GAME NOTES IN PDF FORMAT

GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University baseball team (20-11, 11-7 GLIAC) will complete its home-and-home series with Hillsdale College (8-26, 6-16 GLIAC) on Wednesday when the Warriors and Chargers meet in a 2:00 doubleheader at Johnny Williams Field in Hillsdale.  WSU and Hillsdale split two 5-4 results on March 28 in Detroit.

Wayne State had its four-game series last weekend at Ohio Dominican shortened to two games due to Saturday's rainouts.  The Warriors and Panthers split a pair of 7-4 decisions on Sunday.  Hillsdale went 2-2 over the weekend against Northwood in a series in which the teams combined to score 85 runs.

At the midway point of its conference schedule, Wayne State is in fourth place in the GLIAC.  The Warriors have eight home games and eight road games remaining.


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 112-78.

With over 300 victories in 19 years, Paul Noce is the all-time winningest coach in the 100-plus year history of the Hillsdale baseball program.


IN THE POLLS
Wayne State and Hillsdale were picked to finish second and ninth, respectively, in the 2012 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll.


RECAP - SUNDAY, APRIL 15
GAME 1- OHIO DOMINICAN 7, WAYNE STATE 4: The Warriors, who scored a run in four straight innings,  had a 4-2 lead disappear late in the game as the Panthers tied it with two runs in the fifth and scored three more times in the sixth, handing Ethan Vasiliauskas his first loss of the season.

Christian Prince drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single, his third hit of the game.  Jake Simmerman's two-run double provided insurance for the Panthers, who provided head coach Paul Page with his 900th career victory.

Andrew Ciennik and Kasey Koster led WSU with two hits apiece.  Koster also had a pair of runs batted in, twice driving in Kyle Vesey.

Neither starting pitcher factored into the decision, as Josh Wedesky allowed two runs on six hits over four innings before being replaced by Vasiliauskas (5-1), who gave up five runs (four earned) in 1.1 innings of work.  Nick Venditti (4-2) pitched two perfect innings in relief of Austin Bueter.

Vesey reached on a one-out error in the second and scored on a double by Koster.  Wayne State doubled its lead as Justin DeFrancis scored on an RBI double by Ciennik in the third.

Anthony Raschilla and John Bowron each drove in a run in the third, but Wedesky escaped a bases-loaded jam to keep the score tied.

Koster's RBI single in the fourth inning plated Vesey, who drove in a run with a grounder in the fifth giving WSU a 4-2 lead.  A two-run homer by Austin Butler tied the game in the bottom of the inning.

GAME 2 - WAYNE STATE 7, OHIO DOMINICAN 4:  Wayne State totaled 11 hits in game two and led for the duration to snap its four-game losing skid.  Chris Gebara went 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, while DeFrancis, Brad Guenther and Vesey finished with two hits each.

The Warriors spotted starter Greg Spiess a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.  Alex Trojan drove in DeFrancis with a base hit, and Guenther scored on a sacrifice fly by Eric Cunningham.

An RBI single by Prince cut in the bottom of the first cut into the lead, but the Warriors responded quickly on an RBI single by DeFrancis in the second.

The teams traded runs in the fourth inning but Wayne State's two-run fifth inning made it a 6-2 score.  Base hits by Cunningham and Gebara each produced a run.

Gebara drove in an additional run with his third hit of the game in the seventh.  ODU scored twice in the final frame but WSU cut the rally short to preserve the win for Spiess (2-1), who allowed just five hits over six innings.


SCOUTING HILLSDALE
The Chargers have gone 5-11 since splitting a doubleheader with the Warriors on March 28 in Detroit.  Last weekend Hillsdale scored 40 runs and allowed 45 in its four-game set with Northwood.  Earlier this month the Chargers went 2-2 against Findlay and earned a 5-2 win over Grand Valley State.

Senior Chris Stephens, who had one home run and 11 RBI entering the weekend, homered twice and drove in 14 runs in the four games against the Timberwolves.  Classmate Mike Blanchard has hits in 11 of his last 13 games and leads the team with a .394 batting average.  Hillsdale as a team, however, ranks last in the conference in batting average (.263).

The Chargers also have the second-highest team earned run average in the GLIAC.  Junior right-hander Matthew Reck is 2-2 with a 3.47 ERA and 32 strikeouts.

Wayne State has won 28 of its last 34 meetings with Hillsdale since 2003.


WARRIOR NOTEBOOK
Vesey led Wayne State with a .455 batting average (5-for-11) and four runs scored last week.  On Sunday he became the 18th player in school history to score 100 runs in a career.

Andrew Ciennik, Guenther and Trojan had five hits apiece last week as well.  Trojan, who had his 19-game hitting streak snapped on Sunday, was 26-for-64 (.406) with 17 RBI and 11 runs scored during the streak.  Trojan ranks 13th in the conference with 22 RBI this season.

Guenther is tied for second in the GLIAC in runs scored (28) and tied for seventh in stolen bases (10).  He has scored at least once in nine of the last 10 games.

Andrew Ciennik, who was hit by a pitch twice in Sunday's finale, ranks second (31) all-time at WSU to Caleb Dalman (41) in that category.  Ciennik, whose .387 batting average this season is 10th-best in the conference, set the career record for sacrifice flies (16) and tied the mark for sacrifice bunts (26) earlier this month.

DeFrancis continues to lead the Warriors offensively with a .406 batting average, fifth-highest in the GLIAC.  He has reached base in 21 straight games, the longest streak by a Warrior this season.

Billy Hurley (3-0, seven saves) earned either a win or a save in his first 10 relief appearances this season.  He is three saves away from matching the WSU single-season record (10 - Jon Venuto, 2000), while his 15 career saves has him three away from tying the career record as well (18 - Venuto, 1999-2002).


WARRIORS IN THE PROS
Former Wayne State University right-hander Anthony Bass made his first start of the 2012 regular season for the San Diego Padres on Thursday, facing the Arizona Diamondbacks in the final game of a series at PETCO Park in San Diego.  Replacing Dustin Moseley who is on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, Bass allowed just one run on three hits in 4.1 innings.  He walked two and struck out five in a no-decision as Arizona scored twice in the late innings for a 3-1 win.

Bass will make his next start Tuesday in Colorado, facing the Rockies and 49-year-old Jamie Moyer.  Bass made two starts last year at Coors Field, including his major league debut last June.

He was named to the Padres 25-man roster after posting a 2-0 record with a 3.00 ERA and nine strikeouts over 15 innings during Spring Training.  Bass made two appearances during the first week of the regular season, including two scoreless innings on Opening Day against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A 2008 fifth-round draft pick of the Padres, Bass made 27 appearances including three starts with the Padres last year.  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, debuted for the Reno Aces (AAA) on April 5 and had a pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning in a 5-2 victory over Colorado Springs on Opening Day.  He went 2-for-7 in five games with the Aces before being reassigned to the Visalia Rawhide (A-Adv.) on Sunday.  LaPensee hit .244 with 24 RBI in 74 games last year in his first professional season with the Rawhide.

Brett Shankin, a 28th-round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners, made his first professional start for the Clinton LumberKings (A) on Saturday.  Shankin allowed just one run on three hits over five innings, walking one and striking out two in a no-decision.  He pitched in 16 games for the Pulaski Mariners (R) last season, his first year as a pro.


ALUMNI EVENTS
Wayne State will celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the 1982 GLIAC Championship team this Saturday as the Warriors host the Ashland Eagles for a doubleheader.  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.


SUMMER CAMP
Wayne State will host its annual summer camp July 20-21 at the WSU baseball field in Detroit. Campers will receive fundamental instruction on all aspects of the game, plus have a chance to meet players from the Detroit Tigers.

Clinicians for the camp will include Kelley and Detroit Tigers pitching coach Jeff Jones, as well as local high school coaches and Wayne State baseball student-athletes and coaches.

Detroit Tigers expected to attend will be announced at a later date.  Past Tigers guests have included Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson, Brandon Inge, Austin Jackson, Victor Martinez, Rick Porcello, Pudge Rodriguez, Jose Valverde and Justin Verlander.

The camp costs $70 per day for registrations received before July 16. Campers should be dressed prepared for baseball practice and are advised to bring their own equipment, if possible.  Registration can be completed online or by mail.


LOOKING AHEAD
Future home weekends for Wayne State include April 21-22 against Ashland and May 5-6 vs. Lake Erie.  Wayne State has a four-game road series with Grand Valley State (April 28-29) and a doubleheader at Saginaw Valley State (May 2).

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