DAYTON — The Wright State baseball program secured a 14-0 shutout over Dayton in its home opener on Tuesday afternoon at Nischwitz Stadium. The Raiders extended their win streak to 17 games against the Flyers, dating back to the 2009 season.
Wright State's
Sam Wirsing (1-0),
Garret Simpson,
Tristan Haught,
Alex Theis, and
Justin Hornschemeier combined for the nine-hit shutout. Wirsing made his first start of the 2022 campaign, limiting Dayton (7-4) to no runs on four hits and two walks in 4.2 innings of work. The Raiders (2-8) bullpen scattered five hits over the remaining 4.1 innings. Overall, the pitching staff struck out six batters while allowing four walks.
Five different Raiders recorded multi-hit performances, led by
Zane Harris, who went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three runs batted in.
Sammy Sass and
Andrew Patrick batted 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs, while
Gehrig Anglin was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
Justin McConnell reached base a team-leading four times on three walks and a single.
WSU was aggressive of the base paths with a season-high six stolen bases. McConnell and Patrick paced the charge with two steals apiece. Defensively, the Raiders totaled 14 assists compared to just one fielding error. Patrick saved a run in the first inning by throwing out UD's Marcos Pujols at home.
The midweek contest was a pitchers' duel early on, as both teams were scoreless after four innings of action.
Jay Luikart reached on a fielding error in the fifth inning. Patrick brought him home on a single to left field, providing the Raiders with a 1-0 advantage.
A 10-run sixth inning anchored the victory for WSU. The Raiders batted around in the scoring burst, bringing 14 batters to the plate en route to ten runs on eight hits and three walks. Harris tallied a pair of RBI hits in the frame, while Patrick,
Julian Greenwell, and Anglin drove in two runs apiece.
WSU pushed its lead to 14-0 in the top of the seventh inning, as Sass drilled a two-run single followed by another RBI double off the bat of Harris.
Dayton stranded 13 runners on base, including two or more in the second, third, fifth, eighth, and ninth innings. Starting pitcher Anthony Hattrup (1-1) received the loss despite holding WSU to one run, unearned, on two hits while striking out five. The Flyer bullpen was tagged 13 runs in just 3.1 innings.
The Raiders will continue their eight-game homestand on Thursday, March 10, versus Indiana State. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
