Baseball takes series from Penn State

It turns out all the Raiders needed to lift their spirits was a trip to Happy Valley.

Wright State (12-16) won two of three games at Penn State last weekend and claimed their first series victory of the season.

WSU tamed the Nittany Lions with timely hitting and solid pitching in the first two games. On Friday, starter Casey Henn led off the series with seven shutout innings. The Raider bats woke up in the sixth with a Garret Gray RBI single, and the team added two more runs behind a Gray sacrifice fly.

But their 3-0 lead evaporated in the bottom of the eighth inning. Reliever Cody Kopilchack gave up three walks and failed to record an out. PSU capitalized on his lack of control and used a WSU error to tie the game.

In the top of the eleventh, the Raiders broke through with four runs behind infielder Cody Gardner’s two run single. Starter Taylor Braun closed out the game and earned his first save. Outfielder Kieston Greene led the Raiders with four hits in the 7-4 win.

WSU carried momentum over to Saturday with a 6-2 victory. The Raiders came out strong with two runs off RBI doubles from first baseman Kody Krizman and third baseman Michael Timm. They pushed their lead to 4-1 in the third with another Timm RBI and a PSU error. From there, WSU starter Joey Hoelzel (seven innings, one run) held on for the win.

But WSU’s fortune faded on Sunday when the Nittany Lions pulled out the rubber match with an 11-3 win. PSU spoiled Braun’s start with five runs in the first two innings, and the WSU bullpen couldn’t slow the surge. Gardner finished with two hits for the Raiders, but the rest of the team managed only five combined hits.

The Raiders left Penn State with a loss, but the series victory gives WSU six wins in their last 11 games. After a slow start to the season, the Raiders are putting together results ahead of next month’s Horizon League tournament.