Baseball in Fort Wayne | Photo by Stephen Hopkins | The Wright State Guardian
The Wright State University baseball team hit the road for another conference three-game series at Purdue Fort Wayne this past weekend. WSU was coming off a series sweep of NKU and looking to keep their momentum alive in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Series opener
WSU took the first game of the series by a score of 5-3 on Friday afternoon at Mastodon Field. Starting Pitcher Jake Shirk posted his second straight victory, giving up three runs and five hits over six and two-thirds innings. Shirk also recorded seven strikeouts for the Raiders.
Trailing 1-0 in the fifth inning, WSU took the lead with a two-RBI single by Zane Harris. The Raiders added one more run with an RBI single by Justin McConnell to lead 3-1 after five innings.
The Mastodons tied the game in the sixth with a two-RBI single.
Jay Luikart retook the lead for WSU after hitting an RBI-double to center for his second hit of the day. Julian Greenwell added an insurance run in the eighth inning with a solo home run to right field.
Raiders’ offense catches fire
WSU took a massive lead in game two early on, scoring once in the first, four in the second and 10 in the third.
The Mastodons trailed 15-6 after three innings and attempted to come back but WSU’s lead was too much for the Mastodons, ultimately falling 17-11.
For the Raiders, Alec Sayre led the offense, going 3-6 at the plate with a pair of home runs and a career-high seven RBIs.
Gehrig Anglin also went 3-6, with two runs scored. Both Justin Riemer and Julian Greenwell posted two RBIs from two base hits.
WSU showed how dynamic its offense is with the amount of versatility it possessed with four players having multi-hit performances. Along with their 12 hits, the Raiders also forced 11 walks and had 14 free bases total.
Garrett Simpson recorded his second victory of the season and WSU secured a series victory.
Raiders earn second consecutive sweep
On Sunday, WSU started early yet again, scoring seven in the first inning. After multiple throwing errors, Justin Riemer hit two runs in on a double down the right-field line to complete the scoring in the first.
Jay Luikart added another with a solo home run in the fourth inning.
In the fifth inning, Justin McConnell recorded an RBI on a groundout to make the score 9-1.
Sammy Sass scored from a fielder’s choice that resulted in Zane Harris reaching first.
To conclude the scoring for WSU, Justin McConnell posted his second and third RBI with a two-run home run in the seventh inning.
The Mastodons posted two late runs in the ninth but were unable to play to the same offensive caliber as WSU.
With the victory, Alex Theis got his second victory and WSU earned its second consecutive conference series sweep.
On the road again
Following a 7-4 loss in the Joe Nuxhall Classic to The University of Cincinnati on Wednesday, the Raiders will hit the road for a three-game, non-conference series against Bradley University.
Bradley holds an overall record of 8-15 and is coming off an 11 inning loss to Iowa.
The series will begin Saturday at 1 p.m. with a double-header against the Braves. WSU has won seven of their last eight and looks to keep up the offensive production as their season continues to roll.
