4 days ago
Wright St. upsets No. 1-seed Vanderbilt in NCAA Regional
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WDTN) – Wright State baseball advanced to its first NCAA Regional Final after upsetting overall No. 1-seed Vanderbilt in Sunday's elimination game. The Raiders beat the Commodores 5-4 to end their season.
This marks the first time since the inception of the NCAA Regional format that the No. 1 seed did not make the regional final. It's also the first time since 2016 that the nation's top seed did not advance to Super Regionals.
Wright State jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning after an RBI base hit by Gus Gregory and back-to-back home runs by Boston Smith and Luke Arnold. Smith's home run was his 26th of the season and third of the weekend, increasing his Horizon League single-season home run record that he set in Friday's loss to Vanderbilt.
Griffen Paige pitched a dime against the nation's top team, going eight innings, allowing just one hit and two runs with three strikeouts. Paige was relieved in the top of the ninth inning after walking his first batter.
Warren Hartzell was brought in to close for Wright State with one out and runners on second and third. Vanderbilt scored three runs in the final frame to pull within a run before Hartzell induced a fly-out to end the game.
With the win, the Raiders advanced to their first NCAA Regional Final appearance since 2016. Wright State will face Louisville, which has not lost yet this weekend.
The Raiders and Cardinals square off at 9 p.m. Sunday. A Louisville win sends the Raiders home for the season, while a Wright State win forces a second if-necessary regional final on Monday at a time TBD.
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