GAME NOTES IN PDF FORMAT

GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University baseball team (27-16, 18-12 GLIAC) will close out the 2012 regular season with a four-game series against Lake Erie College (25-21, 21-11 GLIAC) this weekend in Detroit.  Saturday's doubleheader will start at 1:00 and Sunday's gameswill begin at noon.  Sunday will also be Senior Day as the Wayne State baseball program honors its 15-member senior class of 2012.

Second place in the conference is at stake as the Warriors host the Storm at the WSU Baseball Field.  Wayne State split a doubleheader Wednesday at Saginaw Valley State while Lake Erie clinched a spot in the GLIAC Tournament with a split against Ohio Dominican.

The top six teams in the conference will qualify for the GLIAC Tournament which begins Wednesday at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.  The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid and be one of six teams to compete in the NCAA Midwest Regional starting May 17.


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 119-83.

Brian McGee has a five-year career record of 97-138 as the head coach at Lake Erie.


IN THE POLLS
Wayne State and Lake Erie were picked to finish second and eighth, 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 fourth in the NCAA Midwest Regional rankings released Tuesday.


RECAP - WEDNESDAY, MAY 2
GAME 1 - WAYNE STATE 3, SAGINAW VALLEY STATE 2 (8 INN.): Eric Cunningham snapped a 2-2 tie with a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth inning, and Billy Hurley retired the Cardinals in order in the bottom half for his ninth save of the season.

A two-run double by Kasey Koster in the top of the second erased a 1-0 deficit created by Andy Orr's first-inning home run.

Saginaw Valley State tied it in the fourth when Brad Schalk reached on a fielder's choice, went to third on an error and scored on a single by Mike VanAlst.

Kyle Vesey, who went 3-for-4 to lead the WSU offense, led off the eighth with a base hit and went to second on a sacrifice by Kyle Zimmerman.  Alex Trojan's base hit moved Vesey to third, setting him up to score on Cunningham's sacrifice fly.

Ethan Vasiliauskas improved to 6-1, working 2.2 scoreless innings in relief of Justin Sylvester, who allowed just one earned run on six hits in 4.1 innings.  Justin Drzewicki, the third SVSU pitcher of the game, took the loss (3-2).

GAME 2 - SAGINAW VALLEY STATE 10, WAYNE STATE 6: The teams combined for 24 hits, nine of which were for extra bases in the slugfest.  Vesey and Zimmerman had three hits and two runs each, while Zimmerman also totaled four RBI.

Zimmerman's two-run shot to left, his second home run of the year, gave WSU a 2-0 lead in the second inning.  The Cardinals answered with five runs in the bottom half, however, as Cam Wiechmann led off the inning with a home run and Chris Perkovich hit a two-run single.

A two-run homer by VanAlst made it a 7-2 game in the third.  Each team scored three times in the fourth, as Zimmerman drove in a pair with a double and Chris Gebara hit an RBI single.  Perkovich's two-run single and VanAlst's run scored on an error put SVSU ahead, 10-5.

Vesey singled in a run in the fifth, but the Warriors left the bases loaded.  Wayne State also had runners at first and second with two outs in the seventh but could not narrow the gap.

Jeff Schalk (1-1) picked up the win in relief, allowing one run on six hits in 1.2 innings.  Aaron Woods earned his first save.

Taking the loss was Greg Spiess, who was lifted after surrendering five runs on five hits in 1.2 innings.


SCOUTING LAKE ERIE
In just its second year in the conference, Lake Erie clinched a berth in the GLIAC Tournament with a 4-2 win in Wednesday's opener against Ohio Dominican.  Lake Erie's only previous playoff experience was the 2008 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC)  when the Storm competed at the NCAA Division III level.

The Storm have two of the top seven hitters in the GLIAC in Brayan Cacique and Matt Toth.  Cacique ranks fourth with a .391 batting average, second in slugging percentage (.625) and is the leader in on-base percentage (.509).  He has five home runs and 36 RBI.  Toth, ranked seventh with a .379 average, is third in the GLIAC with 55 hits.

Lake Erie's top two starting pitchers are Brian Kilway and Adam Beach.  Kilway is 5-1 with a 1.51 ERA, second-best in the GLIAC, and 44 strikeouts.  Beach has a 6-2 record with a 3.08 ERA and 56 strikeouts, tied for sixth-most in the GLIAC.

Wayne State went 3-1 last year against Lake Erie last May in Painesville.  All four games, however, were low-scoring results decided by two runs or less.


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 with a home run in the GVSU series and led Wayne State with six RBI and six runs scored.  He had three hits in each game Wednesday at Saginaw Valley State and scored three times.  Vesey, who moved into a tie for ninth place all-time at WSU in runs scored (115) and doubles (33), is 10-for-20 during his current six-game hitting streak.  He ranks 10th in the GLIAC in batting average (.366) and tied for ninth in RBI (29).

Andrew Ciennik, who this season has set three WSU career records (sacrifice bunts, sacrifice flies, fielding assists), tied Jon Weisman (2004-07) for seventh all-time with 183 hits.  Ciennik has also played in 192 games in his career, tied for fifth-most with Bobby Marten (2002-05).

With nine saves, Hurley surpassed his 2011 total and is one shy of matching Jon Venuto's (1999-2002) single-season (10) and career (18) saves records.  Hurley also made his 51st career appearance Wednesday, putting him in a tie for sixth with Dan Barnes (2004-07) and Tyler Loehr (2008-11).

Josh 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.

Brad Guenther drew three walks in the two games at SVSU.  The GLIAC leader in runs scored (39), Guenther ranks second behind Cacique with 28 walks this season.

Four of Wayne State's last eight meetings with Saginaw Valley State have been decided in extra innings.


WARRIORS IN THE PROS
Anthony Bass took a perfect game into the sixth inning last 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.  He will make his next start Friday in San Diego as the Padres open a series against the Miami Marlins.

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.  LaPensee is 7-for-44 with three stolen bases in 16 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).  Shankin 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.


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.