Wright State clinches 11th Horizon League Championship, earning trip to NCAA baseball tournament

The Raiders defeated Milwaukee twice on Saturday to win the Horizon League Championship and secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

For the 11th time in program history, the Wright State University baseball team won the Horizon League Championship, after defeating the Milwaukee Panthers twice on Saturday, May 24, at Nischwitz Stadium.

With the pair of wins, the Raiders claimed the tournament title and secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

The Raiders are headed to the Nashville Regional as the No. 4 seed and will face No. 1 overall seed Vanderbilt in the opening game of the regional on Friday, May 30. Also competing in the four-team bracket are No. 2 seed Louisville and No. 3 seed East Tennessee State.

Navigating the double-elimination bracket

After losing to Milwaukee on the second day of the Horizon League Tournament, Wright State dropped into the losers’ bracket of the double-elimination format.

From there, the Raiders knocked off Northern Kentucky to earn a rematch against Milwaukee in the championship round.

With the Panthers entering Saturday unbeaten in the tournament, the Raiders needed to win twice to claim the title. They did exactly that, taking Game 1 decisively before clinching the league championship in a shutout victory in Game 2.

Championship Game 2: Wright State 2, Milwaukee 0

Senior Jarrett Heilman and freshman J.J. Thompson combined for a shutout performance in the decisive game. Heilman struck out six over 5.1 innings, and Thompson entered in a high-pressure situation to record the final 11 outs in dominant fashion.

The Raiders struck early, scoring in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by JP Peltier after an error and a passed ball. An insurance run came in the fifth on Patrick Fultz’s RBI single that brought home Conlan Daniel.

Milwaukee threatened in the sixth, putting two runners on with one out, but Thompson induced an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play. He went on to strike out five while allowing just one hit and one walk over 3.2 innings.

Championship Game 1: Wright State 13, Milwaukee 4

In the must-win opener, Wright State’s offense exploded. Third baseman Patrick Fultz went 5-for-5, scoring five runs and driving in three. He started the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning.

Though Milwaukee answered with a run in the bottom half, the Raiders responded with six unanswered runs, fueled by Boston Smith’s two-run double and later a triple.

Starter Chet Lax settled in after a shaky first inning and delivered eight-plus strong innings, giving up just three runs while striking out seven. Mychal Grogan came in to finish it, striking out the side to force the winner-take-all Game 2.

Tournament honors

Patrick Fultz was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after going 8-for-9 in the two championship games, scoring six runs and driving in four. He was joined on the All-Tournament Team by shortstop Luke Arnold, catcher Boston Smith and pitcher Chet Lax.