GAME NOTES IN PDF FORMAT

GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University baseball team (12-5, 3-1) will play its first road conference games of the season this weekend at Tiffin University (7-12, 2-4).  Saturday's doubleheader will start at 1:00, and Sunday's will begin at noon at Heminger Field in Tiffin, Ohio.

Wayne State split a pair of 5-4 results against Hillsdale on Wednesday.  The Warriors won the first game of the twinbill but the Chargers were able to snap their nine-game skid in the second game despite a late rally by WSU in the seventh inning.

Tiffin has lost four straight, including two setbacks (15-11, 10-2) on Wednesday at Ashland.  The Dragons split a four-game series at Ohio Dominican 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 105-73.

Lonny Allen, who also serves as the Athletic Director at Tiffin, has a 21-year career head coaching record of 426-504-2 at his alma mater.


IN THE POLLS
Wayne State and Tiffin were picked to finish second and seventh, respectively, in the 2012 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll.  The Warriors also received votes in this week's Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II polls.


RECAP - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28
GAME 1 -  WAYNE STATE 5, HILLSDALE 4:  Wayne State scored all five of its runs with two outs in the third inning.  Brad Guenther started the rally when he was hit by a pitch and scored on a triple by Andrew Ciennik.  A double by Alex Trojan and a base hit by Kyle Vesey each produced a run, and Chris Gebara's two-run double gave Wayne State a 5-3 lead.

The Chargers made it a 5-4 game on an RBI single by Chris Stephens in the top of the fourth before Ethan Vasiliauskas shut the door, pitching 3.1 innings and allowing just one hit while striking out a pair.

Vasiliauskas (4-0) relieved starter Kyle Zimmerman, who surrendered three earned runs off five hits and four walks in 3.2 innings.

Mike Vanchieri's RBI single and a bases-loaded walk to Nolan Breymaier gave Hillsdale a 2-0 lead in the first inning.  It was 3-0 after Adam Ladzinski scored on an error in the second.

Matching Vasiliauskas' stat line was Hillsdale reliever Colin Gerish, who came in after Michael Keve allowed the five WSU runs.

GAME 2 - HILLSDALE 5, WAYNE STATE 4: The Warriors trailed by four heading into the seventh inning, when their rally came up just short.  RBI singles by Trojan and Justin DeFrancis and a grounder by Zimmerman which produced a run, combined with two Hillsdale errors, made for a close result in the end.

Five Hillsdale pitchers combined on a five-hitter.  Colin Casey, who came in for starter Matthew Reck in the third inning, picked up his first win of the year.

Kirk Stambaugh allowed four runs on six hits in 3.2 innings before being relieved by Brock Bates and Greg Spiess.

A sacrifice fly by Breymaier in the second put Hillsdale in front, but the Warriors tied it in the third after Guenther scored on the second of two straight wild pitches by Reck.

The Chargers put together a three-run fourth inning on a sacrifice fly by Sean Bennett and RBI singles by Pat O'Hearn and Vinny Delicata.  Bennett drove in what proved to be a key insurance run with an RBI single in the fifth.

Shane Armstrong, who earned his first save, was able to escape the seventh inning and leave the potential tying run at third base.


SCOUTING TIFFIN
Last weekend the Dragons won both Saturday games and dropped both Sunday contests at Ohio Dominican to open conference action.  The 5-0 win over the Panthers in the series opener was the 600th in the history of the Tiffin baseball program.

Seniors Pat Curtin (.433) and Val Helldobler (.412) came into this week among the top 10 in the GLIAC in batting average.  Curtin leads the team in hits (26), runs scored (14) and stolen bases (7).  Junior Ryan Locke is hitting .368 with a team-high 14 runs batted in.

While as a team the Dragons are hitting at a .315 clip this season, the pitching staff has a combined 6.07 ERA.  Senior right-hander Jordan Liette, who has two of TU's seven wins, possesses a 5.76 ERA with a staff-high 22 strikeouts.

Wayne State is 20-8 all-time against Tiffin dating back to 1988.  The Warriors took three out of four against the Dragons last April in Detroit.


WARRIOR NOTEBOOK
Andrew Ciennik's last triple before Wednesday also came against Hillsdale (April 20, 2011).  He is 11-for-20 (.550) over the last six games and leads the squad with seven multiple-hit games this year.

DeFrancis, who sat out last weekend's series against Findlay with an injury, returned to extend his hitting streak to a team-best 10 games.  He is 12-for-25 (.480) with four RBI and five runs scored in that 10-game span.

Trojan has a nine-game hitting streak and has reached safely in 11 straight.  The latter is the longest such streak by a Warrior this season.

Including the two walkoff wins against Findlay and Wednesday's 5-4 victory over the Chargers, Wayne State is 8-1 in one-run games in 2012.

A.J. Matos made his first career start at second base in the opener against Hillsdale on Wednesday.

Vasiliauskas has allowed just one earned run in 15.1 innings this season.  He is also tied with Josh Wedesky for the staff lead with 15 strikeouts.

Billy Hurley has earned either a win or a save in each of his eight relief appearances this season.  He picked up his fifth save of the year Saturday against the Oilers, and was credited with a victory in each of the walkoff wins.  Hurley is halfway to matching the WSU single-season record for saves (10 - Jon Venuto, 2000), while his 13 career saves has him five away from tying the career record as well (18 - Venuto, 1999-2002).


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 .293 career hitter, Swanson has played in 113 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 six Spring Training appearances for the San Diego Padres this month.  He picked up his second victory of the spring Saturday against the Chicago Cubs, allowing just one run on one hit in four innings.  Bass also worked one flawless inning in relief Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox.

Bass has a 1.93 ERA and eight strikeouts in 14 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.

A 2008 fifth-round draft pick who is competing for a spot on the Padres staff in 2012, Bass 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 March 21.  He entered the game in the seventh inning as a defensive substitution, and walked in his only plate appearance in the eighth.  He also entered Wednesday's game against Milwaukee as a pinch hitter and grounded out.  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.).


ALUMNI EVENTS
Wayne State will celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the 1982 GLIAC Championship team on Saturday, April 21, as the Warriors host the Ashland Eagles for a doubleheader at the WSU Baseball Field.  The 1982 squad completed a “three-peat” of conference titles for the Tartars and won 29 games, a school record which held until 1999.  The team also had three WSU Athletic Hall of Fame inductees - David Croskey, Mark Limback and head coach Angelo Gust.

The Wayne State baseball program is also proud to present the annual Dugout Club Golf Outing and Alumni Game on Sept. 22-23. The golf outing will be held at Northville Hills on the morning of Sept. 22.  The alumni baseball game is scheduled for Sept. 23 at the WSU Baseball Field.

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


LOOKING AHEAD
Future home weekends include April 6-7 vs. Northwood, April 21-22 against Ashland and May 5-6 vs. Lake Erie.  Wayne State will also host Saginaw Valley State on Wednesday, April 11.

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