DAYTON, Ohio - The Golden Grizzlies fell this afternoon, 5-4, as the Wright State Raiders evened up the series at one apiece at Nischwitz Stadium.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (11-15, 3-5 HL) were led by Aidan Orr who led the team with two RBI, while both Reggie Bussey and Brandon Heidal knocked down a pair of hits for a team-high. Oakland utilized only two pitchers, as Sean Fekete struck out a pair in 3.2 innings, while Shane McAlinden closed out the game and struck two out as well with just one earned in 4.1 innings.
 
The Raiders (14-12, 5-3 HL) saw seven players record a hit and three with a pair, as Jay Luikart led the team with two RBI. The team threw four pitchers as Garrett Peters struck out eight in 4.1 innings pitched.
 
It wasn't until the second inning where either team saw action across the plate, as the Golden Grizzlies had two outs with no one on. Heidal singled through to right field, as Carter Hain followed suit with one towards left. Orr cleaned up as he teetered a ball down the right field line and sped his way towards third for a two-run triple and an early lead. He was left stranded, as the Raiders answered with a lead-off solo home run to cut the lead to one.
 
The following inning, however, Bussey and Brandon Nigh were patient at the plate as they both drew a walk, with just one strike between the two, as Lucas Day was due up at the dish and tallied an extra base hit towards the gap which brought Nigh home. The two-run lead was short lived though as the Raiders answered in the bottom of the frame to even things up at three.
 
The Raiders grabbed its first lead of the game with a solo home run in the fourth, but the Golden Grizzlies settled the game down as it left a pair of Raider runners stranded on the pads. The game continued to go back-and-forth as Sam Griffith and Bussey both found themselves in scoring position, where Nigh sent a soft single towards first as Griffith sped home to tie it at four.
 
Oakland only tallied a pair of its during its next trio of at-bats and held the Raiders to one until the bottom of the eighth where it took the lead off a lead-off home run for a slight 5-4 lead. The Golden Grizzlies looked to make a late comeback as Orr was on the pads with one out, but the Raiders finished the game to even the series and take the tight win, 5-4.
 
The Golden Grizzlies were outhit by the Raiders, 10-8, as Oakland was perfect on the field and committed no errors. Both teams only left a handful of runners stranded as the difference maker in the game were Wright State's three home runs and three doubles, as Oakland only had two extra base hits. On the bump, the Raiders tallied 11 strikeouts while the Golden Grizzlies had four.
 
The Golden Grizzlies return to the diamond tomorrow (March 30) for the rubber match as the team looks to take the series against the Raiders, with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m. ET.