DAYTON – The Wright State baseball team will be traveling for a midweek matchup at Toledo on Wednesday, April 3 at 2:00 p.m. Fans can keep up with the action through live stats.
 
Toledo - Wednesday, April 3 - 2:00 p.m. - Live Stats 
 
LAST TIME OUT
Wright State is coming off a 2-1 series loss against Oakland, falling short in the series opener and finale, 1-19 and 7-12, and taking the Friday win 5-4.
 
The Raiders finished with 13 runs on 24 hits against their 15 strikeouts. They were led by Jay Luikart with six hits in his ten at bats, followed by Patrick Fultz with four and Ben Vore with three. Luikart added six RBI for the Raiders with two of his hits being home runs. Fultz and Sammy Sass each added two doubles for the Raiders. The team finished with a .267 batting average and .533 slugging percentage.
 
Garrett Peters earned the lone win, putting in four and one third innings of work with no earned runs on three hits with a season leading eight batters struck out. Peters held Oakland to a .200 batting average.
 
HISTORY VS. TOLEDO
Wright State holds the all-time series record over Toledo 21-10, with their last matchup being March 13, where the Raiders came out victorious 22-9. Wright State has won nine of their last ten matchups against the Rockets. 
 
SCOUTING THE ROCKETS
Under direction of fifth year head coach Rob Reinstetle, Toledo currently has a 14-14 overall record, going 6-2 at home and 8-12 on the road. The Rockets are second in the Mid-American Conference with a 8-4 conference record.
 
Oakland currently has a .260 team batting average, with 172 runs on 245 hits in their 943 at bats. They have recorded 39 doubles, two triples, 45 home runs, and 130 walks, with 265 strikeouts. With 45 total home runs, Toledo is ranked No. 29 nationally.
 
The Rockets are led by Garret Pike's .342 batting average, 38 hits, 26 RBI, nine home runs, 26 runs scored, four stolen bases, and 71 total bases. Luke Walton leads Toledo with a .655 slugging percentage and nine doubles.
 
On the mound, the Rockets have allowed 189 runs on 250 hits with 152 walks and 260 batters struck out. Making 11 appearances thus far, Jacob Tabor has a 3.18 ERA, allowing seven runs on 18 hits with four walks and 20 strikeouts.
 
LEAGUE STANDINGS
Wright State is currently second in the Horizon League, with a 5-4 conference record. They are looking up at Northern Kentucky with a perfect 9-0 conference record.
 
Below Wright State is Oakland and Purdue Fort Wayne, going 4-5 on the season. Below them is Milwaukee going 3-6 on the season, and Youngstown State with a 2-7 league record.
 
JAY LUIKART ON THE NATIONAL LEADERBOARD
Jay Luikart is becoming a common name when it comes to national rankings. Luikart's 46 hits put him No. 14 in the nation, just six below the national leader. He is No. 18 averaging 1.70 hits per game, and No. 29 with 11 home runs this season. The Ashland, OH native is No. 11 with 40 RBI, No. 18 averaging 1.48 RBI per game, and No. 18 with 86 total bases.
 
NATIONWIDE NUMBERS
Wright State's 48 home runs rank them No. 20 nationally, with their 1.78 home runs per game putting them at No. 22. The Raiders sit at No. 26 with their .529 slugging percentage. Their .305 batting average put them No. 38 in the nation, with their 290 hits ranked them No. 31 and 232 runs No. 38. Averaging 8.6 runs per game, the Raiders are No. 38 nationally.
 
Alongside Luikart, three other Wright State batters have made a name for themselves within national rankings. Boston Smith's three triples put him at No. 16 nationally. Ben Vore is No. 29 with his .795 slugging percentage. Sammy Sass's .48 doubles per game rank him No. 23 nationally.
 
National stats on the mound include Jake Shirk's 1.53 walks per inning, ranking him No. 45. With 14 pitching appearances, Garrett Peters sits No. 27 nationally.
 
IN THE LEAGUE
The Raiders lead the Horizon League with their 48 home runs, averaging 1.78 per game. They lead with 20 double plays on the season and a .971 fielding percentage. Wright State is second with their 57 doubles, averaging 2.11 per game, .529 slugging percentage, and 12 sacrifice flies.
 
Stat leaders in the Horizon League include Jay Luikart's 46 hits and 86 total bases, Ben Vore's three sacrifice flies and .795 slugging percentage, and Boston Smith's three triples. The Raiders dominate the statistical leaders at bat, taking up two of the top three spots when it comes to RBI (Luikart – 40, 1; Vore – 34, 3) and RBI per game (Luikart – 1.48, 2; Vore – 1.31, 3). Taking up three of the top five spots when it comes to home runs are Luikart, Vore, and Smith (Luikart – 11, 1; Vore – 9, 3; Smith – 8, 5) and home runs per game (Luikart – .41, 1; Vore – .35, 4; Smith – .32, 5).
 
Leading on the mound is Jake Shirk, with a 42.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 1.53 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 ten appearances, Manley has tallied 17 hits, eight walks, 14 RBI, and is three-for-three in stolen bases. Manley currently leads the team with a .531 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
The Raiders will be back at Nischwitz Stadium for a three-game series against Youngstown State April 5-April 7.