Raiders to open Horizon League play at Nischwitz Stadium

DAYTON- The Wright State baseball team (5-12) will open the Horizon League portion of its schedule this weekend against Milwaukee at Nischwitz Stadium this weekend.

The two squads will meet at 3 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday, and 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will be free admission, and fans unable to come out to the ballpark can follow the action via live stats.

GAME INFORMATION
Friday, Mar. 20 – LIVE STATS
Saturday, Mar. 21- LIVE STATS
Sunday, Mar. 22 - LIVE STATS

PROJECTED STARTER
Friday- Cam Allen, RHP
Saturday- Griffen Paige, LHP
Sunday- Chet Lax, LHP

HISTORY VS. MILWAUKEE
Wright State leads the all-time series over Milwaukee 89-72. A season ago, the Raiders and Panthers faced off a total of nine times, with the Raiders winning the season series 6-3. The Raiders took two of three in both regular-season meetings. The Panthers sent the Raiders to the losers' bracket in the Horizon League tournament with a 12-6 win. Wright State would bounce back and beat Milwaukee 13-4 and 2-0 to clinch its eleventh Horizon League Championship.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Milwaukee enters the weekend at 4-15 on the season, and 2-1 in Horizon League play. The Panthers opened conference play last weekend at Northern Kentucky, winning game one 16-9 and game three 16-10 to clinch their first series win of the season. The other two Panther wins came at Duke 9-6 and at Evansville 12-9. Milwaukee is yet to play a home game this season and is slated to open the home portion of its schedule next weekend vs Butler.

Dylan O'Connell paces the Milwaukee offense and leads the team in batting average (.369), runs (17), hits (24), doubles (8), home runs (4), RBIs (19), and total bases (46).

LAST TIME OUT
Wright State was swept at Nischwitz Stadium by Southeast Missouri State (SEMO). The Raiders dropped both ends of Saturday's twin bill, 2-4 and 0-6, before dropping the series finale 2-3 Sunday afternoon.

RANKED WINS
Wright State has picked up a pair of wins over ranked opponents so far this season. The Raiders upset No. 6 Georgia 6-4 during opening weekend, then defeated No. 19 Tennessee last weekend 6-0. This is the first time the Raiders have picked up multiple ranked wins since they won three ranked wins in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, defeating No. 1 Louisville 10-3 before defeating No. 11 Tennessee twice, taking the series opener 5-4 and the series finale 6-3

PRESEASON HYPE
D1Baseball placed four Raiders in its annual preseason positional rankings. Patrick Fultz led the bunch coming in as the 17^th-ranked third baseman. JP Peltier joined Fultz in the top 50, coming in as the 39^th-ranked first baseman. Cam Allen enters his junior campaign as the 115^th-ranked starting pitcher, and Cam Gilkerson rounds out the bunch as the #149^th-ranked outfielder.

BUY STOCK NOW
In its conference preview, D1Baseball selected a pair of Raiders to take home specialty awards in the Horizon League. JP Peltier was selected as the preseason Player of the Year, while Cam Allen was selected as the preseason Pitcher of the Year.

D1Baseball also identified 10 Raiders as top draft prospects out of the Horizon League for the 2025 and 2026 MLB Draft. Cam Allen was selected as the top prospect for the 2026 draft, along with Andrew Duncan, Griffen Paige, JP Peltier, Warren Hartzell, and Cam Gilkerson. Sophomores JJ Thompson, Abe Crall, and Malachi Paplanus were identified as top prospects for the 2027 draft.

RAIDERS RUNNING IT BACK
In the era of the transfer portal, where many teams lose so much talent year-to-year, Wright State has recruited talent and kept them in Dayton. The Raiders returned 65% of their total production from a season ago, when factored by total points (fantasy baseball points calculation done by D1Baseball), the Raiders rank ninth in total returning production. The Raidergang return 56% of their roster from a season ago, 64% of their plate appearances, and 55% of their innings pitched. Wright State has brought back six lineup mainstays from a season ago, as well as two of its three weekend starters.

SCOUTING THE 2026 SQUAD
The Raidergang returns 20 players from a season ago while adding 19 newcomers (10 transfers and nine true freshmen). The squad consists of five seniors, nine juniors, nine sophomores, and 16 freshmen.

The roster features a strong in-state contingent, with 54% (21 players) from Ohio. But the Raiders also recruit well nationally, with 13 other states being represented in the roster. The other 13 states include California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.

UP NEXT
Wright State will continue its 10-game home stand Tuesday evening as Ohio State visits Dayton. First pitch at Nischwitz Stadium is currently slated for 5 p.m.

Raiders to open Horizon League play at Nischwitz Stadium

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Players Mentioned

Cam Allen

Abe Crall

Andrew Duncan

Patrick Fultz

Cam Gilkerson

Warren Hartzell

Chet Lax

Griffen Paige

Malachi Paplanus

JP Peltier

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