DETROIT -- The Wayne State University softball squad (25-9 overall, 5-5 GLIAC) went 2-2 last week sweeping Findlay at home before being outscored twice at Grand Valley State.

WSU will travel to Malone (10-20-1 overall, 2-14 GLIAC) on Friday, and Ashland (20-11 overall, 9-5 GLIAC) on Saturday.  Tuesday's doubleheader vs. Walsh was canceled due to the snow received in southern Michigan (even the Detroit Tigers home game that night was canceled as well as all the MIAA softball games scheduled for that day).

 

Setting the Stage	Wayne State University Softball at Malone and at Ashland
Dates	Friday, April 18  |  Saturday, April 19
Times	3:30 PM on Friday  |  12:00 PM on Saturday
Locations	Canton, Ohio (Pioneer Softball Field)  l  Ashland, Ohio (Brookside Softball Complex)
Web	Twitter: @WayneStWarriors  |  #WarriorSB
Live Stats	at Malone  l  at Ashland
Opponent Information	Malone Softball  l  Ashland Softball

WEEK STORYLINES
WSU went 2-2 last week with a home sweep of Findlay, but lost both games last Friday at Grand Valley State.  The Warriors are 4-0 against teams below them in the standings, 1-1 vs. teams they are tied with and 0-4 against teams above them in the GLIAC Standings.  WSU has to play 16 games in the final two weeks of the regular season if it is going to play all 26 conference contests in 2014.

SCOUTING MALONE
The Pioneers have lost five straight and were outscored 45-12 in those games.  Junior Desi Hengoed leads Malone in batting at .429 (39-91) with four home runs and 30 RBI in 31 games.  Sophomore Emily Isla is hitting .427 (41-96) with eight doubles and 20 RBI.  Junior Jillian Coyle has a 7-9 record with a 4.67 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 105 innings, while junior Stephanie Byrne has compiled a 3-11 mark with a 7.49 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 85 innings.

SCOUTING ASHLAND
The Eagles enter today's twinbill vs. Saginaw Valley having won six of their last seven games, including a split at Grand Valley on Wednesday.  Senior Cayla Seidler leads AU in hitting (.421), doubles (13), triples (4) and walks (16).  Junior Sarah Alley is batting .414 with a team-best 28 RBI, while junior Taylor Menhart is hitting .406 with a team-high seven stolen bases.  Alley and junior Amber McDermott each have seven wins in the circle for Ashland.  McDermott has a team-best 67 strikeouts and each pitcher has tossed two shutouts.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Wayne State holds a 2-0 edge in the all-time series against Malone with victories of 15-0 and 9-1 on April 20, 2013, in Detroit.  WSU has played Ashland 79 times in a series that began in 1989.  The Warriors hold a 44-35 advantage in the all-time series, including an 11-10 record in games played at Ashland.  WSU is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings vs. the Eagles.

LAST TIME OUT
The 14th-ranked Wayne State University softball squad suffered a doubleheader setback at Grand Valley State University last Friday (4/11) by the scores of 6-2 and 8-2.  Grand Valley State's Briauna Taylor had a bases-clearing triple in the bottom of the fifth to snap the 2-2 deadlock, then scored an insurance run to complete the scoring in game one.  In the nightcap, the Lakers tallied five runs in the fifth on only two hits, along with three walks and a Wayne State miscue.  There were two bases loaded walks preceding a three-run double by Brittany Taylor.

NEXT UP
Wayne State is scheduled to play 10 games over a six-day period next week to conclude the 2014 regular season.  WSU visits Ferris State on Tuesday for a make-up doubleheader, before hosting Lake Erie on Wednesday in another make-up from March 23.  The Warriors entertain Northwood on Friday (4/25) and Lake Superior on Saturday (4/26) before visiting Saginaw Valley for another make-up on the GLIAC rain date on Sunday, April 27.

PRESEASON POLL
WSU was predicted to finish second in the GLIAC as voted on by the league's coaches announced in the GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll.  Wayne State, the two-time GLIAC tournament champions, received six first-place votes and 156 points to finish just behind Grand Valley State's six first-place votes and 159 points.  Ashland garnered the other two first-place votes and 147 points.  Rounding out the poll were Ferris State (122 points), Ohio Dominican (113), Northwood (111), Tiffin (101), Findlay (98), Saginaw Valley (73), Hillsdale (65), Walsh (52), Lake Superior (36), Malone (26) and Lake Erie (16).

NATIONAL LEADERS
In the national stats released by the NCAA on April 15, Wayne State was second in Division II in ERA at 0.97, trailing Tampa's 0.44.  The Warriors were 35th in winning percentage (.735) and 14th in fielding percentage (.973).  Individually, junior hurler Briana Lee was sixth in ERA (0.78), and 12th in strikeouts per seven innings (9.6).  Lyndsay Butler was seventh in both ERA (0.91) and hits allowed (3.84), ninth in strikeouts per seven innings (10.6), and 12th in shutouts (7). Offensively Butler was ranked 11th in triples with five and eighth in triples per game at 0.17.

WARRIOR BENCH BOSS
Gary Bryce, who is in his 33rd season as Wayne State's head softball coach, is closing in on 1,100 career wins.  Bryce enters the week with an all-time mark of 1,096-668-7.  With four more wins, Bryce will become the 17th coach in NCAA Softball history (all three Divisions combined) to reach the 1,100-win plateau.  Assistant coach Pat Kent, who played four years (1980-1983) at WSU, is in her 31st season as an assistant coach.  Nicole Abel, a four-year Warrior letterwinner (2007-2010), is in her third season on the staff.

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