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DETROIT -- The Wayne State University baseball team (15-7, 4-3 GLIAC) will begin a busy week with a three-game series at Malone (10-12, 5-2 GLIAC) on Tuesday and Wednesday before hosting Northwood (9-9, 2-3 GLIAC) this weekend for three games.
GAME STORYLINES
WSU will look to continue its momentum gained from a Sunday sweep over Saginaw Valley.
Kyle Zimmerman allowed just one hit in game one while
Alex Kinch allowed three hits and threw just 68 pitches.The Warriors will attempt to slow down Malone's quick start as the Pioneers are 5-2 in the GLIAC.
SCOUTING MALONE
Malone enters the week at 10-12 overall and 5-2 in the GLIAC. The Pioneers are in the midst of their first postseason eligible season since joining the league. Head coach Tom Crank is in his 11th season with the team. Logan Gray is hitting .395 with 12 RBI to lead MU. Kyler King and Hayden Mobley are also hitting well above .340 for the season. As a team, the Pioneers are hitting .276. Branden Carey has two saves on the season with 0.77 ERA. Taylore Baker is 3-2 while Jack McDonald is 2-1 on the year while both lead the team with 24 strikeouts. As a staff, MU carries a 4.66 ERA with opponents hitting .263 off Pioneer pitchers.
SCOUTING NORTHWOOD
Northwood enters the week at 9-9 overall and 2-3 in the league. The Timberwolves have an even busier week than the Warriors as they play a doubleheader at Ohio Dominican on Monday, three games at Walsh on Tuesday and Wednesday before heading to Detroit for a three-game tilt. Head coach Joe Di Benedetto is in his 15th season as the T-Wolves skipper. He has collected 282 wins with NU. Larsen Cronkright is hitting .417 with 15 RBI to pace the Northwood offense. As a team, NU is hitting .297. The staff is lead by Jason Winbrey who is 0-3 despite his 1.53 ERA. Alex Lewandowski is 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA. Steven Latos leads the team with 24 punchouts. The NU staff carries a 4.80 ERA.
ALL-TIME SERIES
The Warriors lead the all-time series with Malone 3-0, with all the wins coming in the
Ryan Kelley era. The Green & Gold also lead the series with Northwood with a 75-41 advantage. Coach Kelley is 14-7 against the T-Wolves in his time at WSU. The Warriors have lost just once to NU at home under Coach Kelley.
LAST TIME OUT
The Warriors took both games on Sunday from Saginaw Valley to get their GLIAC record back over the .500 mark at 4-3.
Kyle Zimmerman and
Alex Kinch combined to throw 13 innings, allowing just four hits and no runs.
NEXT UP
After WSU hosts Northwood, Wayne State will host Urbana on Tuesday with first pitch set for 3 PM.
PRESEASON POLL
WSU was predicted to finish second in the GLIAC as voted on by the league's coaches during March 4th's release of the GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll. Last year's regular season and tournament champions Grand Valley were crowned the preseason champions after going 38-19 in 2013. The Lakers garnered 118 points and eight first-place votes. The Warriors collected 106 points and two first-place votes to finish second in the poll. Ashland also picked up two first-place votes to go with its 101 points. Ohio Dominican (90) and Saginaw Valley (74) rounded out the top five.
RUCH TAKES AIM AT HISTORY
Clayton Ruch has already collected eight saves this season, allowing just six hits over his 10 appearances. Ruch also picked up wins over Seton Hill and Ashland. Ruch needs one more save to match the program record of 19 held by Billy Hurley (2010-2012). Ruch is currently tied for second with Jon Venuto (1999-2002). He also has his sights set on the program's single-season record of 11 saves. He has not allowed a baserunner in six of his 10 outings. Opponents are hitting just .162 against the sidearmer In addition, Ruch leads the GLIAC and the nation with his eight saves. The top two save totals in the GLIAC are held by Brad Zambron (GVSU) with 16 in 2012 and 13 in 2013.
WARRIOR SKIPPER
Ryan Kelley, who served six seasons on the Warriors' staff including three as WSU's pitching coach prior to being named head coach in September 2008, enters his sixth year at the helm in the 2014 season. Kelley is the ninth head coach in the 73-year history of the Wayne State University baseball program. In 2013, Wayne State won 30+ games for the fourth consecutive season and for the seventh time in school history. Coach Kelley aided in the development of a senior class that won 134 games over the past four seasons and his .602 (171-113) career winning percentage leads all WSU baseball coaches. Brad Guenther was named GLIAC Player of the Year, which was the first such honor for a Warrior since 2005. WSU had four All-GLIAC First Team selections (Brad Guenther, Alex Pierse, Kenny Davis and Kasey Koster). Guenther was also a Tino Martinez Award semifinalist, which is given to the top DII baseball player in the country. In addition, Alex Pierse, Brad Guenther and Kasey Koster all collected NCBWA, Daktronics and ABCA/Rawlings All-Midwest honors.
2013 RECAP
In 2013, the Wayne State University baseball program won 30 or more games for the seventh time in school history and the fifth time in the last six years. The Warriors finished with a 21-10 GLIAC record and clinched a berth in the GLIAC Tournament for the ninth time in the last 10 years. However, WSU missed out on the NCAA Tournament after winning just one game at GLIAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed.
The Green & Gold will need to replace one of the best players in program history in catcher Brad Guenther, who was the 2013 GLIAC Player of the Year and a Tino Martinez Award Semifinalist.
In addition, the Warriors will be replacing its top two starting pitchers in southpaw Alex Pierse and right-hander Ethan Vasiliauskas. The two combined for 22 starts and a 14-5 record. Also moving on due to graduation will be shortstop Kenny Davis (2013 All-GLIAC First Team), outfielder Kasey Koster (All-GLIAC First Team) and right-handed pitcher Greg Spiess (23 career starts).
STAFF ADDITIONS
Coach Kelley welcomes two new staff additions for the 2014 season. Aaron Hepner was named Assistant Coach & Recruiting Coordinator while John DiLaura will also serve as an assistant coach this season. Hepner joined the WSU Baseball staff in August of 2013 as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator. He has spent the previous five seasons at Eastern Michigan working with former Warrior head coach Jay Alexander. DiLaura joined the Wayne State University baseball program as a volunteer assistant coach in June 2013. A three-year letterwinner at the University of Michigan, DiLaura graduated in the spring of 2013 with a General Studies degree with an emphasis on business and history.
WSU BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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HARWELL FIELD
The Wayne State University Department of Athletics in conjunction with the Ernie Harwell Estate and the Ernie Harwell Foundation announced today the establishment of the Harwell Field Project. This project is an outreach effort to build a baseball stadium in recognition of Ernie and Lula "Lulu" Harwell. As a tribute to that long partnership between the famed Tiger broadcaster and his wife Lula "Lulu", the campaign is to name the field in their shared honor. They were married for 62 years and this endeavor is as much an acknowledgment of his legendary career as it is her work "behind the scenes" to build a marriage for which all of Michigan benefited.
MLB WARRIORS
WSU currently has three alumni in the professional ranks. Former WSU right-hander Anthony Bass, a non-roster invitee to the 2011 San Diego Padres spring training camp, made his major league debut June 13, 2011, at Coors Field in Colorado. He picked up the win after five strong innings, allowing just one run on five hits as the Padres defeated the Rockies, 3-1. In 2012 Bass started 15 games for the Padres while battling injuries throughout the course of the year. He won two games but logged nearly 100 innings and will compete for a spot in the San Diego rotation in 2013. Prior to the 2014 season, Bass was traded to the Houston Astros. A fixture on the WSU pitching staff from 2006-08, Bass was an All-American in 2008 and the GLIAC Pitcher of the Year. Selected by the Padres in the fifth round (165th overall) in 2008, Bass was the first Warrior drafted since Steve Squires in 2005, and the highest-drafted player in program history.
In the 28th round of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft, senior right-hander Brett Shankin was selected by the Seattle Mariners with the 843rd overall pick on June 7, becoming the first Warrior to be drafted since Anthony Bass in 2008. He reported to the Clinton LumberKings of the MidWest League and closed his 2012 campaign with the High Desert Mavericks both Class A teams. In 2013, he split time with the Jackson Generals (AA) and the High Desert Mavericks (Advanced A). An All-GLIAC and All-Region selection in 2011, Shankin went 7-3 with a 2.79 ERA in 15 appearances in his final collegiate season. He led the WSU staff with 70 strikeouts, posted the third-best strikeout/walk ratio (4.67) in school history, and held opposing hitters to a .215 average. Shankin won 18 games in his four-year career at Wayne State, sixth-most in program history, and posted a 2.28 strikeout/walk ratio in 217.2 career innings.
Former Wayne State University standout, Brad Guenther, has signed a contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim organization. He will report to the team's rookie league team, the AZL Angels in Tempe, Ariz. The senior catcher was the 2013 GLIAC Player of the Year. He was the fourth Wayne State baseball student-athlete to receive the Player of the Year award and first since Frank Jeney in 2005. Guenther was also a Tino Martinez Award semifinalist, which is presented to the most outstanding player in DII college baseball. The annual honor is named after the former University of Tampa Spartan, United States Olympian, first round draft pick and MLB All-Star, Tino Martinez.
