Game Notes (PDF)

DETROIT -- Wayne State University (31-16, 21-10) baseball begings its postseason with a first round matchup with Saginaw Valley (16-22, 14-14). The Warriors took two of three from the Cardinals earlier this season in University Center, Mich. SVSU leads the all-time series 68-66.

SERIES DETAILS
Dates - May 8, 2013
Times - Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.
Location - Ypsilanti, Mich. (Oestrike Stadium)
Team Information - Wayne State Baseball / Saginaw Valley Baseball / GLIAC Baseball
Live Stats - Click Here

SERIES STORYLINES
Wayne State (31-14, 21-10) concluded its regular season on Sunday with a 10-4 loss to GVSU. The Warriors took game two from the Lakers powered by a gem from Alex Pierse and walk off squeeze bunt single from Jeremy Carrell. WSU enters the GLIAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed and will face No. 5 seed SVSU for the fourth time this season. The Green & Gold took two of three from the Cards earlier this season, with SVSU winning the series finale on a walk off RBI-single. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 68-66.

AT THE HELM
Ryan Kelley, who served six seasons on the Warriors' staff including three as WSU's pitching coach prior to being named head coach in September 2008, is in his fifth year at the helm in the 2013 season.  Kelley is the ninth head coach in the 72-year history of the Wayne State University baseball program. Coach Kelley's .604 winning percentage is the highest in program history. In 2011, 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.  Wayne State won 34 games in 2012, qualifying for the GLIAC Tournament for the eighth time in nine years, and for the NCAA Regional for the third straight year.

SENIOR LEADER
Brad Guenther's 101 career walks is a new program record. Guenther ranks second all-time with 153 runs, tied for fifth all-time with a .986 career fielding percentage, seventh all-time with 190 games played and his 185 hits ranks ninth in program history. He is a two-time GLIAC Player of the Week. This season he is currently sixth in the GLIAC in batting average (.361), third in hits (57), second in doubles (14), second in slugging percentage (.589), second in walks (33), second in runs (44), third in on-base percentage (.490) fourth in home runs (6) and tied for fifth in RBI (36). Notable performances this season include his April 20th games with Ohio Dominican, when he won the first game of the doubleheader with a walk off home run and gave the Warriors a late-lead with two-run blast in game two. He  led the team with 17 multi-hit games, including three four-hit games and collected nine multi-RBI games. Earlier this season he put together a 16-game reached base streak. The senior catcher has thrown out eight base runners this season and picked off two more.

HISTORIC DAY FOR WARRIOR HITTERS
Wayne State won its 20th game at Urbana, 19-8. First baseman, Kyle Zimmerman, drove in a program record eight RBI while hitting a grand slam and a three-run blast. Also leaving the yard were Kenny Davis, Brad Guenther, Jimmy Jackson and Mark Lepri.  The six home runs were also a program record.

ZIMMERMAN'S DOZEN
In the series finale with Malone, sophomore Kyle Zimmerman went 8.0 innings and struck out a career-high 12 Pioneers. It was the most Ks for a Wayne State pitcher since Brady Cooper's 12-strikeout performance at Tiffin on April 18, 2010. Zimmerman now is tied for fifth in the GLIAC with 26 punchouts in his 24.1 innings pitched.

SCOUTING SAGINAW VALLEY
SVSU is led in average by Brad Schalk who is hitting .357 with six doubles, one triple and one home run and has driven in 13 runs for the Cardinals. Chet Lafave is leading the team with 33 RBI to go with his .297 batting average. Andy Orr is hitting .323 with 22 RBI while Chris Perkovich is hitting .254 and also has 22 RBI. Kyle O'Boyle leads the team with six home runs. As a teams, SVSU is hitting .284 with a .352 on-base percentage and slugging .390. The rotations is topped by Carson Beauchaine who leads the team with eight starts and is 3-4 with a 4.40 ERA and 35 Ks. Mike Schaaf is 3-2 with a 3.11 ERA while Dylan Wisniewski is 3-1 with a 4.10 ERA. Justin Drzewicki leads the team with three saves. As a staff, SVSU carries a 4.82 ERA. Head coach Walt Head is in his 30th season leading the SVSU baseball program.

WSU BASEBALL ALUMNI WEEKEND
Wayne State baseball will welcome back alumni for its annual Alumni Weekend on Sept. 14-15. This year's event will include a golf outing, a tailgate prior to WSU Football's first ever night game against Ashland at 6 p.m. and an alumni game. Stay tuned to WSUAthletics.com for registration information.

WARRIORS LEND A HAND
During its trip to Florida, Wayne State baseball partnered with the Westgate Foundation and was again able to help out the Ocoee, Fla. Little League with a instructional camp. This has become an annual event and Coach Ryan Kelley and his team all really enjoyed their experience.

WAYNE STATE SUMMER CAMP
Wayne State baseball will again put on its Summer Camp on July 12-13 where participants will receive instruction from Wayne State coaches, student-athletes and other area coaches. Camp attendees will also have the opportunity to meet select Detroit Tigers' players while also being able to win prizes. For more information, visit WSUAthletics.com or contact Coach Kelley at ryankelley@wayne.edu.

WAYNE STATE'S REGIONAL HISTORY
Wayne State has played in the NCAA Regional three straight years and five times overall, qualifying for the first time in school history in 2005.  The Warriors advanced to the championship game of the 2008 tournament in Crestwood, Ill., losing a 3-0 result to Ashland in the third meeting of the tournament between the two schools. This past season, WSU went 0-2 with losses to Northern Kentucky and No. 15 Indianapolis. The Warriors went 0-2 in the 2010 regional, including a 2-1 loss to Northern Kentucky in the opening round.  Last year Wayne State recovered from an opening round loss to Grand Valley State by eliminating three consecutive GLVC foes, including NKU, to force a rematch with GVSU in the title game in Normal, Ill. Over its five NCAA Regional appearances, Wayne State has a 6-10 record.

30-WIN PLATEAU
Wayne State reached 30 wins for the seventh time in program history and the fifth time in the past six seasons. The Warriors will also play in its ninth GLIAC Tournament in the past 10 seasons.