ROCHESTER, Mich. – Head coach Brian Nelson and the Oakland Golden Grizzlies are back in the Den for their final weekend homestand to host Wright State May 1-3 in Rochester. Action kicks off on Friday, May 1 at 3 p.m. ET. Ryan Cuddy will have the call on Friday and Saturday, while Matt Kibby will broadcast the action on Sunday on ESPN+.
The Golden Grizzlies dropped a seven-inning battle down I-75 against Toledo, 18-8, in their lone midweek contest of the week.
Oakland battled back from an early deficit and plated six runs in the seventh inning, but Toledo held on for an 18-8 victory at Scott Park. Carter Hain highlighted the comeback effort with a two-run home run and finished with two hits, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Jack Lux added two hits and two runs, while Aidan Schuck drove in two runs as the Golden Grizzlies totaled nine hits and four stolen bases.
OU topped both in-state Big Ten opponents in midweeks this season for the first time since 2016. The Golden Grizzlies beat Michigan in an exciting comeback, 7-6, on March 24 before taking care of Michigan State in East Lansing, 11-9, on April 9.
The Golden Grizzlies are fourth in the Horizon League with a team batting average of .267, as junior Ben Clark leads OU with a .333 average with 47 hits in 141 plate appearances. From the mound, freshman Ben Green leads the Oakland starters with a 5.80 ERA in nine appearances, drawing up 29 strikeouts and a win.
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
After dropping a midweek against Miami (OH), Alex Sogard and the Raiders sit at 19-22, posting a 12-3 record in the league, losing a series against Milwaukee. The hot offense for WSU is led by Keegan Holmstrom batting .373 and Hunter Warren with 59 hits on the season. The Raider bullpen is led by Sunday starter Lefty Chet Lax who dawns a 3.45 ERA and 47 strikeouts.
Meeting in March for the first set of the series in Dayton, the Golden Grizzlies gave Wright State their first Horizon League loss of the season, going 1-2 in the series. Oakland opened the Horizon League road series with a 12-4 loss in game one, as the Raiders used a big middle innings surge to pull away. In game two, the Golden Grizzlies were competitive throughout but Wright State again came out on top to secure the series. Oakland answered in the finale with one of its strongest performances of the weekend, earning a 10-7 victory in 10 innings. After battling back late to force extras, the Golden Grizzlies erupted for three runs in the top of the 10th and held off Wright State in the bottom half to claim the win.
How to Follow Oakland Baseball: For complete information on Oakland Baseball, follow the team on X at @OaklandBSB and head coach Brian Nelson at @CoachNelly11. The team is also on Instagram.
