged with the loss after pitching one and a third innings, allowing the lead taking runs. Benge allowed five runs on seven hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Raider starting pitcher Griffen Paige put in one inning of work, allowing no runs with one hit and two walks, striking out one batter.

SCOUTING THE NORSE
Under direction of third year head coach Dizzy Peyton, NKU currently has a 21-11 overall record, going 12-1 at home and 9-10 on the road. The Norse are currently leading the Horizon League with an 10-2 conference record.

NKU currently has a .312 team batting average, ranking them No. 23 in the nation, with their 308 runs and 9.6 runs per game coming in at No. 9 nationally. The Norse are No. 5 nationally with 216 bases on balls. They have recorded 70 doubles, 45 home runs, and 216 walks, with 249 strikeouts. With 18 triples on the season, NKU ranks second in the nation, just one below the leading Woffard.

The Norse are led by Liam McFadden-Ackman's .407 batting average, .797 slugging percentage, 48 hits, 35 walks, 50 RBI, 12 home runs, and 94 total bases. On the mound, the Norse have allowed 238 runs on 309 hits with 182 walks and 265 batters struck out, holding a 7.20 team ERA.

HISTORY VS. NORTHERN KENTUCKY
Wright State holds the all-time record over NKU 48-14, with their last matchup being in May of 2023, where the Raiders won 7-3. The Norse were last victorious over the Raiders in April of 2023, winning 9-5. Wright State has won nine of their last ten matchups against the Norse.

LEAGUE STANDINGS
Wright State is currently second in the Horizon League, with am 8-4 conference record. They are looking up at Northern Kentucky with a 10-2 conference record.

Below Wright State is Oakland going 7-5 on the season, and Purdue Fort Wayne going 6-6. Below them is Milwaukee going 3-9 on the season, and Youngstown State with a 2-10 league record.

ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR HOME RUNS
Putting himself on everyone's radar, Sammy Sass recorded an astounding four home runs in the midweek matchup against Miami (OH) during the Joe Nuxhall Classic. Sass was only the second batter in the nation to record four homers in a single game during the 2024 season.

Sass opened the afternoon game adding the first two runs to the board with a two-RBI bomb to left field in the first inning. He followed with another two-RBI home run, hitting over the "S" of the "Prasco Park" sign in left center. Making it three-for-three on the day, Sass hit it off the foul pole, for a solo home run in the fourth. Sass added his fourth and final home run of the day driving into left field on the first pitch in the bottom of the eighth. His four homers added up to six RBI on the day.

JAY LUIKART ON THE NATIONAL LEADERBOARD
"Jay Luikart" is becoming a common name when it comes to national rankings. Luikart's 52 hits put him No. 21 in the nation, just nine below the national leader. He is No. 29 averaging 1.63 hits per game, and No. 39 with 12 home runs this season. The Ashland, OH native is No. 15 with 46 RBI, No. 20 with 1.44 RBI per game, and No. 16 with 98 total bases.

NATIONWIDE NUMBERS
Wright State's .320 batting average puts them at No. 12 nationally, sitting at No. 10 with 363 hits on the season, No. 15 with 295 runs, and No. 10 with a .563 slugging percentage. Averaging 9.2 runs per game, the Raiders come in at No. 18 nationally. When it comes to extra-base hitting, the Raiders do not shy away, sitting at No. 27 with 74 doubles, No. 17 with 59 home runs, and No. 23 with 12 triples.

Alongside Luikart, three other Wright State batters have made a name for themselves within national rankings. Boston Smith and Ben Vore's four triples put them tenth in the nation. Vore is fourth in the nation, averaging 1.55 RBI per game, and seven with 48 total RBI. Vore is No. 35 with four sacrifice flies, and No. 16 with a .813 slugging percentage. Sammy Sass's .46 doubles per game rank him No. 13 nationally, sitting No. 28 with 13 total doubles, while his ten strikeouts in 119 at bats put him No. 29 as the toughest to strikeout. Sass ranked No. 27, averaging 1.64 hits her game, and No. 32 averaging 1.36 RBI per game.

With 17 pitching appearances, Chris Gallagher sits No. 22 nationally.

LEADING THE LEAGUE AT BAT
The Raiders dominate the HL leaders at bat, taking up three of the top five spots when it comes to RBI (Ben Vore – 48, 2; Jay Luikart – 44, 3; Sammy Sass – 38, 4) and RBI per game (Vore – 1.55, 2; Luikart – 1.44, 3; Sammy Sass – 1.36, 4). Taking up three of the top five spots when it comes to home runs are Luikart, Vore, and Boston Smith (Luikart – 12, 1; Smith – 11, T-3; Vore – 11, T-3).

Wright State dominates in slugging percentages, with four batters in the top five spots, as Vore leads with a .813 slugging percentage, Smith sits third (.726), Sass fourth (.714), and Luikart fifth (.705). The Raiders hold four of the top five spots in total bases, led by Luikart's 98, with Vore coming in third with 91, Sass fourth with 85, and Smith fifth with 82. Sass and Vore sit fourth and fifth, respectively, with their .387 and .375 batting averages.

SAMMY SASS - HL BATTER OF THE WEEK
Sammy Sass was named the Horizon League Baseball batter of the week on April 9, becoming the second Raider to be awarded a HL weekly award in the 2024 season.

Sass batted .588, going 10-for-17, with two doubles and a triple, tallying nine RBI and three runs scored over the last week, helping to lead the Raiders to a 4-0 April start. Sass finished the week with a .600 on base percentage and .824 slugging percentage. The Upper Arlington, Ohio native held a .615 batting average against Horizon League opponent Youngstown State, tallying eight RBI and two stolen bases against the Penguins. Sass's ten hits over the week sat him No. 11 in national stats and at the top of the Horizon League.

FRESHMAN STANDOUTS
Standout freshmen for the Raiders this season include Brayden Shoetzow on the mound and Nate Manley at catcher. Shoetzow has made seven appearances on the season, being awarded two saves, first at Louisiana and later at Eastern Kentucky. The Granger, Indiana native averages a 4.50 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 13 appearances, Manley has tallied 22 hits, ten walks, 16 RBI, and is four-for-four on stolen bases. Manley currently leads the team with a .550 batting average.

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.

FIVE-PEAT
The Raiders swept Milwaukee from May 12-14 to clinch their fifth consecutive Horizon League regular season title (excluding the Covid-shortened 2020 season). WSU has won 20-plus games against HL teams each year in the stretch.

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.

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. 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.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Raiders will be back on the road as they travel for a midweek game at Ohio State on Tuesday, April 16 at 6:00 p.m. Fans can keep up with the action through live stats or on the Big Ten Plus live stream. Wright State will stay on the road, traveling for their second series against Horizon League rival Milwaukee. The series will run from Friday, April 19, to Sunday April 21, with ESPN+ live stream and live stats provided for all three games.