DAYTON – The Wright State baseball team took their first game of the Horizon League Baseball Championship Tournament, going 12-2 against Youngstown State University on Thursday. The Raiders are now 32-22 overall. They will play again Friday, May 24 at 11:00 a.m. against the No. 2 seeded Northern Kentucky.
 
The Raiders finished with 12 runs on 11 hits with ten walks against their eight strikeouts. They were led by Gus Gregory with three hits, tallying two RBI, followed by Boston Smith with two hits. Patrick Fultz, Julian Greenwell, Jay Luikart, Andrew Patrick, Sammy Sass, and Ben Vore each had one hit on the day. Wright State ended the day with three extra base hits, made up by a double each from Patrick and Vore, and a Smith solo home run. Gregory set a season game high of three stolen bases against the Penguins, while Smith recorded two steals, and Patrick one.
 
Wright State secured their win with an eight run first inning. The rally began with Greenwell being walked, advancing to third on a Sass single, with a Luikart walk pushing Sass to second. Vore doubled down the left field line, sending Greenwell and Sass to score. The following run came as Luikart scored when Patrick reached on a fielding error. After Patrick stole second, Fultz recorded a two-RBI double, raising the Raider advantage to five. A Gregory single advanced Fultz to second, as the Raiders made their way back to the of the lineup for Greenwell to add an RBI-single. The final two runs on the inning came as Greenwell and Gregory scored as Luikart reached on a fielding error.
 
YSU added their only two runs in the top of the third, scoring on an RBI-triple and an RBI-single. The fourth and fifth went scoreless, as the Raiders added the only hit in the bottom of the fifth with a Gregory single. Wright State raised their advantage 11-2 in the bottom of the sixth, as Gregory recorded a two-RBI single for Patrick and Smith to score, followed by Luke Arnold scoring on a throwing error. Taking the lead to ten, Smith added a solo homer to left field in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Starting pitcher Jake Shirk (4-4) earned the win, putting in eight innings of work, allowing two runs on four hits with four walks, striking out 11 Penguins. Wes Earles closed the day allowing no runs or walks, striking out one batter.
 
Penguin starting pitcher Braden Gebhardt (1-4) was charged with the loss after allowing eight runs, four earned, on five hits with two walks, striking out one batter, in the first two thirds of an inning. YSU ended the day with two runs on seven hits with four walks against their 12 strikeouts. The 'Guins were led by Trey Law's two hits with one RBI.