The Horizon League Men’s Baseball Championship began on Wednesday, May 20, and concluded on Saturday, May 23at Nischwitz Stadium. The tournament featured upsets, weather delays, ejections and dramatic endings as five teams battled for the championship title.
The championship included seven games, with game one beginning after a three-hour weather delay, as No. 5 seed Oakland University (OU) defeated No. 4 seed Youngstown State 10-2 and sent the Penguins home.
Game two began on May 21, with No. 2 seed Milwaukee (MKE) dominating No. 3 seed Northern Kentucky University (NKU) 14-2, setting the tone for their championship run.
Wright State University (WSU) began its first game and won against OU in game three of the championship with a final score of 7-5.
Michael Harrison, a WSU student and baseball fan, shares his support for the team.
“I love Wright State baseball, and I love this team. We’ve been doing really well, and I was ready to come out and support the guys," Harrison said.
NKU was sent home next, falling 5-3 to the OU Grizzlies in game four.
Due to another weather delay, game five was rescheduled to 9 a.m., where MKE would then again secure a win and give them a spot in the Horizon League Championship with two runs in the final inning and a final score of 4-1, taking down the No. 1 seed WSU.
WSU was not ready to go home just yet as they fired back, eliminating the Grizzlies with an eight-run inning, setting up the Raiders with a rematch against the MKE Panthers in the championship game.
James Moon, a HoriZone writer and WSU alumnus, gives his thoughts on the Raiders making another championship appearance yet again.
“This is [WSU's] eighth straight regular season conference title, and they have been what I call the bullies of the conference for a little over the last decade,” Moon said.
Championship Game
WSU took that eight-run momentum into this championship, giving them a run in the second inning.
That momentum was then lost as outfielder Andrew Duncan was ejected from the game, firing up head coach Alex Sogard. Sogard was tossed directly after an altercation between him and the umpire.
This shook up the Raiders' performance, and the Panthers capitalized on this, taking the lead with a score of 3-1. WSU responded, taking a 4-3 lead, but MKE answered once again with a last-minute walk-off home run to secure them as the 2025-2026 Horizon League Men’s Baseball Champions.
Associate Head Coach Jordan Chiero gave his thoughts on the game.
“I don’t want to speak for him, but Sogard was protecting one of his guys,” Chiero said.
Chiero explains how these circumstances do not happen often.
“He doesn’t lose his cool ever. For him to do something like that, he must’ve felt like we all felt, that the umpire tossed Andrew for a reason that wasn’t warranted,” Chiero said.
WSU last won the Horizon League in the 2024-2025 season. Despite the loss, WSU battled it out and remained competitive through weather delays and adversity in the big game.
