GAME NOTES IN PDF FORMAT

GAME STORYLINES
In its final road doubleheader of the season, the Wayne State University baseball team (26-15, 17-11 GLIAC) will face Saginaw Valley State University (22-20, 18-12 GLIAC) at 2:00 on Wednesday in University Center, Mich.

Both Wayne State and SVSU split four-game road series last weekend.  The Warriors won the first and last games of a series at nationally-ranked Grand Valley State, while the Cardinals went 2-2 at Lake Erie in a series in which three of the four games were decided by one run.

Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State are in third and fourth place, respectively, in the conference.  The Warriors have one home weekend series remaining against Lake Erie, the second-place squad, before the GLIAC Tournament begins May 9 in Chillicothe, Ohio.  The top six teams in the conference qualify for the postseason.


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 118-82.

Walt Head has a 30-year career record of 840-600-6 at Saginaw Valley State.


IN THE POLLS
Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State were picked to finish second and fourth, respectively, in the 2012 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll.  The Warriors also received votes in Monday's Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II poll.  Wayne State was slotted fifth in the NCAA Midwest Regional rankings released last Tuesday.


RECAP - SATURDAY, APRIL 28
GAME 1 - WAYNE STATE 7, GRAND VALLEY STATE 6: Kyle Vesey hit a three-run homer, and Eric Cunningham and J.J. Ciennik finished with two hits apiece as the Warriors handed the Lakers their first loss since April 6.

Kevin Zak and Steve Anderson led GVSU with three hits and two RBI each.

Wayne State scored six runs (five earned) off GVSU starter Kyle Schepel (8-3), who entered the week with a conference-best 1.35 ERA.  Schepel allowed four hits and four walks while striking out four in 3.2 innings.

The teams made six errors in the game, including one by GVSU in the top of the first that contributed to Brad Guenther scoring on a grounder by Alex Trojan.  Zak grounded into a double play in the bottom of the first but Mike Nadratowski scored to tie the game.

A sacrifice fly by Kasey Koster plated Cunningham in the top of the second, and Vesey's three-run shot to left in the third made it a 5-1 game.  GVSU scored twice in the third on two hits and an error, but Wayne State responded with a run in the fourth on Kenny Davis' RBI single, bringing home Koster.

The Lakers' scored again in the fifth inning but their potential rally was foiled by the third double play turned by the WSU defense in the game.

Koster led off the sixth with a double and scored on a base hit by J.J. Ciennik.  The run would prove to be critical as the Lakers mounted a comeback in the seventh.

Zak doubled in a run and later scored on a groundout by Anderson.  Billy Hurley, who picked up his eighth save, induced a pop-up to Jared Cowan to end the game.

Josh Wedesky improved to 5-3, striking out five over six innings.  He allowed five runs (three earned) on 10 hits.

GAME 2 - GRAND VALLEY STATE 7, WAYNE STATE 2: Grand Valley State snapped a 2-2 tie with a four-run fourth inning.  The Lakers tacked on another run in the sixth, providing more than enough insurance for Ryan Garman who struck out five in a complete-game four-hitter.

Two of the hits allowed by Garman (8-2) came in the top of the second inning, as Trojan led off with a double and scored on a triple by Vesey, who later came in on a grounder by Cunningham.

A sacrifice fly by Mitchell Kozlowski and a base hit by Nadratowski, producing one of his three RBI in the game, tied the score in the bottom of the second.  Nadratowski's two-run double was one of six Laker hits in the decisive fourth inning.

Greg Spiess took the loss (3-2) as he and Ethan Vasiliauskas each pitched three innings.  Spiess surrendered six runs on 10 hits.


RECAP - SUNDAY, APRIL 29
GAME 3 - GRAND VALLEY STATE 4, WAYNE STATE 2: The Lakers scored in each of the first three innings, including their two-run third frame.  Cory Baker (7-1) had his shutout bid spoiled when the Warriors scored twice in the sixth.

Singles by Mike Nadratowski in the first inning and Mitchell Kozlowski in the second each produced a run for the Lakers, who scored twice in the third on RBI singles by Kevin Zak and Derrik Strzalkowski.

Baker took a two-hitter into the sixth when Davis led off with a base hit.  Davis went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Vesey, who later came in on a pinch-hit single by Phil Swanson after Baker was lifted for Brad Zambron.

The Warriors put two men aboard with two outs in the seventh, but Zambron managed to cut the rally short for his 13th save of the season.

Chris Waha struck out five over four innings of work, allowing seven hits and two walks as he fell to 2-2 on the year.  Justin Sylvester pitched a pair of 1-2-3 innings in relief.

GAME 4 - WAYNE STATE 11, GRAND VALLEY STATE 8: Kyle Zimmerman finished a double short of the cycle and drove in four runs.  Swanson also had a three-hit game and three RBI.

The Warriors totaled 15 hits, one shy of their season-high.  Guenther, Davis, and Trojan tallied two hits apiece.  Wayne State scored in every inning but the fifth and managed to out-slug GVSU which had four two-run frames in the game.

Wayne State erased a 4-3 deficit with a three-run third inning.  Trojan drove in Vesey, who scored three times in the game, with a double and Swanson contributed a two-run single.

Vesey's RBI single and Zimmerman's two-run shot to left made it a 9-4 game in the fourth.  Meanwhile, Alex Pierse retired the Lakers in order in both the third and fourth innings.

A pair of WSU errors contributed to GVSU's two-run fifth inning, but the Warriors answered with a run in each of the next two frames.  Zimmerman smacked an RBI triple and Swanson doubled in a run.

After back-to-back singles to start the seventh chased Pierse from the game, Hurley came on to close it out.  The Lakers picked up runs on an error and a double play, but Strzalkowski popped up to end the game.

Pierse (5-1) fanned five and allowed six hits and two walks over six innings.  Anthony Campanella, the first of five GVSU pitchers, took the loss (6-2) after surrendering seven hits and six runs (four earned) in two innings.


SCOUTING SAGINAW VALLEY STATE
The Cardinals have won seven of their last 10 games, and largely the team's success can be attributed to the pitching staff.  Mike Saunders is the conference leader with a 1.41 ERA and ranks fourth with 59 strikeouts.  Carson Beauchaine has the sixth-best ERA (2.09) as the two junior right-handers have contributed to the third-best team ERA in the GLIAC (3.96).

The SVSU offense is led by senior Brandon Schwanz who is seventh in the GLIAC in batting average (.377).  Kyle O'Boyle has a team-high 23 runs batted in, and Cam Wiechmann enters Wednesday riding a seven-game hitting streak.

Wayne State has lost five of the last six regular-season meetings with Saginaw Valley State.  The Warriors are 13-9 against the Cardinals since 2008.


WARRIOR NOTEBOOK
Wayne State snapped GVSU's 15-game winning streak with its victory in the series opener on Saturday.  The Warriors also broke a nine-game losing skid against the Lakers dating back to May 2010.

Vesey went 4-for-12 in the GVSU series and led Wayne State with six RBI and six runs scored .  His last home run prior to Saturday also came against the Lakers on April 30, 2011 in Detroit.  Vesey moved into a tie for 10th all-time at WSU with Mike Magier (1992-95) with 32 career doubles.  He is also in a three-way tie with Dave Zelmanski (1975-78) and Matt Essian (1993-95) for eighth place with 72 walks.

Andrew Ciennik, who this season has set three WSU career records (sacrifice bunts, sacrifice flies, fielding assists), passed Tim Baywal (2001-04) for eighth place all-time at Wayne State with 182 hits.

Wedesky made his 32nd career start on Saturday, moving him into a tie for eighth with Gordon Reck (1968-71) and Greg Boos (1972-74).  His 17 victories put him in a tie with Matt Horvath (1993-96) for ninth at WSU.

With eight saves, Hurley tied his 2011 saves total, which also ties for second-most in a season in program history.  He is two away from matching Jon Venuto's (1999-2002) single-season (10) and career (18) saves records.  Hurley also made his 50th career appearance on Sunday, putting him in a tie for eighth with Kyle Hill (2004-07) and Dane Little (2006-09).


WARRIORS IN THE PROS
Anthony Bass took a perfect game into the sixth inning Saturday at AT&T Park in San Francisco.  Making his fourth start of the season for the San Diego Padres, Bass allowed just two runs on six hits and struck out eight in a complete-game effort against the Giants.  Replacing Dustin Moseley who is on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, the former WSU right-hander is 1-3 with a 2.30 ERA and 27 strikeouts in six appearances with San Diego.

Bass, a 2008 fifth-round pick of the Padres, was on the other side of 49-year-old Jamie Moyer's historic victory April 17 in Colorado.  Bass struck out seven over five innings of work, and matched that total in his first win of the year April 22 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

In 33 games including seven starts at the major league level over the last two seasons, Bass has a 3-3 record with a 3.01 ERA, 51 strikeouts and a 1.19 WHIP.

Ryan LaPensee, playing his second professional season in the Arizona Diamondbacks system, played in five games with the Reno Aces (AAA) at the start of the year before being reassigned to the Visalia Rawhide (A-Adv.) on April 15.  He is 7-for-37 with three stolen bases in 14 games overall in 2012.

Brett Shankin, a 28th-round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners, is 0-1 with a 3.12 ERA and 10 strikeouts over five appearances (two starts) with the Clinton LumberKings (A).  He pitched in 16 games for the Pulaski Mariners (R) last season, his first year as a pro.


ALUMNI WEEKEND
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.