Raiders set for business trip to Cincinnati Tuesday evening

Tuesday, March 31

Cincinnati OH

6 PM

Wright State University

Cincinnati

Photo by: Addyson Olsen

Raiders set for business trip to Cincinnati Tuesday evening

3/30/2026 6:00:00 PM | Baseball

DAYTON- The Wright State baseball team (11-13, 5-1 HL) will take a short business trip down to the Queen City Tuesday evening to face off against in-state rival Cincinnati. First pitch at UC Baseball Stadium is slated for 6 p.m.

The game will be available to stream on ESPN+, and live stats will also be provided.

GAME INFORMATION
Tuesday, Mar. 31 – WATCH (ESPN+) | LIVE STATS

PROJECTED STARTERS
Tuesday- JJ Thompson, LHP

HISTORY VS. CINCINNATI
Wright State and Cincinnati will meet for the 90th time Tuesday evening, a series the Raiders lead 48-40-1 all-time. Last season, the Raiders and Bearcats met at Prasco Park, with Wright State coming out on top 10-3, advancing to and winning the championship game against Xavier.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Cincinnati sports a 20-10 record this season and has a 4-5 mark in Big 12 Conference play. The Bearcats are coming off a home series loss to Kansas last weekend; Cincinnati opened the weekend with a 5-0 win before dropping the next two games 2-8 and 6-13.

The Bearcats feature five hitters batting above .300, led by Derrick Pitts, who is hitting an impressive .368 on the season. Quinton Coats provides the power for the Bearcats' offense with his nation-leading 19 home runs. Coats has four more round-trippers than any other player in D1 Baseball. Wright State will face off against former Raider Conlan Daniel, who started 33 games last season in Green and Gold.

LAST TIME OUT
Wright State dropped its series final against Oakland 10-7 in 10 innings Sunday afternoon.

Wright State (11-12, 5-0 HL) will be back in action Tuesday evening on the road at Cincinnati. First pitch in the Queen City is slated for 6 p.m. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+, and live stats will also be provided.

After two scoreless frames, Oakland would open the scoring in the top of the third with a pair of RBI singles.

The Raiders would respond in the bottom half of the inning with two runs of their own. Zac Butler would come in to score on a throwing error by the Oakland shortstop, and Andrew Duncan would tie the game with an RBI single later in the inning.

Oakland would get two more runs in the top of the fourth, but Wright State would respond with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Braylen Blomquist would bring in the Raiders' third run of the game, roping an RBI double out to the gap in left center, and then came in to score on a Ca. Gilkerson bases loaded hit by pitch. Hunter Warren would give the Raiders the lead with a sacrifice fly to give the Raiders a 5-4 lead.

Both squads would go quiet during the fifth and sixth innings before Oakland took the lead with three runs in the top of the seventh inning.

Wright State would once again tie the game in the bottom of the seventh with Patrick Fultz coming in to score on a wild pitch and Blomquist serving his second RBI base hit to the outfield, this time a single out to centerfield.

The two teams would once again go quiet during the eighth and the ninth to send the game to extra innings. Oakland would kick off the bonus baseball in a big way, striking for three runs in the tenth inning. The Golden Grizzlies would then sit the Raiders down in order in the bottom of the tenth to take the series finale.

Chet Lax got the start on the mound for the Raiders, pitching 4.2 innings with three strikeouts before turning the ball over to the bullpen. JJ Thompson, Cooper Ashby, Cooper Gilkerson, Michael Bilo, and Evan Boeckmann combined for the final 5.1 innings, striking out three Oakland batters.

HOT START TO THE HORIZON LEAGUE
Wright State has once again started conference play hot with a 5-1 record after its first two series against Milwaukee and Oakland. This record matches what the Raiders did a season ago, a campaign that saw the Raiders go 25-5 in conference play to clinch their seventh consecutive regular-season title.

HOME COOKING
After starting the season with 13 of its first 14 games coming away from the friendly confines of Nischwitz Stadium, Wright State has played 10-consecutive games at home, going 6-4 in that stretch. But their stretch in southern Ohio isn't done yet, with a quick road trip to Cincinnati on Tuesday before hosting rival NKU in Dayton for a three-game series starting Thursday afternoon. Following the Easter holiday, the Raiders will remain in the area as they participate in the Joe Nuxhall Classic at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio, starting April 7. Wright State will then open the road portion of its 2026 conference campaign at Youngstown State April 10-12.

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

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 return home to Nischwitz Stadium as the rival Northern Kentucky Norse visit Dayton for a three-game set. Due to the Easter holiday, the Raiders and Norse will meet at 3 p.m. Thursday, 3 p.m. Friday, and 2 p.m. on Saturday.