Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Wright State coach Alex Sogard had his staff over for a cookout on Memorial Day, the hope being that some postseason bonding would lessen the sting of an early exit from the Horizon League tourney.
As Sogard said: “We’ve been a wreck the last day or two. It’s hard. You pour everything into it all year to build a roster, and then you don’t accomplish what you want to. My heart breaks for the boys more than anything.”
The Raiders were bounced from the tourney with two straight losses to Milwaukee, which won the crown for the first time since 2010. But they showed plenty of fight in the final game Saturday, May 23 — both during a heated third-inning clash with the home-plate umpire and with their bats in the ninth.
Down to their last three outs, they lit up HL Reliever of the Year Camden Kuhnke for three runs to take a 4-3 lead, generating hope for a winner-take-all title game on Sunday, May 24. But that evaporated after giving up a two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth in a 5-4 loss.
“Sports can be cruel. Like I’ve always said, baseball can rip your heart out. Their starting pitcher (first-team all-league pick Gavin Theis) did such a good job. I give credit to Milwaukee. They beat us,” Sogard said.
But the eighth-year coach was moved by the uprising in the ninth, especially Cam Gilkerson coming through with a two-run single. He batted just .188 this season.
