WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- The Wayne State University baseball team (2-6) began play in the RussMatt Invitational on Friday with a doubleheader against Minnesota Duluth (7-5).  The Warriors took game one 12-4 powered by 12 hits before falling in game two, 14-5.

WSU is scheduled to play eight games in Florida over spring break.

GAME ONE vs. MINNESOTA DULUTH (W, 12-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Wayne State scored first in the top of the first inning.  Griffin Harms (Bingham Farms, Mich. / Birmingham Groves) drew a lead-off walk and Justin Kelly (Wheaton, Ill. / Wheaton Warrenville South) followed with a single up the middle. A throwing error by the center fielder allowed Harms to come around to score.  Despite three walks, Jared Tobey (St. Clair, Mich.) (1-0) kept the Bulldogs quiet in the first two innings.  Kelly connected for WSU's first home run of the season, a three-run shot to left field, extending the Warriors' lead to 4-0 in the top of the third inning.  UMD began the bottom of the third inning with back-to-back singles and then a walk to load the bases.  The Bulldogs got on the board with a fielder's choice RBI and an error cut WSU's lead to 4-2.

- UMD scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game at 4-4.  WSU scored eight runs over the final three innings including four in the top of the seventh.  An RBI single from Justin Sherman (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Pioneer) and a two-run double from Jeremy Carrell (St. Clair, Mich.) highlighted the big inning.  Nolan Dill (Bowling Green, Ohio) tossed the final two 1/3 innings to earn his first collegiate save.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
- Kelly drove in four runs, Carrell plated three runs and Sherman added two RBI.
- Eight Warriors notched hits.

ON THE MOUND
- Tobey collected the win by pitching four 2/3 innings, struck out one while walking seven batters.
- Dill struck out four and allowed two hits.

GAME TWO vs. MINNESOTA DULUTH (L, 5-14)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Bulldogs started the second game of the double-dip with two runs in the top of the first inning.  A Warrior error helped the inning continue.  Wayne State responded quickly with two runs in the bottom of the opening frame.  An UMD error and an RBI single from Kelly produced the game-tying runs.  Another error and five Minnesota Duluth hits helped the visitors score four runs in the top of the third inning to take a 6-2 lead.

- Another Bulldog error and a Sherman single produced two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, pulling WSU within two runs (6-4).  UMD scored a run in the fifth and exploded for seven runs in the seventh inning to open up a 14-4 advantage.  A Harms single in the bottom of the seventh was how the Warriors scored their fifth and final run.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
- Harms was the only Warrior to record a multiple-hit game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.

ON THE MOUND
- Wayne State used four pitchers in game two.  Chris Horvath (Lakeshore, Ont.) (0-3) who tossed five innings and allowed five earned runs on nine hits.
- Nick Cowen (Tecumseh, Mich.), JT Conti (Trenton, Mich.) and Brendan Wetmore (Westland, Mich. / John Glenn) combined to pitch the final two innings.

UP NEXT
- WSU will meet Ashland on Saturday in a nine-inning, non-conference game with first pitch scheduled for 12:30 p.m.