NCAA REGIONAL TOURNAMENT PAGE

YPSILANTI, Mich. - The 2012 season came to an end for the Wayne State University baseball team (34-21) as the Warriors were eliminated from the NCAA Midwest Regional following an 8-5 loss to the University of Indianapolis (44-14) on Friday afternoon at Oestrike Stadium.

Wayne State took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth when the top-seeded Greyhounds scored four times over the next two frames.  The Warriors scored twice in the seventh but could not narrow the gap further.

Playing in the regional for the third straight year and serving as the host for the 2012 tournament, Wayne State finished one win shy of matching the school record (35) set last season.

Brad Guenther (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline), Justin DeFrancis (Rochester, Mich./Stoney Creek) and Kyle Zimmerman (Frankfort, Mich.) finished with three hits apiece as the Warriors totaled 15 hits altogether.  Kyle Vesey (Brighton, Mich.) finished 2-for-4 with two RBI in his final collegiate game.

Leading Indianapolis offensively with two hits and two RBI apiece were Mike Page, Matt Maringer and Ryan Wides.

The Warriors snapped a scoreless tie in the fourth as a grounder by Vesey and a single by Kasey Koster (Portage, Mich./Central) each produced a run.

Chris Gebara (Troy, Mich.) led off the fifth with a single.  After a sacrifice bunt by Kenny Davis (Wyoming, Mich./Lee), consecutive bunt singles by Guenther and DeFrancis brought Gebara around to score.  After walking Andrew Ciennik (Waterford, Mich./Mott), JaVaun West induced a double play to escape a bases-loaded jam.

A leadoff walk to Nick Whitty started UIndy's four-run rally in the fifth, as he later scored on a double by Wides.  The Greyhounds strung together three straight singles, and a sacrifice fly by Scott Mourey gave UIndy the lead and ended the day for WSU starter Alex Pierse (Clinton Twp., Mich./De La Salle).

Three more hits, including RBI singles by Wides and Page, and a WSU error made it an 8-3 game in the sixth.

Wayne State tried to rally in the late innings, but after Zimmerman and Vesey hit RBI singles in the seventh, the Warriors left seven runners stranded over the final three innings.

Pierse (4-2) allowed four runs on six hits and five walks, striking out four over 4.2 innings.  Justin Sylvester (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) and Billy Hurley (Mississauga, Ont./St. Aloysius Gonzaga) followed in relief, making their final collegiate appearances.

West allowed 12 of WSU's 15 hits over 6.2 innings but improved to 8-0 on the year.  Chris Saroff picked up his 11th save.


NOTES
Making his 22nd appearance of the year Friday, Hurley broke Steve Squires' 2004 school records for games pitched and relief appearances … Hurley also surpassed David White (2007-10) for WSU's all-time record in relief appearances (55) … Wayne State is 6-10 in five NCAA Regionals … Andrew Ciennik ended his career on a 10-game hitting streak, while he and Vesey reached base in 20 and 18 straight games, respectively.