ROCHESTER, Michigan – The Wright State baseball team rallied in the ninth inning to defeat Oakland, 12-5, on Thursday afternoon. The series will continue Friday at 2 p.m. Fans can follow the action through live stats or the ESPN+ broadcast.
Oakland held an early 4-2 lead after the first three innings. The Raiders opened the scoring as
JP Peltier reached on an error, allowing Gregory to score. Oakland responded with two runs on a triple, but WSU quickly tied it with an RBI double to left center by
Cam Gilkerson. The Golden Grizzlies regained the lead in the third, scoring twice on singles. In the fourth,
Will Cook grounded out to bring home Arnold, making it a one-run game.
Wright State took the lead in the sixth, as
Braylen Blomquist tripled and then scored on a double by
Luke Arnold to tie it at four. After advancing to third on a Gilkerson groundout, Arnold came home on a wild pitch to make it 5-4.
The game was scoreless through the eighth, but the Raiders broke it open with a seven-run rally in the ninth to secure the win. Gilkerson began the surge with a home run to center field.
Boston Smith followed with a double to right, driving in Cook—who had also doubled—and moving
Hunter Warren to third. Gregory added a two-run double to right field. A single by
Patrick Fultz drove in Gregory, pushing the Raiders into double digits. Arnold capped the scoring with a two-run homer to left center, bringing in Blomquist, who had reached on a fielder's choice. Oakland added one run in the bottom of the inning on a single to left field.
Freshman
J.J. Thompson earned the win, throwing 3.0 innings of relief while allowing no runs and just one hit, striking out two.
Warren Hartzell collected his second save of the season, closing the final 3.0 innings and striking out five.