Raiders ready to host Purdue Fort Wayne

Friday, April 26

Dayton, OH

3 PM

Wright State University

Purdue Fort Wayne

Photo by: Jordan Wommack

4/25/2024 4:00:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes vs. PFW Live Stats

DAYTON – The Wright State baseball team will host Purdue Fort Wayne for a three-game series beginning Friday, April 26 running through Sunday, April 28. Fans can keep up with the action in-person with free admission, or through live stats.

Fans are encouraged to arrive to Saturday's game early to honor the 2024 Raidergang graduates.

Game 1 - Friday, April 26 - 3:00 p.m. - Live Stats
Game 2 - Saturday, April 27 - 2:00 p.m. - Live Stats | Graduation Celebration
Game 3 - Sunday, April 28 - 1:00 p.m. - Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
Wright State is coming off a midweek win against Ohio State, taking a 14-13 walk-off win with a Julian Greenwell single on Tuesday afternoon.

The Raiders finished with 14 runs on nine hits with eight walks against their six strikeouts. Julian Greenwell led the team with three hits, tallying four RBI, and was closely trailed by Jay Luikart, Sammy Sass, and Boston Smith each recording two hits. Greenwell accounted for two of the four Wright State extra-base hits, with one double and a home run. Alongside him were Sass and Smith, each adding one homer on the day. Greenwell and Dane Thomas both recorded one sacrifice hit, and Carson Clark had one sacrifice fly.

Chris Gallagher (2-1) earned the win after entering to pitch the final one third inning, allowing no runs or hits and leaving two Buckeyes on base. Starting pitcher Griffen Paige put in three innings on the mound, allowing one run on two hits with one walk while striking out two batters. Garrett Peters notably entered in the fourth to put in two and two third innings of work, allowing two runs on four hits with three walks and striking out two batters.

SCOUTING THE MASTODONS
Under direction of fifth year head coach Doug Schreiber, Purdue Fort Wayne currently has a 15-25 overall record, going 5-5 at home and 10-20 on the road. The Mastodons sit fourth in the Horizon League with an 8-10 league record.

Purdue Fort Wayne currently has a .270 team batting average, with 235 runs on 366 hits. The Mastodons have tallied 72 doubles, seven triples, and 32 home runs with 199 walks against their 335 strikeouts. On the mound, the team has an 8.41 ERA, striking out 257 batters with 212 walks. They rank second in the HL with 5.79 walks allowed per nine innings.

The Mastodons are led by Justin Osterhouse's .390 batting average, sitting him third in the HL, .678 slugging percentage, and .455 on-base percentage. Osterhouse has recorded a team leading 34 RBI, nine home runs, and 11 stolen bases. Jacob Walker's .335 batting average is second on the team, while he leads with 53 hits, including 14 doubles, ranking him third in the HL.

Putting in 43.1 innings on the mound, relief pitcher Kevin Fee leads the team and sits second in the league with a 3.12 batting average. Fee leads the HL with five victories on the season and is second with four saves.

HISTORY VS. PURDUE FORT WAYNE
Wright State holds the all-time record over Purdue Fort Wayne 15-7, with their last matchup being earlier this season, where the Raiders won the series at PFW 2-1, falling short in game two, 2-11, taking the opener 16-13 and the finale 14-2. The two teams have faced each other 18 times since PFW joined the Horizon League, with the Raiders holding the 15-3 HL record.

LEAGUE STANDINGS
Wright State is currently tied for second in the Horizon League, with a 11-7 conference record. They sit alongside Oakland. The two are looking up at Northern Kentucky with a 12-6 conference record.

Below Wright State is Purdue Fort Wayne with an 8-10 HL record. Below them is Milwaukee going 7-11 on the season, and Youngstown State with a 5-13 league record.

NATIONALLY KNOWN
"Jay Luikart" and "Sammy Sass" have become common names when it comes to national rankings. Luikart's 57 RBI rank him No. 12 in the nation and Sass sits at No. 17 with his 1.42 RBI per game. The two are tied at No. 34 nationally with 62 hits on the season, as Sass sits ninth with 1.72 hits per game. Luikart comes in at No. 21 with 121 total bases and No 26 with 16 home runs. Sass's .47 doubles per game rank him ninth nationally, No. 14 with 17 total, and No. 35 with his .400 batting average.

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 (Ben Vore– 58, 2; Jay Luikart– 57 3; Sammy Sass – 51, 4; Boston Smith – 42, 5). Luikart and Sass both lead the league with 62 hits, with Sass's .400 batting average ranking him second and Luikart fifth hitting .369.

The Raiders have three HL leaders when it comes to home runs, as Luikart and Smith lead with 16 homers on the season, closely trailed by Ben Vore with 15. Smith and Vore sit tied for second with four triples, while Sass's 17 doubles sit him second in the league, followed by Julian Greenwell's 14 doubles ranking him fifth. Sass and Vore lead the league with four sacrifice flies each.

Wright State dominates in slugging percentages, with four batters in the top five spots, as Smith sits second with a .757 slugging percentage, Smith sits Vore (.747), Sass fourth (.735) and Luikart fifth (.720). Sass leads the league as the toughest to strikeout with just 15 strikeouts in his 155 at bats, averaging one strikeout every 10.3 at bats.

SCORING BIG
Wright State has had many high-scoring games this season, with 18 total ten-plus run games. The Raiders had a six-game streak scoring ten or more runs (4/7/24-4/16/24), the most in program history. The Raiders preform best preforming in double-figures, going 14-4 when finishing with ten or more runs.

2024 SPRING GRADUATES
The Raiders have seven student-athletes earning a degree this Spring. To honor their achievement, they will be receiving their diplomas on the field before the first pitch on Saturday, April 28. The seven graduates are…

Drew Baker, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Sports Science from the College of Health, Education & Human Services.
Carson Clark, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a Business degree from the Raj Soin College of Business.
Wes Earles, graduating with a degree in Organizational Leadership from the College of Health, Education & Human Services.
Jay Luikart, graduating with a degree in Communication Studies from the College of Liberal Arts.
Garrett Peters, graduating with a degree in Organizational Leadership from the College of Health, Education & Human Services.
Garret Simpson, graduating with a degree in Finance from the Raj Soin College of Business.
Dane Thomas, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Marketing from the Raj Soin College of Business.

These individuals have demonstrated their dedication not only to Wright State Baseball but to their education, balancing the demands of academics and collegiate athletics.

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 to Rochester, MI for their second series against Oakland. The series will run from Friday, May 5 through Sunday, May 7. Fans can keep up with the action through live stats.

Wright State will stay on the road, traveling for a midweek game at Pittsburgh on Wednesday, May 8 at 4:00 p.m. The game will have live stats provided.

BACK ON HOME TURF
The Raiders will be back in the Nisch to close the regular season in a three-game series against Northern Kentucky. Fans are invited to keep up with the action in-person with free admission, or through live stats.