DAYTON, OH- Senior
Jarrett Heilman struck out six over five and a third shutout innings and freshman
J.J. Thompson closed it out with three and two-thirds of stellar relief in a 2-0 shutout of the Milwaukee Panthers to capture the program's 11
th Horizon League Tournament title.
The Raiders got all the offense they would need in the first inning, taking advantage of an error and passed ball to score an unearned run on a
JP Peltier sacrifice fly. The senior righty Heilman and the freshman lefty Thompson took it from there. The duo scattered six hits and never let a Panther reach third base.
Milwaukee's best chance to score came in the sixth inning after the Raiders added an insurance run in the fifth on a
Patrick Fultz single that plated
Conlan Daniel. The Panthers had two on and one out when Thompson came into the game. He promptly induced the inning-ending 4-6-3 double play to end the threat.
Thompson was nearly untouchable on Saturday. He allowed one walk and a lone ninth-inning single. Five of his 11 outs were via the strikeout, including the final out on a 3-2 high fastball.
Raiders' third baseman
Patrick Fultz was named the tournament MVP after going 8-9 in Saturday's two games while scoring six times and driving in four runs on Saturday alone. He was joined on the all-tournament team by shortstop
Luke Arnold, catcher
Boston Smith and game one starter
Chet Lax.
The Raiders earned the right to play for their 11
th tournament title earlier in the day with a decisive 13-4 victory in Saturday's first game.
Patrick Fultz went 5-5 in game one, scoring all five times and driving in three more. He got the offense going in the first with his sixth homer of the year. Milwaukee would tie it in the bottom half of the first inning but it would be all Wright State from there on out. The Raiders would score the next six runs, led by
Boston Smith's two-run double and triple.
Lefty
Chet Lax settled in after the first and put together a dominant performance. The southpaw went eight-plus innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out seven.
Mychal Grogan would get the final three outs, all via the strike out, to force the winner-take-all nightcap.
The Raiders improved to 38-19 with the wins while Milwaukee finishes the season at 24-35. Wright State will find out where they will play next on Monday during the NCAA Baseball Selection Show, airing Monday at noon eastern on ESPN 2.
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