DAYTON – The Wright State baseball team is traveling south as they ready for a three-game series at #25 Auburn from Friday, February 21 to Sunday, February 23. All three games will stream on SEC Network+, with live stats and audio provided as well.
Game 1 - Friday, February 21 – 3:30 p.m. ET – Live Stats – Watch – Listen
Game 2 - Saturday, February 22 – 1:00 p.m. ET – Live Stats – Watch – Listen
Game 3 - Sunday, February 23 – 2:00 p.m. ET – Live Stats – Watch – Listen
LAST TIME OUT
Wright State opened the 2025 season with doubleheader wins at Longwood, going 12-1 in game one and 14-8 in game two.
The Raiders finished with 26 runs on 30 hits with 10 walks against their 15 strikeouts.
Patrick Fultz and
Hunter Warren led the team, each adding six hits, followed by
JP Peltier with five hits and
Boston Smith with four. WSU had seven extra base hits, made up by two doubles and five home runs. Peltier and Warren added a double each, while Smith went yard twice in game one, followed by Arnold, Cook, and Peltier, each adding a homer of their own.
Game one starter
Warren Hartzell (1-0) was awarded the win after pitching two innings, allowing just one hit while walking one batter, recording three strikeouts. Sophomore right-handed pitcher
Cam Allen earned the win for game two, pitching two innings while allowing no runs or hits, walking two batters and getting two strikeouts.
Garrett Peters was awarded the save in game two after pitching the final three innings, allowing no runs, hits, or walks, while striking out five batters.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Under tenth season head coach Butch Thompson, Auburn, ranked No. 25 nationally, is currently 4-1 on the season. The Tigers opened the 2025 season with a three-game series against Holy Cross, taking game one 4-1, falling in game two 2-4, and securing the series win 14-6 in game three. This week, Auburn defeated Troy, 7-6, and North Alabama, 6-2. Last season Auburn finished 27-26 overall, going 8-22 in the SEC.
The Tigers are currently batting .291 on the season, led by Deric Fabian's .444 batting average. Auburn's 48 total hits this season ranks them No. 25 nationally, sitting No. 34 with 10 doubles. Auburn is 13th in the nation in stolen bases (12), as Cade Belyeu sits fourth overall with five stolen bases on the season.
On the mound, the Tigers have a 3.40 team earned run average, as projected Friday starter Samuel Dutton holds a 2.08 ERA. Dutton appeared in one game this season, being charged with the loss pitching the first four and third innings against Holy Cross, allowing three runs, one earned, on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. Projected Sunday starter Christian Chatterton has appeared in one game this season, earning the save in game three against Holy Cross, pitching five and a third innings, allowing four runs on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
HISTORY VS. AUBURN
Auburn holds the all-time series record over the Raiders 3-0, as the two last met in February of 2020.
SWEEPING THE HORIZON LEAGUE ACCOLADES
Wright State baseball's
Boston Smith and
Garrett Peters swept the first week of Horizon League awards, the conference office announced Tuesday afternoon. Smith was named the Horizon League Batter of the Week and Peters the Pitcher of the Week.
A senior catcher, Smith slashed .500/.667/1.250 with four hits, three walks, and one hit by pitch, tallying six runs batted in. Smith homered twice in the season opener—first a solo shot in the fourth inning, then a two-run homer in the eighth—helping the Raiders to a 12-1 win in game one of the doubleheader against Longwood.
Peters earned Horizon League Pitcher of the Week honors after securing the save in game two of Friday's doubleheader. The senior left-hander pitched the final three innings at Longwood, securing a 14-8 win while facing the minimum nine batters and allowing no runs, hits, or walks. Peters struck out five batters—two swinging and three looking.
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.
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.
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).
CLOSER TO HOME
Wright State will be closer to home, traveling for a midweek game at Miami (OH) on Tuesday, February 25 3 p.m. Fans can keep up with the game through live stats.
BACK DOWN SOUTH
Wright State will head back south, traveling for a three-game series at Ole Miss from Friday, February 28 to Sunday, March 2. All three games will stream on SEC Network+ with live stats provided.
