WEEKEND PREVIEW
The Wayne State University baseball team (8-4) will open its 2011 GLIAC schedule this weekend with a four-game series at the University of Findlay (2-7-1). First pitch for both doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday is at 1:00 p.m.

Wayne State, off to its best 12-game start in four years, won six out of its eight games in Florida during Spring Break, including a two-game sweep of Minnesota-Duluth and wins over Mansfield, St. Joseph's (Ind.), Kentucky Wesleyan and Minnesota-Crookston.

After posting a 2-6 record in Florida, Findlay resumed play following a 12-day break yesterday at St. Joseph's, dropping an 8-5 decision in the first game and playing to a 9-9 tie in the second game which was called due to darkness.

The Warriors and Oilers have met every year since 1998, with WSU holding a 26-19 advantage in 45 games during that span. Wayne State took three out of four games from Findlay last season.


AT THE HELM
Ryan Kelley, the 2010 GLIAC Coach of the Year, is in his third season as the head coach of the WSU baseball program. Kelley guided the Warriors to 25 wins in 2009, the most by any first-year head coach in program history. Last season, Wayne State went 32-20 and won the GLIAC regular-season and tournament championships, advancing to the NCAA Regional for the third time since 2005.

Troy Berry, who was an assistant coach at Findlay for 11 years before taking over as head coach in 2004, has a career record of 159-198-1 in his eighth season at his alma mater.


PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
In the 2011 GLIAC preseason coaches' poll released last week, the Warriors were picked to finish second, while the Oilers were slotted in tie for eighth with Hillsdale. Findlay finished an injury-plagued season with a 15-34 overall record and a 7-27 conference mark in 2010.


SCOUTING FINDLAY
While the Oilers are off to a slow start in terms of their win-loss record, they are hitting .330 as a team over their first 10 games, led by four players hitting over .400 including freshmen infielders Dylan Cintula (.450) and Reid Rothenbuhler (.441), who leads UF in hits (15) and RBI (9). Sophomore Tommy Roush has a team-best .462 average, and senior Jason Reitenbach (.406) has scored a team-high 12 runs.

Nine different Oilers have started at least one game on the mound this season. The staff is led by seniors Matt Weber (0-1, 2.33 ERA, 5 K) and Ryan Rothenbuhler (0-2, 8.69 ERA, 10 K). Sophomore Ethan James, who made his first start of the year Wednesday against the Pumas, has yet to allow an earned run in four appearances (9.0 IP) and has held hitters to a .167 average.


WARRIOR NOTEBOOK
Junior outfielder #C.J. Maszal# has made an immediate impact in his first season as a Warrior. The Ohio University transfer leads the team with a .488 batting average, 20 hits including 11 for extra bases, and 13 runs scored. Entering this week, he leads all of NCAA Division II with five triples, and ranks fifth in batting average and slugging percentage (.878), and 11th in on-base percentage (.563). Maszal, whose six multiple-hit games are second only to Michael Wiseman's seven, has reached base in all 12 games this season.

Wiseman and fellow senior Matt Rustulka were honored Monday as the GLIAC Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. Wiseman led the Warriors with nine hits and a .684 on-base percentage as WSU won four of its final five games in Florida last week. He had two hits in each of the last four games, and totaled five RBI on the final day against Kentucky Wesleyan and Minnesota-Crookston. Wiseman played error-free defense at both catcher and first base. He brought his season batting average up to .410 and his OBP to .510.

In addition, Wiseman is three RBI away from breaking the Wayne State career record, held by Hall of Famer John Miele (154; 1996-99).

Rustulka picked up his first shutout as a Warrior 10 days ago against Minnesota-Duluth, allowing just six singles and one walk while striking out six in an 8-0 Warrior victory. Rustulka retired the last eight hitters to secure the shutout and complete-game win.

Junior third baseman Alex Trojan continues to swing a hot bat, as he has posted a .457 average with a team-high 13 RBI. Classmate Kyle Vesey has played well also, hitting .371 with nine runs scored and playing error-free in center field.

The WSU pitching staff has the 20th-best earned run average in Division II (2.94). Junior Josh Wedesky is 3-0 with a staff-best 17 strikeouts as he and senior Tyler Loehr have ERAs under 2.00. Senior Brett Shankin and sophomore Alex Pierse have also produced quality starts, while junior reliever Billy Hurley has tossed nine scoreless innings this season.


SAVE THE DATES
The Wayne State baseball program has special alumni events scheduled next month and in September. Alumni are invited to come to the WSU athletic campus on Saturday, April 30, as the baseball team takes on Grand Valley State at 1:00 p.m. The alumni gathering is being held in conjunction with “W” Day, as Wayne State honors 36 years of women's athletics.

In addition, the annual Dugout Club Golf Outing and Alumni Game will take place Sept. 24-25. The golf outing will be held at Northville Hills on the morning of Sept. 24, with a gathering to follow in the evening at the Detroit Renaissance Marriott. The alumni baseball game is scheduled for Sept. 26 at the WSU baseball field.

More information will be announced at wsuathletics.com as it becomes finalized.