Raiders ready to take on Miami (OH) in Joe Nuxhall Classic

Tuesday, April 9

Cincinnati, OH / Prasco Park

1 PM

Wright State University

Miami (OH)

Photo by: Alexis Hutchinson

Raiders ready to take on Miami (OH) in Joe Nuxhall Classic

4/8/2024 3:00:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes vs. Miami (OH)Watch Live Stats

DAYTON – The Wright State baseball team will be on the road this week, traveling to the Joe Nuxhall Classis to complete against Miami (OH) on Tuesday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Fans can keep up with the action on the Watchbox Sports live stream or through live stats.

Miami (OH) - Tuesday, April 9 - 1:00 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
Wright State is coming off a weekend series sweep against Youngstown State, winning all three games, 15-12, 8-7, 11-1.

The Raiders finished with 34 runs on 38 hits with 20 walks against their 14 strikeouts. They were led by Sammy Sass's eight hits, consisting of two doubles and a triple. Also adding two doubles and a triple was Julian Greenwell, closely following with six hits over the three games. Ben Vore and Drew Baker each recorded five hits over the series, with Vore adding one triple and Baker recording a team leading three doubles. Boston Smith recorded both of the Raider's two home runs.

Jake Shirk (2-3) was awarded the series opener win after pitching six innings, allowing four runs on six hits with three strikeouts. Brayden Schoetzow (1-0) earned the Saturday win pitching the final two thirds of an inning, allowing no runs or hits with one strikeout. Earning the series sweeping win was Chet Lax, pitching six innings and allowing only one run on two hits with three batters struck out.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
Under direction of 17th year head coach Brian Smiley, Miami currently has a 13-16 overall record, going 6-8 at home and 7-8 on the road. The RedHawks are sixth in the Mid-American Conference with an 8-7 conference record.

Miami currently has a .275 team batting average, with 207 runs on 274 hits in their 998 at bats. They have recorded 44 doubles, 12 triples, 26 home runs, and 142 walks, with 236 strikeouts. The RedHawks are led by Zach MacDonald's .336 batting average, .627 slugging percentage, 36 runs scored, nine stolen bases, eight home runs, and 69 total bases. Ty Batusich leads the team with 39 hits, 32 RBI, and eight doubles. Tyler Gordon leads the team and is fourth in the nation with eight sacrifice bunts.

On the mound, the Rockets have allowed 211 runs on 267 hits with 188 walks and 232 batters struck out, holding a 6.72 team ERA.

HISTORY VS. MIAMI (OH)
Miami holds the all-time record over Wright State 46-43, with their last matchup being in March of this season, where the Raiders won 6-5. The RedHawks were last victorious over the Raiders in March of 2022, winning 15-12 in the Joe Nuxhall Classic. Wright State has won seven of their last ten matchups against the RedHawks.

JAY LUIKART ON THE NATIONAL LEADERBOARD
"Jay Luikart" is becoming a common name when it comes to national rankings. Luikart's 50 hits put him No. 21 in the nation, just ten below the national leader. He is No. 28 averaging 1.61 hits per game, and No. 47 with 11 home runs this season. The Ashland, OH native is No. 13 with 45 RBI, No. 17 with 1.45 RBI per game, and No. 26 with 92 total bases.

NATIONWIDE NUMBERS
Wright State's .314 batting average puts them at No. 23 nationally, sitting at No. 16 with 340 hits on the season, No. 21 with 274 runs, and No. 19 with a .535 slugging percentage. Averaging 8.8 runs per game, the Raiders come in at No. 22 nationally. When it comes to extra-base hitting, the Raiders do not shy away, sitting at No. 28 with 70 doubles, No. 29 with 50 home runs, and No. 36 with 10 triples.

Alongside Luikart, three other Wright State batters have made a name for themselves within national rankings. Boston Smith and Ben Vore's three triples put them both at No. 28 nationally. Vore is No. 13 in the nation, averaging 1.47 RBI per game No. 15 with 44 total RBI. Vore is No. 33 with four sacrifice flies, and No . 40 with a .752 slugging percentage. Sammy Sass's .48 doubles per game rank him No. 9 nationally, sitting No. 23 with 13 total doubles, while his nine strikeouts in 114 at bats put him No. 26 as the toughest to strikeout.

With 16 pitching appearances, Chris Gallagher sits No. 28 nationally.

LEADING THE LEAGUE AT BAT
The Raiders dominate the HL leaders at bat, taking up two of the top three spots when it comes to RBI (Jay Luikart – 45, 2; Ben Vore – 44, 3) and RBI per game (Vore – 1.47, 2; Luikart – 1.45, 3). Vore and Drew Baker sit fourth and fifth, respectively, when it comes to runs per game (Vore – 1.17; Baker – 1.12). Taking up three of the top five spots when it comes to home runs are Luikart, Vore, and Boston Smith (Luikart – 11, 2; Smith – 10, 3; Vore – 9, 4). Wright State dominated in slugging percentages, with three batters in the top five spots (Vore –.752; Smith – .708; Luikart – .692).

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 six appearances on the season, being awarded two saves, first at Louisiana and later at Eastern Kentucky. The Granger, Indiana native averages a 4.76 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 12 appearances, Manley has tallied 20 hits, eight walks, 14 RBI, and is four-for-four on stolen bases. Manley currently leads the team with a .541 batting average.

SHUTOUT VICTORY
On April 3 Wright State recorded their first shutout victory of the season, going 8-0 against the University of Toledo Rockets. The win came from eight runs on 12 hits with four walks against their five strikeouts. They were led by Patrick Fultz, Nate Manley, Sammy Sass, and Ben Vore each recording two hits, while Carson Clark, Gus Gregory, Jay Luikart, and Dane Thomas each had one hit on the day. Clark, Gregory, and Manley each added a double to make up Wright State's three extra-base hits.

The Raider pitching staff held Toledo to only four hits on the day with ten strikeouts. Starting pitcher Duke Benge allowed two hits with two strikeouts. Wes Earles was awarded the win after striking out three batters in two innings. Josh Laisure followed, allowing one hits in one inning of work, striking out one batter. Joey Valentine led the team with four batters struck out in his two innings on the mound.

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.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Raiders will be back on the road this weekend, as they travel to compete against Horizon League rival, Northern Kentucky in a three-game series, April 12-14.