Raiders continue #HLBASE play at Milwaukee

Friday, April 19

Milwaukee, WI

4 PM

Wright State University

Milwaukee

Photo by: Jordan Wommack

4/18/2024 4:00:00 PM | Baseball

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DAYTON – The Wright State baseball team will head to Wisconsin for a three-game series at Milwaukee, beginning Friday, April 19 through Sunday April 21. Fans can keep up with the action on ESPN+ live streams or through live stats for all three games.

Game 1 - Friday, April 19 - 4:00 p.m. - Live Stats - Watch
Game 2 - Saturday, April 20 - 3:00 p.m. - Live Stats - Watch
Game 3 - Sunday, April 21 - 2:00 p.m. - Live Stats - Watch

LAST TIME OUT
Wright State is coming off a midweek loss against Ohio State, falling 13-14 on Tuesday evening.

The Raiders finished with 13 runs on 15 hits with six walks against their nine strikeouts. Jay Luikart led the team with four hits, tallying four RBI. Julian Greenwell, Gus Gregory, and Andrew Patrick followed with two hits each, while Patrick Fultz, Nate Manley, Sammy Sass, Boston Smith, and Ben Vore each had one hit on the day. Wright State had seven extra-base hits on the day, with a double by Gregory, Manley, and Patrick, and four home runs, two by Luikart, and one each from Smith and Vore.

Closing pitcher Kyle Kesel (0-1) was charged with the loss after entering the seventh and allowing the winning run, with one hit, one walk, and two batters struck out. Wes Earles put in three innings of work for the Raiders, allowing no runs on two hits with one walk and two batters struck out.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Under direction of first year head coach Shaun Wegner, Milwaukee currently has a 8-25 overall record, going 4-4 at home and 4-21 on the road. The Panthers are currently fifth in the Horizon League an 5-10 conference record.

Milwaukee currently has a .255 team batting average, with 161 runs on 283 hits. The Panthers have tallied 63 doubles, eight triples, and 14 home runs with 107 walks against their 266 strikeouts. On the mound, the team has a 6.26 ERA, striking out 248 batters with 192 walks.

The Panthers are led Justin Hausser's .326 batting average, with 44 hits and 28 runs scored. Carson Hansen leads the team with 30 RBI. Both Hausser and Hansen lead the team with 13 doubles each.

HISTORY VS. MILWAUKEE
Wright State holds the all-time record over Milwaukee 82-67, with their last matchup being in March of this season, where the Raiders won 12-6. The Raiders have won seven of the two teams' last ten matchups.

LEAGUE STANDINGS
Wright State is currently second in the Horizon League, with a 10-5 conference record. They are looking up at Northern Kentucky with a 11-4 conference record.

Below Wright State is Oakland going 9-6 on the season, and Purdue Fort Wayne with a 7-8 HL record. Below them is Milwaukee going 5-10 on the season, and Youngstown State with a 3-12 league record.

NATIONALLY KNOWN
"Jay Luikart" and "Sammy Sass" have become common names when it comes to national rankings. Luikart's 55 RBI rank him fourth in the nation, sitting sixth with 1.53 RBI per game. Sass sits at No. 14 with his 1.44 RBI per game, coming in at No. 38 with 46 total RBI. Sass's .50 doubles per game put him at seventh in the nation, and No. 12 with 16 doubles total, while his 1.69 hits per game rank him No. 15. Luikart ranks seventh with his 118 total bases, sitting No. 50 with 54 hits on the season. With 16 home runs to date, Luikart is tenth nationally. Sass's mere 13 strikeouts in his 138 at-bats ranks him No. 48 as the toughest to strikeouts, averaging a strikeout once every 10.6 at-bats.

NATIONWIDE NUMBERS
Wright State's .323 batting average puts them eighth nationally, sitting seventh with 418 hits on the season, ninth with 350 runs, and seventh with a .580 slugging percentage. Averaging 9.7 runs per game the Raiders come in eighth nationally. When it comes to extra-base hitting, the Raiders do not shy away, sitting at No. 15 with 88 doubles, tenth with 74 home runs, and No. 34 with 12 triples.

Alongside Luikart and Sass, two other Wright State batters have made a name for themselves within national rankings. Boston Smith and Ben Vore's four triples put them at No. 14 in the nation. With 14 home runs this season, Boston Smith sits at No. 31 nationally, and No. 29 with 0.41 home runs per game.

With 19 pitching appearances, Chris Gallagher sits No. 23 nationally. Jake Shirk is No. 32 with only 1.54 walks allowed per nine innings.

LEADING THE LEAGUE AT BAT
The Raiders dominate the HL leaders at bat, taking up four of the top five spots when it comes to RBI (Jay Luikart – 55, 1; Ben Vore – 50, 3; Sammy Sass – 46, 4; Boston Smtih – 38, 5). The Raiders have three HL leaders when it comes to home runs, as Luikart leads with 16, closely followed by Boston Smith with 14 sitting second, and Vore in fourth with 12. Luikart leads with 59 hits, closely trailed by Sass's 54 hits placing him third.

Wright State dominates in slugging percentages, with four batters in the top five spots, as Luikart sits second with a .752 slugging percentage, Smith sits third (.748), Vore fourth (.729), and Sass fifth (.717).

D1BASEBALL.COM PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sammy Sass was named the D1Baseball.com player of the week on April 15. Sass's weekly honors come in part after a monumental midweek game against Miami (OH), recording four home runs in a single game. This feat has only been reached one other time in the 2024 season, and is a first in the Horizon League. Against Miami, Sass recorded four runs in five at-bats, tallying six RBI, reaching base once on balls and again on a hit by pitch.

Over the week, the Upper Arlington, Ohio native averaged .611 at bat, recording 11 hits in 18 at-bats against Miami and Horizon League opponent Northern Kentucky University. He finished the week with eight extra-base hits, including his four midweek homers, as well as three doubles and another home run against NKU. Sass tallied 14 RBI, a 1.611 slugging percentage, and a .873 weighted on-base percentage over the four games.

BACK-TO-BACK BATTER OF THE WEEK
Sammy Sass earned his second consecutive Horizon League batter of the week honor on April 16, being awarded the honor previously on April 9.

The Senior earned his second batter of the week award after batting .611 with 11 hits in 18 at-bats against Miami (OH) and Northern Kentucky. He tallied eight extra base hits, made up by three doubles and five home runs, with 14 total RBI and a 1.611 slugging percentage over the four games. Of his five homers, four came in one game against Miami (OH), making him the just second NCAA DI batter to do so in the 2024 season. Sass held a .538 batting average against NKU, recording eight RBI over three games.

Sass earned his first weekly award after going 10-for-17, with two doubles and a triple, tallying nine RBI and three runs scored over the 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 nine appearances on the season, being awarded two saves, first at Louisiana and later at Eastern Kentucky. The Granger, Indiana native averages a team leading 3.86 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 15 appearances, Manley has tallied 24 hits, 11 walks, 20 RBI, and is four-for-four on stolen bases. Manley currently leads the team with a .490 batting average.

GRAND SLAM-ING GREENWELL
Julian Greenwell made quite an impact on April 14, leading Wright State to the rubber match victory over Northern Kentucky with two grand slams. Greenwell recorded his first grand slam of the Sunday afternoon game after Boston Smith reached on a single, advancing on a wild pitch, Andrew Patrick was walked, and Carson Clark reached on a hit by pitch, taking a 7-4 lead in the fourth. The Norse returned, tying the game at seven in the bottom of the fourth. The Raiders regained and held the advantage for the remainder of the game, starting with a Smith RBI double in the top of the fifth. After Patrick and Fultz reached base on walks, the bases were loaded for Greenwell to record his second grand slam of the day, tallying eight RBI on the day.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

BACK ON HOME TURF
The Raiders will be back in the Nisch as they ready to host Ohio State on Tuesday, April 23 at 3:00 pm. Fans can keep up with the action through the ESPN+ live stream or live stats. Wright State will host Purdue Fort Wayne for a three-game weekend series April 26-28 with live stats provided for all three games.