Raiders stay on the road for midweek matchup at Pitt

Wednesday, May 8

Pittsburgh, PA

4 PM

Wright State University

Pittsburgh

Photo by: Jordan Wommack

5/7/2024 3:30:00 PM | Baseball

Live Stats

DAYTON – The Wright State baseball team will be on the road this week, traveling to Pittsburgh, PA for a midweek matchup against the Pittsburgh Panthers. The game is set for a 4:00 p.m. first pitch. Fans can keep up with the action through live stats.

Pittsburgh - Wednesday, May 8 - 4:00 p.m. - Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
Wright State is coming off a series win against Oakland, taking the series opener 7-6, falling on Saturday 12-15, and taking the rubber match 4-2.

The Raiders finished with 23 runs on 32 hits with 15 walks against their 23 strikeouts. Luke Arnold, Patrick Fultz, Julian Greenwell, Andrew Patrick, and Boston Smith each recorded four hits over the series. Sammy Sass and Ben Vore both recorded three hits, followed by Drew Baker, Gus Gregory, and Jay Luikart with two this each. The Raiders had 15 extra-base hits in the three-game series, with seven triples, three from Arnold, and eight homers. Baker, Patrick, and Vore all added two home runs over the weekend.

Garrett Peters was awarded the series opening win after pitching the eighth inning, allowing no runs on two hits with no walks. Wes Earles was charged with the Saturday loss after allowing the lead taking run on two hits. Sunday starter Chet Lax earned his win after allowing only one run on five hits with just one walk and five batters struck out. Cam Allen was awarded his first two collegiate saves in the series opener and finale, putting in two and one third innings over two games, allowing only one run on three hits with two walks and five batters struck out.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Under direction of sixth year head coach Mike Bell, Pittsburgh currently has a 25-19 overall record, going 8-12 at home and 4-12 on the road.

Pitt currently has a .282 team batting average, with 292 runs on 418 hits. The Panthers have tallied 69 doubles, two triples, and 55 home runs with 229 walks against their 358 strikeouts. On the mound, the team has a 6.28 ERA, striking out 380 batters with 173 walks.

The Panthers are led by Luke Cantwell's .344 batting average, .576 slugging percentage, 39 RBI, four sacrifice flies, and 87 total bases. Cantwell's 46 walks rank him No. 13 in the nation, while his .519 one base percentage ranks him No. 17. Dom Popa leads Pitt with 55 hits and six stolen bases.

HISTORY VS. PITTSBURGH
Wright State holds the all-time record over Pittsburgh 3-2. Their last matchup being in March of 2017, where the Raiders took the neutral-site game 3-1. Previously, the two teams had not faced each other since 1999 and 1983.

LEAGUE STANDINGS
After sweeping Purdue Fort Wayne April 26-28, Wright State leads the Horizon League with a 16-8 conference record. Below them is the previous leader Northern Kentucky with a 15-9 HL record, falling after a series loss at Milwaukee April 26-28. Sitting third is Oakland, going 13-11 in the league.

Rounding out the league is Milwaukee, sitting fourth with a 11-13 HL record. They are followed by Purdue Fort Wayne's 9-15 record and Youngstown State going 8-16.

NATIONALLY KNOWN
"Julian Greenwell" and "Sammy Sass" have become common names when it comes to national rankings. Greenwell's .406 batting average ranks him No. 21 nationally, while Sass follows with a .388 batting average sitting No. 49. Greenwell sits No. 13 with .46 doubles per game and Sass No. 20 with .43 doubles per game. Sass ranks No. 32 with 18 doubles on the season. Sass's 1.69 hits per game rank him eighth in the nation, while Greenwell is No. 14 with 1.66 hits per game. With just 16 strikeouts in his 183 at bats, Sass ranks No. 31 as the toughest to strikeout, averaging one strikeout every 11.4 at bats. Greenwell closely follows with one strikeout every 11 at bats.

NATIONWIDE NUMBERS
Wright State's .322 batting average puts them seventh nationally, sitting sixth with 528 hits on the season and eighth with 436 runs. Averaging 9.5 runs per game, the Raiders come in eighth nationally. When it comes to extra-base hitting, the Raiders do not shy away, sitting at No. 18 with 107 doubles and eighth with 98 home runs, seventh with 2.13 home runs per game. The Raiders rank sixth in the nation with their .581 slugging percentage, and No. 20 with a .423 on-base percentage.

Alongside Greenwell and Sass, three other Wright State batters have made a name for themselves within national rankings. Boston Smith and Ben Vore's four triples put them at No. 23 in the nation. With 65 RBI on the season, Vore sits at No. 13 in the nation, followed by Luikart's 62 RBI ranking him No. 21. Both recording 18 home runs to date, Smith and Vore sit No. 28 nationally. Smith's .758 slugging percentage ranks him No. 37 in the nation.

Jake Shirk is No. 43 with only 1.80 walks allowed per nine innings.

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– 65, 2; Jay Luikart– 62, 3; Sammy Sass – 53, 5). Sass leads the league with 71 hits on the season, closely followed by Luikart sitting fourth with 68 hits. Julian Greenwell leads the HL with a .406 batting average, while Sass's .407 batting average sits him third in the league.

The Raiders have three HL leaders when it comes to home runs, as Boston Smith and Vore lead with 18 homers on the season, closely trailed by Luikart with 17. Smith and Vore sit tied for second with four triples, while Sass's 18 doubles sit him third in the league, followed by Julian Greenwell's 16 doubles ranking him sixth. Vore leads 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 .758 slugging percentage, Vore sits third (.736), Greenwell fourth (.699) and Luikart fifth (.679). Sass leads the league as the toughest to strikeout with just 16 strikeouts in his 183 at bats, averaging one strikeout every 11.4 at bats. Greenwell sits just below him with a strikeout every 11 at bats.

SCORING BIG
Wright State has had many high-scoring games this season, with 20 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 15-5 when finishing with ten or more runs.

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.

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.

PRO RAIDERS
The Raiders are no strangers to sending their athletes pro, with two current professional players, Sean Murphy and Jesse Scholtens. 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
Wright State will stay on the road, traveling for a weekend series at Youngstown State running from Friday May 10 through Sunday May 12. Fans can keep up with the action through live stats.

The Raiders will stay on the Road for a midweek matchup at Kentucky on Tuesday, May 14 at 6:30 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.