DAYTON – The Wright State baseball team will close the regular season at home against Northern Kentucky, beginning Thursday, May 16 to Saturday, May 18. All three games will have live stats provided. Fans are encouraged to arrive early on Saturday to recognize nine Wright State seniors.
 
Game 1 - Thursday, May 16 - 3:00 p.m. - Live Stats
Game 2 - Friday, May 17 - 11:00 a.m. - Live Stats
Game 3 - Saturday, May 18 - 1:00 p.m. - Live Stats | Senior Day
 
LAST TIME OUT
Wright State is coming off a series sweep against Youngstown State, taking the series opener 4-3, and the Sunday double-header 11-7 and 10-7.
 
The Raiders finished with 25 runs on 29 hits with ten walks against their 21 strikeouts. Ben Vore led the team with five hits, followed by Patrick Fultz and Sammy Sass, both tallying four hits. Andrew Patrick and Boston Smith each recorded three hits in the series. Making up their 11 extra-base hits were seven home runs, two from Patrick, and four doubles. Vore and Patrick both led the team with five RBI on the weekend.
 
Garrett Peters earned the win on Friday after pitching one and one third innings, allowing no runs or hits with no walks, striking out two batters. Cam Allen was awarded the save after closing the game, allowing only one hit with no walks, striking out two batters. The two Sunday wins went to Griffen Paige, game one, and Garrett Peters, game two. Paige entered to pitch in the fifth, allowing only one run on four this with no walks and three batters struck out in four innings of work. Peters earned his win after pitching one and a third innings, allowing no runs with one hit and no walks, striking out two batters. Brayden Schoetzow was awarded the series finale save after closing the game, allowing no runs or hits with one walk and one batter struck out.
 
SCOUTING THE NORSE
Under direction of third year head coach Dizzy Peyton, Northern Kentucky currently has a 30-21 overall record, going 18-5 at home and 12-16 on the road. The Norse have an 17-10 Horizon League record, sitting them second in the league.
 
NKU currently has a .320 team batting average, ranking them eighth in the nation. They rank sixth nationally with 479 runs on 566 hits. The Norse have tallied 115 doubles (No. 16 nationally), and 81 home runs with 323 walks against (No. 6 nationally) their 409 strikeouts. The Norse sit second in the nation with 26 triples on the season.
 
Treyvin Moss leads the team with his .388 batting average. His 81 hits sit him No. 15 nationally and his 21 doubles No. 12. Liam McFadden-Achman leads the team with a .774 slugging percentage and his No. 12 nationally ranked 71 RBI. On the mound NKU holds a 7.62 team ERA, led by Tanner Gillis with a 4.84 ERA and Aaron Massie with a 3.33 ERA.
 
HISTORY VS. KENTUCKY
Wright State holds the all-time record over NKU 50-15, with their last matchups being earlier this season, where the Raiders took games two and three of the series, 12-9, 16-11. The Norse were last victorious over the Raiders in game one of the series, winning 15-14. Wright State has won eight of their last ten matchups against the Norse.
 
LEAGUE STANDINGS
Wright State leads the Horizon League with a 19-8 conference record. Below them is the previous leader Northern Kentucky with a 17-10 HL record. Sitting third is Oakland, going 16-11 in the league. Rounding out the league is Milwaukee, sitting fourth with a 11-16 HL record. They are followed by Purdue Fort Wayne's 10-17 record and Youngstown State going 8-19.
 
Going into the final week of conference play, Wright State will be playing their closest league rival, Northern Kentucky. The Raiders can clinch the regular season title with one win against the Norse.
 
FIVE-PEAT
The Raiders swept Milwaukee from May 12-14, 2023, 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.
 
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– 70, 2; Jay Luikart– 63, 3; Sammy Sass – 59, 4). Sass sits second in the league with 76 hits on the season, followed by Luikart sitting fifth with 70 hits. Julian Greenwell leads the HL with a .395 batting average, while Sass's .382 batting average sits him fourth in the league.
 
The Raiders have three HL leaders when it comes to home runs, as Vore leads with 19 homers on the season, closely trailed by Boston Smith with 18 and Luikart with 17. Smith and Vore sit tied for third with four triples. Sass's 19 doubles sit him third in the league, followed by Greenwell with 18. Sass and Vore lead the league with five sacrifice flies.
 
Wright State dominates in slugging percentages, with four batters in the top five spots, as Smith sits second with a .738 slugging percentage, Vore sits third (.734), Greenwell fourth (.694) and Sass fifth (.683). Sass leads the league as the toughest to strikeout with just 20 strikeouts in his 199 at bats, averaging one strikeout every 10.5 at bats. Greenwell sits third with a strikeout every 10 at bats.
 
NATIONWIDE NUMBERS
Wright State's .319 batting average puts them ninth nationally, sitting sixth with 566 hits on the season and No. 11 with 465 runs. Averaging 9.3 runs per game, the Raiders come in tenth nationally. When it comes to extra-base hitting, the Raiders do not shy away, sitting at No. 21 with 114 doubles, No. 20 with 2.28 per game, and ninth with 106 home runs, eighth with 2.12 home runs per game. The Raiders rank seventh in the nation with their .577 slugging percentage, and No. 26 with a .418 on-base percentage.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
Wright State is no stranger to national rankings, with six Raiders ranked highly in national stats. Julian Greenwell ranks seventh with .46 doubles per game, and No. 27 with his .395 batting average. With an average of .41 doubles per game, Sammy Sass ranks No. 23 nationally. Sass and Greenwell are both ranked in hits per game, as Sass comes in at No. 16 with 1.65 hits per game, and Greenwell No. 28 with 1.59 hits per game.
 
When it comes to RBI, Ben Vore is a commonly known name. With 70 RBI on the season, Vore ranks No. 13 nationally, No. 14 averaging 1.43 RBI per game. Jay Luikart sits below him at No. 33 with 63 RBI on the season. Vore ranks No. 37 with 19 home runs on the season. Joining Vore in the national rankings is Boston Smith, as both sit No. 30 with four triples on the season.
 
Jake Shirk comes in at No. 21 with 1.62 walks allowed per nine innings.
 
SCORING BIG
Wright State has had many high-scoring games this season, with 22 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 17-5 when finishing with ten or more runs.
 
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.
 
JAY LUIKART-HL 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.
 
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.
 
2ND LIEUTENANT DUKE BENGE
This season the Raiders will be even closer to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, as recent Air Force Academy graduate 2nd Lieutenant Duke Benge will be training with both the Air Force and Wright State Baseball. He is currently enrolled in the sports management program at WSU and earning a master's degree in operational logistics on base as he waits for a spot in the Wright-Patterson pilot training program. Benge attended and played for the Air Force Academy over the past four seasons, notably becoming the first-ever cadet-athlete from Air Force or any service academy to make the NWL All-Star game.
 
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.