GAME NOTES IN PDF FORMAT

GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University baseball team (9-4) will host 12 of its first 16 conference games in 2012, beginning this weekend with a four-game series against the University of Findlay (5-6).  Both doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday at the WSU baseball field will begin at 1:00 p.m.

Wayne State went 6-4 during its week-long trip to Florida, picking up victories over Indianapolis, Winona State and Mount Vernon Nazarene last week.  Findlay won four of its eight games in Florida two weeks ago before dropping two out of three at home against future GLIAC member Walsh last weekend.


AT THE HELM
Ryan Kelley is in his 10th season overall at WSU and fourth as the head baseball coach in 2012.  The Warriors set a school record for wins (35) and advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Midwest Regional for the second time in program history last season.  His 2010 squad won 32 games and earned the GLIAC regular-season and tournament championships, while in 2009 he set a program record for wins by a first-year head coach.  Kelley's career record stands at 101-71.

Troy Berry, who served as an assistant coach at Findlay for 11 years before taking over as head coach, has a career record of 177-228-1 in nine seasons.


IN THE POLLS
Wayne State and Findlay were picked to finish second and 10th, respectively, in the 2012 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll.  The Warriors were also ranked 26th nationally in the most recent Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II poll released Monday.


TUESDAY, MARCH 13 - WAYNE STATE 3, INDIANAPOLIS 2
The Warriors erased a 2-0 deficit in the late innings to defeat the Greyhounds.  Andrew Ciennik went 3-for-4 including a key two-out RBI double in the seventh inning which tied the score.  Chris Gebara drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth on his second hit of the game.

Ethan Vasiliauskas, who came on in relief of Greg Spiess in the sixth inning, pitched 2.2 scoreless innings and picked up his second victory of the season.  Billy Hurley closed it out with a scoreless ninth for his fourth save in as many chances.

Spiess and JaVaun West were locked in a pitchers' duel as the game was scoreless through five.  Scott Mourey's two-run single in the sixth gave UIndy the lead, but back-to-back strikeouts by Spiess to end the inning prevented further damage and left two Greyhounds stranded.

A grounder by Kyle Vesey brought home Alex Trojan in the bottom of the inning to cut the deficit in half.


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14 - WAYNE STATE 7-3, WINONA STATE 1-7
Wayne State split a doubleheader with Winona State, the 2011 national runner-up. In game one, a 7-1 victory, Wayne State racked up 11 hits and scored in each of the first four innings.  J.J. Ciennik finished 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Trojan, Gebara and Justin DeFrancis had two hits apiece, and Brad Guenther walked four times, a feat not achieved by any Wayne State player in at least a decade.

Alex Pierse pitched six solid innings to improve to 2-0 on the year.  He allowed just one run on five hits, walking two and striking out three.
In game two, Winona State produced six runs on seven hits and two walks, all with two outs, in the top of the fourth on its way to a 7-3 win.  Seth McMullen's bases-clearing single was the key hit and contributed to an early exit for Josh Wedesky (2-1).

Three runs for Wayne State, two of which were unearned stemming from a Winona State error, in the bottom of the seven spoiled the potential shutout for Mike Wasilik (1-0), who allowed six hits and three walks in the complete game victory.  Gebara drove in a run with a base hit, as did Kenny Davis with a double.  A grounder by Ryan Buter brought home Gebara.


THURSDAY, MARCH 15 - AT ROLLINS 8, WAYNE STATE 1
The Tars scored five runs in the second inning and three in the sixth to defeat the Warriors for the second time, as the two teams met last Thursday as well.  Trojan and DeFrancis each had two hits, and Andrew Ciennik recorded his 150th career hit with a single in the third inning.

Zach Persky and Boston Langley each went 2-for-4 with three RBI for Rollins.

The Tars' five-run second inning cut short Jeff Sorenson's first career start. Langley hit a two-run single and later scored on a passed ball.  Anthony Figliola drew a bases-loaded walk, and Persky drove in a run on a sacrifice fly.

Two triples in the sixth inning, including an RBI three-bagger by Persky, contributed to Rollins' three-run sixth inning which was extended by a WSU fielding error.

The lone run for the Warriors and three of their six hits off Mike Hermann (2-1) came in the third inning.  An RBI single by Trojan brought in DeFrancis, who earlier had a one-out base hit.

Hermann walked two and struck out three over 5.2 innings before three Rollins relievers combined for 3.1 scoreless frames.


FRIDAY, MARCH 16 - WAYNE STATE 4, MT. VERNON NAZARENE 3
As DeFrancis was stealing second base with one out in the bottom of the ninth, an errant throw by Cougars catcher Clint Spencer allowed Guenther to score from third for a 4-3 walkoff win for Wayne State.

DeFrancis had two hits Friday including a leadoff single in the first inning.  He eventually came around to score on an RBI single by Gebara.

The Cougars took the lead with two unearned runs stemming from a WSU error in the top of the third, but the Warriors immediately responded in the bottom half as Andrew Ciennik scored on a wild pitch and Vesey doubled in Trojan.

Guenther led off the bottom of the ninth with a base hit which chased Cougars starter Justin Brown from the game.  Kyle Zimmerman sacrificed to move Guenther to second, and a base hit by DeFrancis put runners at the corners which set up the stolen base and subsequent error to win the game.

The first of four pitchers used by Wayne State, Zimmerman allowed just two hits and one earned run in five innings.  He walked a pair and struck out three, but the victory went to Hurley who pitched a scoreless ninth inning.


SCOUTING FINDLAY
Leading four Oilers hitting over .300 this season is freshman outfielder Eric Terwilliger, who is 11-for-29 (.379) with eight RBI and six runs scored.  Junior infielder Tommy Roush (.375) has five doubles and 12 RBI, both team-highs.

Junior left-hander Preston Zachrich has allowed just one earned run and five hits in each of his last two starts, which were victories March 9 against Mansfield and Saturday vs. Walsh.  He is 2-1 with a 3.78 ERA and 18 strikeouts this season.

The Warriors have won their last six meetings with the Oilers.  Since 2007, Wayne State is 15-4 against Findlay.


WARRIOR NOTEBOOK
In just five appearances lasting one inning apiece, Hurley has accumulated four saves - halfway to his 2011 total - and one victory.  He has yet to allow a walk or an earned run, and has struck out seven.  Hurley ranks second all-time at WSU with 12 career saves and is tied for fourth with 38 relief appearances.

Andrew Ciennik's sacrifice fly in last Wednesday's opener against Winona State was the 14th of his career, tying Aaron Lawson (1998-2001) for the school record.  He has 22 sacrifice bunts, third-most in school history, and last Thursday at Rollins he became the 18th player to reach 150 career hits.

Last Wednesday also marked Kelley's 100th career victory.  His .587 career winning percentage is the highest in program history.

DeFrancis, who went 8-for-17 with three runs scored last week, has an eight-game hitting streak and ranks fourth in the GLIAC with a .464 overall average.

Pierse and Vasiliauskas are each off to a 2-0 start this season.  Pierse has a 1.50 ERA this year and has won two straight decisions.  Vasiliauskas has allowed just one earned run over four relief appearances, striking out 11 in 10.2 innings.

Henley Field, the site of WSU's doubleheaders against Rockhurst and Winona State, was the spring training facility for the Detroit Tigers until 1966.  The Lakeland facility is the current home of Florida Southern.


2012 TEAM CAPTAINS
Three seniors are serving as Wayne State's team captains for the 2012 season.  Phil Swanson, in his second year as a co-captain, will be joined in that role by J.J. Ciennik and Hurley.
A .292 career hitter, Swanson has played in 110 games for Wayne State. He is a three-time GLIAC All-Academic selection and a former Dean's Award winner for the College of Engineering.

Ciennik battled through Hodgkin's Lymphoma to return to the field in 2011. He played in 29 games including eight postseason appearances, and was named to the GLIAC All-Academic Team.

Hurley earned All-GLIAC and All-Region honors after finishing 2011 with a 4-0 record, a 1.30 ERA and eight saves. He was also a GLIAC All-Academic honoree.


WARRIORS IN THE PROS
Anthony Bass has made four Spring Training appearances for the San Diego Padres this month.  He pitched two scoreless innings last Sunday against San Francisco, allowing just two hits.  Bass has a 2.00 ERA and seven strikeouts in nine innings this spring.  He was the starting pitcher for the San Diego Padres in their first game of the spring, an annual charity game against the Seattle Mariners on March 4 at the Peoria Sports Complex, a venue Bass became familiar with as he spent time in the Arizona Fall League following the end of the 2011 regular season.

Bass, a 2008 fifth-round draft pick who is competing for a spot on the Padres staff in 2012, was called up to the major leagues last June and made 27 appearances including three starts.  He went 2-0 with a 1.68 ERA, 24 strikeouts, a .236 batting average against and a 1.28 WHIP.

Ryan LaPensee , playing in the Arizona Diamondbacks system, made his first appearance of the spring with the big league club on Wednesday.  He entered the game in the seventh inning as a defensive substitution, and walked in his only plate appearance in the eighth.  LaPensee hit .244 with 24 RBI in 74 games last year in his first professional season with the Visalia Rawhide in the California League (A-Adv.).


LOOKING AHEAD
Wayne State will host 12 of its first 16 GLIAC contests beginning with this weekend's series against Findlay.  Other key home weekends include April 6-7 vs. Northwood, April 21-22 against Ashland and May 5-6 vs. Lake Erie.  Wayne State will play home-and-home series with Hillsdale and Saginaw Valley State.

The GLIAC Tournament is scheduled for May 10-12 at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.