MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee heads to Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton, Ohio this weekend for a three-game Horizon League series against the Wright State Raiders.
 
The series at Wright State will begin at 2:00 p.m. (CT) on Friday, followed by a 1:00 p.m. (CT) start on Saturday, and an 12:00 p.m. (CT) series finale on Sunday. Live stats will be available with links found on MKEPanthers.com. 
 
THE MATCHUPS & GAME LINKS
March 20-22 | Milwaukee at Wright State | Nischwitz Stadium | Dayton, Ohio
Friday at 2:00 p.m. (CT) | Saturday at 1:00 p.m. (CT) | Sunday at 12:00 p.m. (CT) | Live Stats | Follow Along (on X)
 
LEADING OFF
» After a 2-1 weekend at Northern Kentucky, Milwaukee heads back to the southern stretches of the Horizon League and will visit preseason favorite Wright State for a weekend series at Nischwitz Stadium
» The Panthers and Raiders will meet at 2:00 p.m. (CT) on Friday, followed by 1:00 p.m. (CT) on Saturday, and then a 12:00 p.m. (CT) first pitch on Sunday.
» Originally scheduled for Tuesday, Mar. 17, the Panthers were originally slated to play at Western Illinois, that game has been postponed and the teams are working on a potential make-up date in the future.
» The shifting of this weekend's series to Wright State will extend Milwaukee's season-opening road trip from a 20-game road swing to start the year to a 22-game road trip, extending the mileage from 7,840 miles to 8,076 miles to start the season before the Panthers' first scheduled home game.
» This past week, Milwaukee has a team hit just .273 this past week, led atop the lineup by Dominic Kibler (.462) and Dylan O'Connell (.429) over the four games. The Panthers outslugged their hosts by a 7-2 margin, including multi home-run weeks by John Hadley VI and Joey Spence.
» Gavin Theis was Milwaukee's most effective starter, allowing just one earned run over five innings in Friday's win over Northern Kentucky. Out of the bullpen, it was Camden Kuhnke who did not allow a run over 4 2/3 innings over three outings with five strikeouts.
» Wright State also got swept this past weekend by Southeast Missouri State. The Raiders lost to Indiana on the road in last week's midweek game.

QUICK LOOK AT WRIGHT STATE
Another season where Wright State is favored to win the Horizon League, the Raiders head to Franklin Field for their Horizon League-opening series against the Panthers after having their first of two weekend byes, left by the vacancy from Purdue Fort Wayne discontinuing baseball following the 2025 season.

Through non-league play, WSU is 5-12 and will host Milwaukee for three this weekend. Despite the record, Wright State boasts wins over No. 6 Georgia and No. 19 Tennessee, before dropping a non-league weekend series against Southeast Missouri at Nischwitz Stadium this past weekend.

Alex Sogard's group features a cast of returning players that includes Braylen Blomquist, Gus Gregory, Patrick Fultz, JP Peltier, Hunter Warren, Cam Gilkerson, and more in the lineup, while the pitching staff features some top names in the league as well including Chet Lax, Warren Hartzell, Griffen Paige, and Cam Allen.

Wright State leads the five-team Horizon League in multiple pitching categories including ERA (5.71), hits allowed per nine innings (9.10), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.29).

WRIGHT STATE – PLAYERS TO WATCH
Hunter Warren - .328 AVG, .997 OPS, 20 H, 3 2B, 4 HR, 9 RBIs, .574 SLG%, .424 OB%
Cy Turner - .296 AVG, .897 OPS, 16 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBIs, .500 SLG%, .397 OB%
JP Peltier - .226 AVG, .768 OPS, 14 H, 6 2B, 3 HR, 12 RBIs, .468 SLG%, .300 OB%

WRIGHT STATE – PITCHERS TO WATCH
Cam Allen – 0-3, 14.0 IP, 6.43 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 7 K, .204 B/AVG
Griffin Paige – 0-4, 20 2/3 IP, 7.40 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 16 K, .247 B/AVG
Chet Lax – 4-0, 24 IP, 2.25 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 20 K, .209 B/AVG

UP NEXT
Following the weekend series with the Raiders, the Panthers will host the Butler Bulldogs for a three-game series at Franklin Field from March 27-29. The Panthers will then host UIC to close out the month on March 31 against the Flames.

ON THESE DATES
March 17 – 6-11 Record; Streak: Lost 5; Last Win: 2018 vs. Youngstown State (12-4)
March 20 – 8-13 Record; Streak: Won 1; Last Win: 2022 vs. Penn State (12-0)
March 21 – 8-5 Record: Streak: Lost 1; Last Win: 2025 vs. Wright State (Game One: 10-8)
March 22 – 5-10 Record; Streak: Lost 2; Last Win: 2019 vs. Northern Kentucky (15-12)

COMEBACK WIN
Milwaukee erased an 8-0 first-inning deficit against Northern Kentucky on March 15, making it the second-largest comeback in the last 20 seasons dating back to the 2007 campaign. The largest comeback win over that span came on April 15, 2015, when the Panthers trailed Chicago State 10-1 midway through the fourth, and outscored the Cougars 14-1 the rest of the way including an 11-run seventh inning to overcome a nine-run deficit and earn a four-run win, 15-11.

HIT BY A PITCHER
Sotaro Ishida became the first pitcher to record a hit in a game with a double against Northern Kentucky on March 15, becoming the first player listed in the lineup as a pitcher at the time of their hit since Camden Kuhnke did so at Wright State on March 17, 2024, when he collected a single in the sixth inning after coming in to pitch in the fourth.

SIX RBIs IN A GAME
On March 15, Dylan O'Connell had six RBIs in the team's win over Northern Kentucky.

Last season Tyler Bickers and Thomas Otto each had six RBIs in games against Northern Illinois (April 29) and Northern Kentucky (March 28), while the last time a player had seven RBIs in a single game was Nate DeYoung in 2022 against Youngstown State (April 15). The program record for RBIs in a game is eight, done twice, once in 2006 by Ross McCoy, and again in 1999 by Todd Ludwig.

MULTI-HOME RUN GAME
Joey Spence had the 72nd occurrence in Panther history with multiple home runs in a game with two round-trippers on March 13 at Northern Kentucky.

Caden Headlee (May 17) and Thomas Otto (March 28) both did so in 2025 with two home runs in a game, while the program record is four home runs in a game by Todd Ludwig on March 17, 1999. Milwaukee has had just four occurrences of at least three home runs in a single game.

LONGEST GAMES SINCE 2004 (BY INNING)
Since 2004, Milwaukee has played just seven games beyond 12 innings of play and are 5-2 in those contests.
• March 20, 2016 at Illinois State – Win, 4-1 in 18 Innings
• March 15, 2026 at Northern Kentucky – Win, 16-10 in 14 Innings
• May 22, 2010 vs. Youngstown State – Win, 8-7 in 14 Innings
• May 21, 2008 vs. Cleveland State – Win, 10-7 in 14 Innings (Horizon Tournament)
• March 3, 2017 at Evansville – Win, 7-5 in 13 Innings
• May 16, 2024 vs. Wright State – Loss, 4-2 in 13 Innings
• May 15, 2008 vs. Youngstown State – Loss, 5-4 in 13 Innings (Miller Park)

POWER RACE
Milwaukee has slugged 18 home runs this season as a team, led by John Hadley VI and Dylan O'Connell with four each.

In terms of where the Panthers are getting their power from, here's the breakdown by class…
• Seniors: 4; 2 (Spence), 1 (Ross), 1 (Marion)
• Juniors: 7; 4 (O'Connell), 2 (Kibler), 1 (Holmes)
• Sophomores: 7; 4 (Hadley VI), 2 (Horn), 1 (Palkowski)
• Freshmen: 0

Milwaukee has had one grand slam this season, hit by Hadley VI in the opening game of the doubleheader at Duke (Feb. 21), while the Panthers have had one player with a multi-home run game with Joey Spence at Northern Kentucky (Mar. 13).

FIRST DIVISION I HITS
Six Panthers have already recorded their first career hits at the Division I level, S
• Ryan Lemm, February 15 at LSU (Single)
• Max Glusick, February 15 at LSU (Single)
• Peter Visconti II, March 4 at Minnesota (Single)
• Connor Bozak, March 6 at Southeast Missouri (Single)
• Connor Harvie, March 10 at Purdue (Single)
• Sotaro Ishida, March 15 at Northern Kentucky (Double)

THE THEIS IS RIGHT
Since the start of the 2025 season, Gavin Theis has been dominant for Milwaukee. He has recorded 59 strikeouts over 66 innings of work with a perfect 8-0 record in league games, while the Panthers are 10-1 in-league and 16-5 overall in games he started.

HOME RUNS IN A SEASON
Last season, Milwaukee hit 56 home runs, the third most in a season by a Panther squad since joining Division I in 1990-91. The program record is 77 home runs, set in 1999, while the second-most in a season was 74 in 2001.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Before its first home game on March 20 against Wright State, Milwaukee will travel a total of 7,840 miles, beginning on Feb. 13 against LSU and continuing through its season-opening 20-game road stretch.

The Panthers will begin the year with its longest of the road trip, as Franklin Field to Alex Box Stadium is 997 miles. The team's second trip, to Duke covers 871 miles. The "closest" trip for the Panthers during the 20-game stretch will be on March 10, when Milwaukee visits Purdue.

HOME COOKING
Over the last 21 seasons (2005-25), Milwaukee has taken "home field advantage" to another level, posting winning home records in all but two seasons (8-14 in 2022; 0-0 in 2020).

The Panthers went unbeaten at home in 2013 (13-0) and have posted three straight 12-7 home records in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

IN EXTRA INNINGS
In 2026, Milwaukee is 1-0 (1-3 in 2025) in extra-inning games and holds a 18-19-1 record in extra-inning contests dating back to the 2015.

PRESEASON POLL
The Horizon League preseason poll projected the Panthers to finish second with 18 points. Wright State was tabbed as preseason favorite with 24 points and four first-place votes. Northern Kentucky, Youngstown State, and Oakland round out the five-team league.

ON THE HORIZON
Northern Illinois will join the Horizon League on July 1, 2026, and become a full-time baseball member beginning with the 2027 season.

The addition of NIU replaces Purdue Fort Wayne, which announced it was discontinuing baseball and softball following the conclusion of the 2025 season. The Horizon League will be at five full-time baseball members in 2026 before returning to six in 2027.