Raiders Open 2025 Season with Three-Game Series against Longwood

Friday, February 14

Wise, VA / Burchell Stallard Baseball Field

12 PM

Wright State University

Longwood (DH)

Photo by: Jordan Wommack

Raiders Open 2025 Season with Three-Game Series against Longwood

2/13/2025 3:30:00 PM | Baseball

Live Stats WSU Game Notes vs. Longwood Game 3 - Limited Live Stats

DAYTON – Wright State baseball kicks off its 2025 season with a three-game series against Longwood.

Due to inclement weather, the series, originally set to take place in Farmville, Virginia, will be played at Burchell Stallard Baseball Field on the campus of UVA-Wise, located in Wise, Virginia. The two teams will first play in a double-header, beginning Friday, February 14 at noon, with game two approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. Game three is set for 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 15. The series finale between Wright State and Longwood was canceled due to continued inclement weather in the area.

Game 1 - Friday, February 14 – 12:00 p.m. – Live Stats
Game 2 - Friday, February 14 – Approx. 3:30 p.m. – Live Stats

RAIDER REWIND
Wright State is coming off a 32-24 season, taking the Horizon League regular season title with a 20-10 conference record. The Raiders return 23 players, including 2024 HL All-League Second Team members Cam Allen, Patrick Fultz, and Boston Smith, and All-Freshman Team members Allen and Chet Lax. The now sophomore Gus Gregory was named to the league's All-Tournament team.

RAIDERGANG NEWCOMERS
Seventeen new faces join the Raidergang in 2025, featuring a mix of 12 freshmen and five transfers.

SCOUTING THE LANCERS
The Lancers are led by first-year head coach Ray Noe. Noe joins Longwood after five seasons at the Virginia Military Institute, working his way up the bench, serving as lead assistant and recruiting coordinator in the 2024 season. In 2024, Noe helped VMI to an offense that posted 73 home runs, batting .292 with a .410 on-base percentage, and leading the nation with 178 stolen bases.

Last season, Longwood finished with a 23-29 overall record, going 10-14 in the Big South conference. They finished with a .268 batting average, .395 slugging percentage, and .396 on-base percentage. The Lancers ranked No. 19 in the nation with 1.98 stolen bases per game.

HISTORY VS. LONGWOOD
This will be the first meeting between Wright State and the Longwood Lancers.

HORIZON LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
Wright State was picked atop the 2025 Horizon League preseason poll, receiving 33 points and three first-place votes from the conference's head coaches. Northern Kentucky followed, voted to finish second with 29 points and one first-place vote. Coming in third was Oakland with 19 points and one first-place vote, closely trailed by Milwaukee with 18 points. Rounding out the poll were Youngstown State (14) and Purdue Fort Wayne (13).

PRESEASON ACCOLADES
In its season preview, D1Baseball selected six Raiders as top prospects for the 2025 and 2026 Major League Baseball drafts. Smith was ranked as the top 2025 draft prospect in the Horizon League, with Joey Valentine and Griffen Paige ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. Right-handed pitchers Allen and Brayden Schoetzow were selected as the first and second top prospects for the 2026 draft, respectively, while Conlan Daniel was picked fourth. Daniel, a freshman outfielder, was also named the number two impact freshman in the league by D1Baseball.

The preseason accolades don't end with D1Baseball, as Cam Allen and Garrett Peters were named to the National College Baseball Writers Association Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List. The award, now in its 20th anniversary, is given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball each season.

SMITH'S A TOP 50 CATCHER
Boston Smith, a catcher from Arcanum, Ohio, was the only Raider to earn recognition in the D1Baseball Preseason Player Rankings, being named one of the top 50 catchers in the nation. The senior was selected as the No. 14 catcher, slashing .307/.403/.698 last season with 10 doubles, 19 home runs, and 47 runs batted in.

STUDENT-athletes
Wright State posted a team grade point average of 3.543 for the Fall 2024 semester, and a 3.495 cumulative grade point average. 35 athletes finished with a GPA higher than 3.00, 26 with a GPA over 3.5, and 15 earned a 4.0 or higher. The Raiders have maintained a 3.00+ GPA in 24 of the last 25 semesters since 2012. Twenty student-athletes were added to the Spring 2024 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
Leading the charge for Wright State is head coach Alex Sogard, who has built a powerhouse program during his tenure. After leading the Raiders to a 32-24 overall record, earning their sixth HL Regular Season title, Sogard earned his fourth Horizon League Coach of the Year honor in 2024, becoming the first to do so in program history.

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. Murphy 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
Two Raiders were selected in the 2024 MLB Draft. Centerfielder, Andrew Patrick, was the first Raider picked in the 2024 MLB Draft, being selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the 504th pick in the 17th round. Patrick appeared in 150 games, starting in 147, in three seasons at Wright State, recording a .288 career batting average with 36 doubles, 37 homers, and 120 RBI. The outfielder collected multiple Horizon League All-League honors in his time as a Raider, being named to the All-Freshman Team in 2022, followed by earning a spot on the All-Horizon League First Team as a sophomore. In 2023, he earned a spot on the East-ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team.

Similarly, senior right-handed pitcher Jake Shirk was the next Raider drafted, chosen by the Pirates with the 534th pick in the 18th round. Shirk appeared in 58 games in his four years at Wright State, sitting fifth in program history with 45 games started. After making all 12 appearances from the bullpen his first year, the right-handed pitcher primarily served as a starter for Wright State the following three seasons. His 22 career wins tie him for eighth in program history. In his 270 career-innings pitched, Shirk struck out a total of 214 batters, a rate of 7.13 per nine innings. He was awarded All-Horizon League honors twice, first earning a spot on the Second Team (2022) then being named to the First Team (2023).

STAYING ON THE ROAD
Wright State will stay on the road, traveling to Auburn for a three-game series Friday, February 21 through Sunday, February 23. All three games will be streamed on SEC Network+, with live stats available.