Wright State prepares for NCAA Baseball Championship

May 30, 2006

May 30, 2006

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NCAA Championship -- Corvallis, Ore. Regional:
(Oregon State University, host)

Friday, June 2
Gm. 1 -- (#2) Kansas vs. (#3) Hawaii, 3 p.m.
Gm. 2 -- (#1) Oregon State vs. (#4) Wright State, 8 p.m.

Saturday, June 3
Gm. 3 -- Losers of Friday games, 4 p.m.
Gm. 4 -- Winners of Friday games, 9 p.m.

Sunday, June 4
Gm. 5 -- Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 4 p.m.
Gm. 6 -- Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 9 p.m.

Monday, June 5 (if necessary)
Gm. 7 -- Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 5 p.m.

(ALL TIMES EASTERN)

Regional Sites (hosts) in bracket order:
Clemson, S.C. (Clemson)
Fayetteville, Ark. (Arkansas)
Lexington, Ky. (Kentucky)
Atlanta, Ga. (Georgia Tech)
Fullerton, Calif. (Cal State Fullerton)
Malibu, Calif. (Pepperdine)
Chapel Hill, N.C. (North Carolina)
Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Alabama)
Houston, Texas (Rice)
Norman, Okla. (Oklahoma)
Charlottesville, Va. (Virginia)
Athens, Ga. (Georgia)
Lincoln, Neb. (Nebraska)
University, Miss. (Mississippi)
Corvallis, Ore. (Oregon State)
Austin, Texas (Texas)

Future Dates:

June 9-12
Super Regionals (best-of-three series), sites and times TBA

June 16-26
College World Series, at Omaha, Neb. (Rosenblatt Stadium)

Raiders make first NCAA appearance in 12 years
Wright State won its first Horizon League title since 1995, outscoring its opponents 52-5 in winning four tournament games on its home field. The Raiders, who entered the loop summit as the third seed, advance into the NCAA Championship with a 32-25 overall record.

WSU collected 69 hits and batted .448 as a team in the League Championship. The hit total included a tournament-record 26 in a 20-3 drubbing of UW-Milwaukee on Thursday, eclipsing the previous one-game standard of 23 which the Raiders matched one day earlier in handing Cleveland State a 16-1 setback. Championship MVP Ross Oeder hit .650 (13-for-20) in four games, leading a group of six Raiders on the All-Tournament team.

Not to be outdone, the Wright State pitching staff allowed only five earned runs on 27 hits in 36 innings for a 1.25 ERA. Raider pitchers held opponents to a .216 batting average, led by Robert Barrett's 13 innings of shutout, eight-hit ball. Junior closer Joe Smith wasn't needed until the championship game, when the right-hander pitched the final four frames to record his League-leading 13th save of the year.

Smith did not allow a run in 32.1 innings against Horizon League foes this season, while striking out 40 batters to claim Horizon League Pitcher of the Year honors. The four-inning save was his second of the season for the Stopper of the Year candidate.

For the season, Oeder's .379 batting average puts him fourth on the Horizon League charts, while his .468 on-base percentage is third-best in the League. Oeder has 78 hits including five triples (second on that list), while his nine stolen bases tie him for fourth place on the League charts. He also ranks among the League leaders in runs scored (seventh with 48) and walks (ninth with 23).

Wright State relied on its pitching and defense, ranking second behind regular-season champion UIC in both areas with a 4.46 ERA and a .965 fielding percentage. Barrett shares the League lead with nine victories this season, compiling a 9-3 record with a 2.52 ERA which ranks second only to UIC's Zach Peterson (2.42) among loop pitchers. Barrett has fanned 61 batters (fifth in the League) in 82 innings and held opponents to a circuit-low .226 batting average this season.

Smith's 62 strikeouts (sixth on the League charts) have come in 52 innings, a rate of 10.73 K's per nine frames. Smith boasts an unblemished 3-0 record to go with those 13 saves, allowing only four earned runs for a 0.69 ERA. He has allowed only 31 hits in holding opponents to a .171 batting average.

Junior Erich Schanz has six victories and a 3.79 ERA, ranking sixth in each category on the League charts. His 52 strikeouts are tenth among Horizon League pitchers.

Wright State won the Mid-Continent Conference championship in 1994 to represent that group in the NCAA summit, where the Raiders defeated North Carolina State 14-12 before falling to Arizona State 7-4 and dropping a rematch to NCSU (10-6) in elimination action.

WSU moved into the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (later renamed the Horizon League) the following year and captured the pennant in its debut campaign. The Raiders lost a play-in series to Troy State, getting swept 16-7 and 6-5.

Horizon League Championship MVP

Ross Oeder, Wright State
Junior * 2B * Sandusky, Ohio
Oeder paced WSU's record-setting performance at the Horizon League Championship, batting .650 (13-for-20) with eight runs scored and four driven in. Two of those RBI came in the second inning of the championship game as Wright State defeated Butler 4-1 to win the program's first League title since 1995. Oeder matched a tournament standard with five hits in the Raiders' first game---a 16-1 victory over Cleveland State---and added four more in a 20-3 rout of second-seeded UW-Milwaukee.

Other Performances by All-Tournament Team Selections

Amin Abusaleh, Wright State
Senior * OF * West Hills, Calif.
Abusaleh batted .556 (10-for-18) with six runs scored and tied for tournament honors with seven RBI in four games. He had three hits in each of WSU's first three tournament contests, including a 3-for-5 effort with a double, a homer and three RBI versus UW-Milwaukee.

Robert Barrett, Wright State
Senior * RHP * Sacramento, Calif.
Barrett went 2-0 with a perfect 0.00 ERA in the League Championship, allowing only six hits and striking out eight batters. He permitted only three baserunners (two hits and a walk) in five innings versus Cleveland State, and came back with eight innings of six-hit ball to defeat Butler on Saturday.

Jeff Brown, Butler
Senior * 2B * Speedway, Ind.
Brown went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI in the Bulldogs' first victory over UIC on Friday. The senior was stellar in the field, committing only one error in 36 chances in the field and playing a key role in the Butler infield which turned six double plays in reaching the championship game.

Rob Brockel, UW-Milwaukee
Junior * OF * Pewaukee, Wis.
Brockel batted .714 with six RBI in three games during the tournament. He homered and drove in three runs to lead UWM past Cleveland State, 8-3, on Friday, then collected two hits and two RBI in three at-bats against UIC later that evening. His .778 on-base percentage included a pair of walks.

Brian Deter, Butler
Sophomore * RHP * Indianapolis, Ind.
Deter posted a win and a save in the Bulldogs' two victories against regular-season champion UIC. He allowed one run on five hits over seven innings while striking out four as BU defeated the Flames, 6-4, on Friday, and came back the next day to close out an 8-6 triumph, pitching one scoreless inning.

Aaron Garcia, Wright State
Senior * C * Moorpark, Calif.
Garcia had nine hits in 18 at-bats, scoring six times and driving in six runs. Garcia started the week with a 3-for-4 effort with three runs scored against Cleveland State followed by three more hits, two runs and two RBI versus UW-Milwaukee. He added three RBI with two hits in the first game against Butler.

Stephen Gill, Butler
Senior * OF * Merrillville, Ind.
Gill batted .476 (10-for-21) with three runs scored to lead BU into the title game. He went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored in the first victory over UIC, and came back with four hits in the rematch. Gill also made two outstanding catches in right field, helping BU come from behind in its first two victories.

Jeremy Hamilton, Wright State
Freshman * 1B * Cincinnati, Ohio
Hamilton drove in six runs with his 6-for-12 showing at the plate. The highlight of his week came with a 4-for-6 effort including a triple, two runs scored and three RBI as the Raiders defeated UW-Milwaukee, 20-3, on Thursday. He also walked five times in posting a .611 on-base percntage.

Ted Rosinski, UIC
Senior * OF * Wilmette, Ill.
Rosinski hit .545 (6-for-11) in three tournament games, driving in five runs. Three of those RBI came on a 440-foot blast versus UW-Milwaukee, part of a 3-for-4 effort in the Flames' 14-6 victory on Friday. He also had two hits and an RBI in the second loss to Butler on Saturday.

Justin Wilson, Wright State
Senior * OF * Greenville, Ohio
Wilson had seven hits in 17 at-bats, driving in seven runs for the Raiders. He went 3-for-6 with three RBI versus Cleveland State, and opened the scoring in the championship contest with his second-inning homer. That shot propelled Wright State past Butler, 4-1, for WSU's first League title since 1995.