CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - The Wayne State University baseball team (31-18) advanced to the championship game of the GLIAC Tournament for the first time in school history after defeating Ashland University (34-19), 12-6, on Friday afternoon at V.A. Memorial Stadium.

The hit totals were nearly even, favoring WSU 15-14, but the Warriors out-slugged the Eagles with three home runs, including one by Paul LaMantia (Tecumseh, Ont./St. Anne's), his school record-setting 13th of the season.

LaMantia hit for the cycle as part of a 5-for-5 day, driving in two runs and scoring three times as Wayne State defeated Ashland for the second year in a row in the conference tournament.

Michael Wiseman (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland) and Andrew Ciennik (Waterford, Mich./Mott) also homered, totaling a combined five RBI on the afternoon. Kyle Vesey (Brighton, Mich.) had two hits and scored twice, while Jamie Bailey (Petrolia, Ont./Lambton) went 2-for-3 with two RBI.

The Warriors, who never trailed in the game, took a 2-0 lead on LaMantia's two-run shot to left. Scoring on the play was Ryan LaPensee (LaSalle, Ont./St. Thomas of Villanova), who surpassed former WSU head coach Jay Alexander's prior single-season record of 56 runs.

Bailey and Brad Guenther (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline) each drove in a run in the second to double Wayne State's lead, but Ashland responded with a three-run third highlighted by a two-run homer by Evan Melendez.

Wiseman's first RBI of the game came in the bottom of the third and made it a 5-3 game. Back-to-back RBI singles by Cress and Nyitrai allowed Ashland to tie it up in the fifth before Wiseman's two-run homer to right center put the Warriors ahead again.

Vesey doubled in a run, and Bailey hit an RBI single in Wayne State's two-run sixth and, after Ashland put a run across in the seventh, the Warriors tacked on three insurance runs in the eighth on Ciennik's two-run blast and a bases-loaded walk to Alex Trojan (Fenton, Mich./Hartland).

Wayne State starter Brady Cooper (Allen Park, Mich.) allowed five runs on 11 hits over 5.0 innings, striking out three for his sixth win of the year.

Josh Wedesky (Fowlerville, Mich.), the winning pitcher on Thursday against Saginaw Valley State, allowed just one run on three hits in two innings of work. He was replaced by Tyler Loehr (Brighton, Mich.), who picked up the save on two scoreless frames.

The GLIAC Tournament championship game will begin at noon on Saturday. Wayne State's opponent has yet to be determined.

NOTES
Wayne State and Ashland have met five times in the postseason over the last three years, with WSU winning three of those meetings … LaMantia passed former home run record holder Jason Copeland, who hit 12 homers in 1998 … Wiseman's home run was the 20th of his career.