Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
The Wright State baseball team typically launches its season on the road against the best programs in the south. Part of that is to escape inclement weather and get games in, but the players also relish a chance to test themselves against top-tier talent.
“Our guys tend to thrive in those environments,” coach Alex Sogard said. “We kind of joke and say they’re like a pack of wild dogs. By the time the season starts, we’ve been inside all winter, and we get out there and turn them loose.”
The Raiders are showing they’re capable of matching up with anyone in the nation. Though their record is just 4-4, they’ve notched wins over three ranked teams: No. 10 Mississippi, No. 19 Oklahoma State and No. 9 East Carolina.
All three were NCAA tournament teams last year — as were the Raiders, who finished 39-17 overall, won the Horizon League for the third time in four years and finished eighth nationally in producing runs at 7.8 per game.
“Anytime we play the, quote-unquote, bigger teams, we like to step up for that challenge,” Sogard said. “We know we’re not going to win all of them, but it teaches us what our weaknesses are and what we need to work on.”
Sogard, who is in his first year as coach after being in charge of the pitchers the last two seasons, has a good handle on what he has among position players. The Raiders — a unanimous pick to win the league again — return six of eight starters, though they’ll have to replace conference player of the year Gabe Snyder.
Right-fielder Peyton Burdick is batting .414 and hit the team’s first three home runs this season in three games in Greenville, N.C., last weekend. He had a monster year in 2018 with a .347 average, nine homers and 65 RBIs.
