Baseball to take on crosstown rival Dayton at Day Air Ballpark

Wednesday, April 15

Dayton, OH / Day Air Ballpark

7 PM

Wright State University

Dayton

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Photo by: Chase Cotner

Baseball to take on crosstown rival Dayton at Day Air Ballpark

4/14/2026 6:00:00 PM | Baseball

DAYTON- The Wright State baseball team (17-15, 11-1 HL) will face off against crosstown rival Dayton Wednesday night at Day Air Ballpark, the home of the Dayton Dragons. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m.

Wright State fans and baseball alumni will gather for a pregame Raider Rally at The Dayton Beer Company, steps from the ballpark. Doors will open at 5 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION
Wednesday, Apr. 15 – LIVE STATS

PROJECTED STARTER
Wednesday- JJ Thompson, LHP

HISTORY VS. DAYTON
Wednesday night's game will be the 138th meeting all-time between Wright State and Dayton, a series the Raiders lead 89-46-1 all-time. The two crosstown rivals last faced off in 2023 after last season's game at Day Air Ballpark was cancelled due to weather. In 2023, the Raiders and Flyers split the season series, with Dayton winning at Day Air Ballpark and the Raiders winning at Nischwitz Stadium.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS
Dayton enters Wednesday at 19-16 on the season, and 5-10 in conference play. The Flyers are coming off a 19-6 win on the Road at Bowling Green Tuesday afternoon. It is the second straight midweek victory for the Flyers after defeating Toledo 9-5 last week.

Danny MacDougall leads the Flyers' offense in a multitude of statistical categories, including batting average (.396), runs scored (41), doubles (19), total bases (88), and stolen bases (27). MacDougall's 19 doubles rank him second in Division 1 baseball.

LAST TIME OUT
The Raiders rode an offensive explosion to complete the weekend sweep of Youngstown State and improve to 11-1 in Horizon League play.

The Raiders did some damage at the plate Sunday, scoring a new season high 20 points on 21 hits, surpassing the previous mark they set Friday afternoon with 15 runs on 19 hits. Wright State would score in eight of the nine innings played today. The top five batters in the lineup combined for 17 of the Raiders' hits, all recording multiple hits on the afternoon, highlighted by five-hit days from Hunter Warren and Keegan Holmstrom. Warren also led the squad with six runs batted in on the day, followed by JP Peltier with four RBIs.

Wright State would open the scoring in the top of the first when Holmstrom would bring home Warren on an RBI single to center. Peltier would double the lead by coming home to score on an error by the Penguins pitcher on a pickoff attempt.

Youngstown State would answer back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first with a two-run homer off the bat of Ryan Schummer.

Warren would regain the lead for the Raiders with an RBI single through the left side that scored Cy Turner. Peltier would extend the Wright State lead in the top of the third with his first homer of the afternoon, and an opposite-field two-run blast over the wall in right.

The Penguins would respond with three runs of their own in the bottom of the third to tie the game up at five runs apiece.

Peltier would club his second home run of the day in the top of the fourth, another two-run blast this time over the wall in left. Andrew Duncan would drive home the third run of the inning with an RBI triple into the gap in right-center.

Warren would park his sixth homer of the season over the wall in left in the top of the fifth, a two-run shot that extended the Raider lead to 10-5.

The Raiders would get one run in the sixth when Peltier would come in to score on a groundout to the second baseman. Two more runs would come across to score in the seventh, thanks to a Warren sacrifice fly and an RBI single off the bat of Braylen Blomquist.

Youngstown State would hold Wright State scoreless in the top half of the eighth and then score a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame to cut the Raider lead down to 13-7.

Wright State had one more rally in its bats, scoring seven runs in the top of the ninth to score 20-plus points for the first time this season. Warren served a two-run single up the middle, Holmstrom and Duncan then roped back-to-back RBI singles through the infield. Cam Gilkerson capped off the inning with a three-run homer down the line in right. The homer is Gilkerson's second of the season.

The Penguins would bring one run across in the bottom of the ninth but were unable to start a big rally.

Chet Lax got the start on the mound for the Raiders and pitched five innings, allowing five runs while striking out four batters before turning the ball over to the bullpen. Brody Papay, Cooper Ashby, Michael Zielinski, Nate Shaw, and Evan Boeckmann combined to pitch the final four innings, striking out six Penguins.

#HLBASE BATTER OF THE WEEK
Wright State infielder Hunter Warren has been named the Horizon League Batter of the Week, the league office announced Monday

Warren was a force at the top of the Wright State batting order as the Raiders went 3-1 last week, including a sweep of Youngstown State over the weekend. The redshirt sophomore hit to the tune of a .524 batting average and slugged a whopping .905. Warren had 11 hits totaling 19 bases on the week with a pair of homers, while recording a team-high 11 RBIs. The infielder also showcased his speed on the base paths, going a perfect 3-3 in steal attempts.

Warren was especially spectacular in Sunday's sweep-clinching win over the Penguins, recording five hits, with four runs scored and six driven in.

This is the first weekly award of the season for the reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Year. Warren is the fourth Raider to be named the Batter of the Week, joining Keegan Holmstrom, JP Peltier, and Cy Turner. It is the fourth straight week a Raider has earned a Horizon League weekly honor, including sweeping the awards the last two weeks.

HOT START TO THE HORIZON LEAGUE
Wright State has once again started conference play hot with an 11-1 record after its first four series against Milwaukee, Oakland, Northern Kentucky, and Youngstown State. This record surpasses 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.

FLASHING THE LEATHER
Wright State has been one of the best defensive teams in the country in 2026, currently sporting a fielding percentage of 0.983. This ranks the Raiders 12th in the country and first in the Horizon League.

BECAUSE HE GETS ON BASE
Redshirt freshman Keegan Holmstrom has been a professional hitter at the dish in his first season for the Raiders. Holmstrom leads the team and the Horizon League in batting average and on-base percentage; both marks currently rank in the top 50 nationally. His .422 batting average ranks eighth in the country while his .505 on-base percentage places 41st nationally (as of April 13). Holmstrom is also one of the toughest batters to strike out in the country; his 10.0 strikeout average (nine strikeouts in 90 at-bats) ranks him 76th.

DOUBLES MACHINE
JP Peltier has been spraying extra base hits all over the field this season. The junior leads the team and the Horizon League in doubles. His 17 two-baggers also rank him fifth nationally.

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% of players (21) 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.