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DETROIT -- The Wayne State University baseball team (13-7, 2-3 GLIAC) will look to rebound after a three-game sweep at the hands of Grand Valley last weekend with their home-openers against Saginaw Valley (4-10, 1-3 GLIAC). The two teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Sunday starting at noon.
GAME STORYLINES
WSU will need to pick up its offensive output after scoring just one run on nine hits in three games against GLIAC power Grand Valley last weekend. Sophomore Jermey Carrell is off to an impressive start in 2014. He ranks fifth in the nation in on-base percentage (.571), seventh in hit-by-pitch (11) and 24th in batting average (.450). All of those marks lead the GLIAC. In addition, Carrell leads the league in runs scored (24).
Clayton Ruch continues to lead the league with eight saves while
Cole Clifton's two triples are the most in the GLIAC.
Eric Cunningham and GVSU's Giancarlo Brugnoni continues to trade leads in the league RBI battle. Brugnoni currently leads with 27 to Cunningham's 25.
2014 RUSSMATT INVITATIONAL
WSU went 9-4 during its Spring Break trip at the 2014 RussMatt Invitational. That brings WSU's record to 29-17 in the event. Last season, the Warriors went 7-4. WSU went 6-3 in 2012, 6-2 in 2011 and 1-4 in 2010.
SCOUTING SAGINAW VALLEY
Saginaw Valley enters the weekend at 4-10 overall and 1-3 in league action. The Cardinals fell to Northwood 4-3 on Wednesday at Adrian College. Head coach Walt Head enters his 31st season as the SVSU skipper. Coach Head entered the season with a 844-606-6 career record. Freshman Connor Foley leads the team with .389 batting average while junior Brad Schalk is hitting .347. Schalk leads the team with seven RBI. Senior Pete Baumgartner is 2-0 with a 1.15 ERA in 15 2/3 innings. Junior Jeff Schalk has two of the team three saves. Junior Andrew Geese leads the team with 25 strikeouts in 16 innings. As a team, SVSU is hitting .295 with a .346 on-base percentage. The staff carries a 5.67 ERA.
ALL-TIME SERIES
SVSU leads the all-time series 68-67. However, WSU has taken six of the last eight meetings. Coach Kelley is 16-10 all-time against the Cardinals (5-4 at home, 6-6 on the road, 5-0 in netral site games and 5-0 in postseason play). In 2013, WSU collected its lone GLIAC Tournament win over SVSU, 9-7. The Warriors
trailed 7-3 in the third inning on Wednesday but a five-run fourth inning and solid bullpen work allowed the Warriors to comeback and advance to the second round.
LAST TIME OUT
GVSU completed a three-game sweep pver WSU at Davenport University on Saturday. The Lakers' Patrick Kelly collected a complete game, allowing four hits with four strikeouts and no walks. WSU went down in order in six of its nine at bats on his way to picking GLIAC Pitcher of the Week honors.
NEXT UP
WSU will travel to Canton, Ohio for a three-game series with Malone on Tuesday and Wednesday.
PRESEASON POLL
WSU was predicted to finish second in the GLIAC as voted on by the league's coaches during March 4th's release of the GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll. Last year's regular season and tournament champions Grand Valley were crowned the preseason champions after going 38-19 in 2013. The Lakers garnered 118 points and eight first-place votes. The Warriors collected 106 points and two first-place votes to finish second in the poll. Ashland also picked up two first-place votes to go with its 101 points. Ohio Dominican (90) and Saginaw Valley (74) rounded out the top five.
RUCH TAKES AIM AT HISTORY
Clayton Ruch has already collected eight saves this season, allowing just six hits over his 10 appearances. Ruch also picked up wins over Seton Hill and Ashland. Ruch needs one more save to match the program record of 19 held by Billy Hurley (2010-2012). Ruch is currently tied for second with Jon Venuto (1999-2002). He also has his sights set on the program's single-season record of 11 saves. He has not allowed a baserunner in six of his 10 outings. Opponents are hitting just .162 against the sidearmer In addition, Ruch leads the GLIAC and the nation with his eight saves. The top two save totals in the GLIAC are held by Brad Zambron (GVSU) with 16 in 2012 and 13 in 2013.
WARRIOR SKIPPER
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, enters his sixth year at the helm in the 2014 season. Kelley is the ninth head coach in the 73-year history of the Wayne State University baseball program. In 2013, Wayne State won 30+ games for the fourth consecutive season and for the seventh time in school history. Coach Kelley aided in the development of a senior class that won 134 games over the past four seasons and his .602 (171-113) career winning percentage leads all WSU baseball coaches. Brad Guenther was named GLIAC Player of the Year, which was the first such honor for a Warrior since 2005. WSU had four All-GLIAC First Team selections (Brad Guenther, Alex Pierse, Kenny Davis and Kasey Koster). Guenther was also a Tino Martinez Award semifinalist, which is given to the top DII baseball player in the country. In addition, Alex Pierse, Brad Guenther and Kasey Koster all collected NCBWA, Daktronics and ABCA/Rawlings All-Midwest honors.
2013 RECAP
In 2013, the Wayne State University baseball program won 30 or more games for the seventh time in school history and the fifth time in the last six years. The Warriors finished with a 21-10 GLIAC record and clinched a berth in the GLIAC Tournament for the ninth time in the last 10 years. However, WSU missed out on the NCAA Tournament after winning just one game at GLIAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed.
The Green & Gold will need to replace one of the best players in program history in catcher Brad Guenther, who was the 2013 GLIAC Player of the Year and a Tino Martinez Award Semifinalist.
In addition, the Warriors will be replacing its top two starting pitchers in southpaw Alex Pierse and right-hander Ethan Vasiliauskas. The two combined for 22 starts and a 14-5 record. Also moving on due to graduation will be shortstop Kenny Davis (2013 All-GLIAC First Team), outfielder Kasey Koster (All-GLIAC First Team) and right-handed pitcher Greg Spiess (23 career starts).
STAFF ADDITIONS
Coach Kelley welcomes two new staff additions for the 2014 season. Aaron Hepner was named Assistant Coach & Recruiting Coordinator while John DiLaura will also serve as an assistant coach this season. Hepner joined the WSU Baseball staff in August of 2013 as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator. He has spent the previous five seasons at Eastern Michigan working with former Warrior head coach Jay Alexander. DiLaura joined the Wayne State University baseball program as a volunteer assistant coach in June 2013. A three-year letterwinner at the University of Michigan, DiLaura graduated in the spring of 2013 with a General Studies degree with an emphasis on business and history.
WSU BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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HARWELL FIELD
The Wayne State University Department of Athletics in conjunction with the Ernie Harwell Estate and the Ernie Harwell Foundation announced today the establishment of the Harwell Field Project. This project is an outreach effort to build a baseball stadium in recognition of Ernie and Lula "Lulu" Harwell. As a tribute to that long partnership between the famed Tiger broadcaster and his wife Lula "Lulu", the campaign is to name the field in their shared honor. They were married for 62 years and this endeavor is as much an acknowledgment of his legendary career as it is her work "behind the scenes" to build a marriage for which all of Michigan benefited.
MLB WARRIORS
WSU currently has three alumni in the professional ranks. Former WSU right-hander Anthony Bass, a non-roster invitee to the 2011 San Diego Padres spring training camp, made his major league debut June 13, 2011, at Coors Field in Colorado. He picked up the win after five strong innings, allowing just one run on five hits as the Padres defeated the Rockies, 3-1. In 2012 Bass started 15 games for the Padres while battling injuries throughout the course of the year. He won two games but logged nearly 100 innings and will compete for a spot in the San Diego rotation in 2013. Prior to the 2014 season, Bass was traded to the Houston Astros. A fixture on the WSU pitching staff from 2006-08, Bass was an All-American in 2008 and the GLIAC Pitcher of the Year. Selected by the Padres in the fifth round (165th overall) in 2008, Bass was the first Warrior drafted since Steve Squires in 2005, and the highest-drafted player in program history.
In the 28th round of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft, senior right-hander Brett Shankin was selected by the Seattle Mariners with the 843rd overall pick on June 7, becoming the first Warrior to be drafted since Anthony Bass in 2008. He reported to the Clinton LumberKings of the MidWest League and closed his 2012 campaign with the High Desert Mavericks both Class A teams. In 2013, he split time with the Jackson Generals (AA) and the High Desert Mavericks (Advanced A). An All-GLIAC and All-Region selection in 2011, Shankin went 7-3 with a 2.79 ERA in 15 appearances in his final collegiate season. He led the WSU staff with 70 strikeouts, posted the third-best strikeout/walk ratio (4.67) in school history, and held opposing hitters to a .215 average. Shankin won 18 games in his four-year career at Wayne State, sixth-most in program history, and posted a 2.28 strikeout/walk ratio in 217.2 career innings.
Former Wayne State University standout, Brad Guenther, has signed a contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim organization. He will report to the team's rookie league team, the AZL Angels in Tempe, Ariz. The senior catcher was the 2013 GLIAC Player of the Year. He was the fourth Wayne State baseball student-athlete to receive the Player of the Year award and first since Frank Jeney in 2005. Guenther was also a Tino Martinez Award semifinalist, which is presented to the most outstanding player in DII college baseball. The annual honor is named after the former University of Tampa Spartan, United States Olympian, first round draft pick and MLB All-Star, Tino Martinez.
