GAME NOTES IN PDF FORMAT

GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University baseball team is scheduled to play 10 games in an eight-day span in the state of Florida starting Thursday night at Rollins College in Winter Park.  With the exception of a return to Rollins on March 15, the Warriors will play the remainder of their Spring Break games at the RussMatt Invitational in Winter Haven.

Wayne State will meet Rockhurst and Minnesota-Duluth in doubleheaders Friday and Saturday.  After a two-day break, WSU will wrap up its participation in the RussMatt Invitational with games against Indianapolis, Winona State, and Mount Vernon Nazarene before beginning the trek back to Detroit next Saturday.

WSU's conference and home opening series is March 24-25 against Findlay.


AT THE HELM
Ryan Kelley, the 2010 GLIAC Coach of the Year, 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 95-67.

Dr. Jon Sjogren has a 191-155-1 record in his seventh season at Rollins.  Sjogren led the Tars to 41 wins and a berth in the NCAA South Regional in 2010.  His career record, which includes 15 years at his alma mater Bryant, is 550-460-3.

In his 19th season at Rockhurst, head coach Gary Burns has compiled a 575-394 record.  In his tenure the Hawks, who had gone 18 years without a baseball program prior to Burns' arrival, have made 13 postseason appearances including five berths in the NCAA Regionals.

Bob Rients is in his seventh season as Minnesota-Duluth's head coach and 13th as a member of the UMD baseball staff.  He has a career record of 136-165.


IN THE POLLS
Wayne State was picked to finish second in the 2012 GLIAC preseason coaches' poll.  The Warriors were also ranked nationally in the first three polls released by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, and have received votes in each of the last three.

Rollins was tabbed for seventh in the Sunshine State Conference preseason poll.  The Tars also received a vote in this week's CBN Division II national poll.

Rockhurst was picked to finish in fourth place in the West Division of the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

The head coaches of the Northern Sun Conference predicted a sixth-place finish for Minnesota-Duluth.


MONDAY, MARCH 5 - WAYNE STATE 5, #14 LE MOYNE 2
After having the start of the 2012 season delayed 24 hours due to rain, Wayne State defeated 14th-ranked Le Moyne College, 5-2, on Monday afternoon at the Armstrong Atlantic Invitational.

The Warriors broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the ninth inning.  Back-to-back doubles by J.J. Ciennik and Ryan Buter to start the inning gave WSU the lead, and Billy Hurley came on in the bottom half to close it out and pick up his ninth career save, moving him into a tie for second all-time at Wayne State.

Starter Alex Pierse gave up six hits and walked six over five innings.  He struck out three and picked off a pair of runners.  Ethan Vasiliasuskas took over in the sixth and fanned four over three hitless innings in his WSU debut.

Brad Guenther, Alex Trojan and Phil Swanson all finished with two hits apiece.


TUESDAY, MARCH 6 - WAYNE STATE 9, URBANA 1
Trojan paced the Warriors offensively with two hits, two RBI, and two runs scored.  He also had a sacrifice fly and a stolen base as all nine WSU starters reached base at least once in Tuesday's victory over Urbana.

Josh Wedesky picked up the win, striking out five and walking three in five innings of work.  He allowed only two hits, both in the fifth inning when the Blue Knights scored their lone run of the game.  Greg Spiess, making his WSU debut, and Justin Sylvester each tossed two scoreless relief innings.


TUESDAY, MARCH 6 - WAYNE STATE 3, WAYNE STATE (NEB.) 2
In the first baseball game between the two Wayne State institutions, the Warriors scored the game-winning run on a bases-loaded throwing error in the ninth inning.  The Wildcats led 2-0 after four, but Kyle Vesey's two-run single in the sixth tied the score, and Kyle Zimmerman's grounder to short with one out in the ninth allowed Vesey to score the winning run.

Jeff Sorenson, who came on in the fifth inning in relief of Kirk Stambaugh, picked up the victory.  Sorenson struck out a career-high five and allowed just one hit and one walk over 4.2 innings.


SCOUTING ROLLINS
The Tars had won eight out of nine before Tuesday's 7-3 loss to Rockhurst, Wayne State's opponent on Friday.  Thursday's game between Rollins and WSU comes at the midpoint of the 64th Annual Rollins College Baseball Week.

Rollins' top three hitters are senior first baseman Brian Lattanzi (.339), sophomore center fielder Zach Persky (.338) and senior shortstop Nick Adams (.333).  Adams has a six-game hitting streak, while Lattanzi has reached base in all 16 games this season.

Leading the pitching staff are freshman Brett Mueller (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 K) and junior Taylor Smith (2-0, 1.39 ERA, 34 K).

Thursday marks the first ever meeting between Wayne State and Rollins.


SCOUTING ROCKHURST
The Hawks come into Thursday's twinbill against Ashland riding a four-game winning streak.  Since arriving in Florida, Rockhurst swept a doubleheader against Saginaw Valley State and defeated Rollins.

Junior outfielder Patrick Chandler is hitting .500 (12-24) with eight runs scored to lead the team.  Senior infielder Scott Bradbury has a team-high eight RBI with a .370 average.

Rockhurst's pitching staff has a 2.70 ERA through six games.  Leading the way is junior Mark Sappington (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 24 K).

In their only previous meeting, Wayne State defeated Rockhurst, 4-3, in 2007.


SCOUTING MINNESOTA-DULUTH
The Bulldogs picked up two shutout victories over Concordia-Moorhead on Tuesday at the Metrodome in their first action since being swept by Southwest Minnesota State on Feb. 23.  Jordan Smith is 6-for-11 (.545) with five runs scored over the first four games.

Seniors Collin Stinogel and Ben Jungers have each made two starts on the mound for UMD.

Wayne State swept a doubleheader against UMD last year in Florida.  The Warriors are 4-2 all-time against the Bulldogs.


WARRIORS PICKED SECOND IN GLIAC
WSU collected 68 points in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll, finishing second to defending conference champion Grand Valley State (80).  Ashland finished third in the poll (65) followed by Saginaw Valley State (56).

The slotting of the top four teams in the poll reflects their respective finishes in the conference in 2011.


THE 2012 WARRIORS
WSU has 24 letterwinners returning from one of its most successful campaigns in program history.  The 2011 NCAA Midwest Regional runner-up, Wayne State has qualified for the postseason seven times in the last eight years and will look to return again in 2012.

Among the 15 seniors on the squad is Wedesky, an All-GLIAC Second Team selection who tied the school record with 10 victories, second-most in the conference, last season.  Vesey, the fourth-leading hitter on the team a year ago (.315, 52 H, 33 R), had a career-high 33 RBI and led the team with 13 stolen bases.  Andrew Ciennik, one of two Warriors to play in all 56 games in 2011, is a two-time All-GLIAC selection and a 2010 All-Region honoree.

This trio received Preseason All-Midwest Region honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.


2012 TEAM CAPTAINS
Three seniors will serve as Wayne State's team captains for the 2012 season.  Swanson, in his second year as a co-captain, will be joined in that role by J.J. Ciennik and Hurley.

A .299 career hitter, Swanson has played in 104 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.


BASS CHOSEN TO START PADRES SPRING OPENER
Former WSU right-hander Anthony Bass was the starting pitcher for the San Diego Padres in their first game of the spring, an annual charity game against the Seattle Mariners last Sunday 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, who is competing for a spot on the Padres staff in 2012, allowed just one solo homer in two innings of work.

A 2008 fifth-round draft pick of the Padres, 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.


LOOKING AHEAD
Other opponents on the schedule next week include Indianapolis, Winona State and Mount Vernon Nazarene.

Conference play will start March 24, as Wayne State will host 12 of its first 16 GLIAC contests beginning with a four-game series March 24-25 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.