Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Wright State seemed to have left the media at the Nashville regional in a state of disbelief — not only that No. 1 overall seed Vanderbilt had been knocked out of the NCAA tourney, but that it was the Raiders who dealt the finishing blow.
Because of the immense talent gap, few expected the Commodores to have much trouble advancing to the championship round. They were ranked first nationally in the RPI, while Louisville was 32nd, East Tennessee State 36th and Wright State 98th.
They’ve also won three of the last six SEC tourneys.
But the Horizon League champs were undaunted. They had a pair of tension-stuffed games with the host Commodores, losing, 4-3, Friday night after taking a 3-0 lead into the seventh inning, and winning, 5-4, Sunday afternoon after taking a 5-1 lead into the ninth.
The Raiders — who finished 2-2 in the regional with a 6-0 loss Sunday night to champion Louisville — had a pair of spiffy starts against Vandy by first-team all-league pitcher Cam Allen and unheralded lefty Griffen Paige, who combined to give up one hit and two runs in 14 innings.
“Baseball is a unique game. If you get a pitcher that’s on, they can shut down any lineup,” coach Alex Sogard said after perhaps the biggest win in program history.
