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Wayne State University Athletics

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Baseball Cameron Weidenthaler, Assistant SID

Senior Day Concludes Baseball's Regular Season

Wayne State will honor 11 seniors prior to Saturday's doubleheader.

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DETROIT -- The Wayne State University baseball team (31-13, 19-9 GLIAC) welcomes the Walsh Cavaliers (22-23, 14-13 GLIAC) this weekend for a three-game series concluding with a doubleheader on Saturday. The program will honor its 11 seniors prior to first pitch on Saturday.

For visiting spectators, free parking will be available in Lot 50 in front of the Matthaei Building.
 
Setting the StageWayne State University Baseball vs. Walsh
DatesFriday and Saturday, May 2-3
TimeFriday (4 PM) | Saturday (Noon & 3 PM)
LocationDetroit, Mich. (WSU Baseball Field)
WebTwitter: @WayneStWarriors | #WarriorBSB
Live StatsWednesday
Opponent InformationWalsh Baseball

GAME STORYLINES 
The Warriors will enter the final regular season weekend in third place in the GLIAC standings and fourth in the latest NCAA Midwest Regional rankings. Wayne State is percentage points out of second place as Lake Erie carries a .690 winning percentage to WSU's .679 winning percentage. WSU has lost two straight after winning 17 of 19 contests. Next week, WSU will play in its 10th GLIAC Tournament in 11 years and will look to be selected for its fourth NCAA Tournament in the last five years. The Green & Gold eclipsed the 30-win mark for the eighth time in school history and the sixth time in the last seven years. Jeremy Carrell continues to lead the league with his .542 on-base percentage (second nationally) and 53 runs scored. He also leads the nation in hit-by-pitches with 27 and ranks third in the GLIAC with his .385 batting average. Eric Cunningham is second in the league with 41 RBI while Kyle Zimmerman is second in doubles (14). Clayton Ruch is second in the nation and leads the GLIAC with 12 saves. 

SCOUTING WALSH
Walsh, winners of four of its last five games, enters this weekend with a 22-23 overall record and a 14-13 GLIAC mark. Head coach Tim Mead is wrapping up his 31st season as the Walsh skipper and has 673 career victories. In 2007, Mead led the Cavaliers to 29 wins and their first NAIA World Series. Andrew Bonnette has started 26 games and leads the team with a .326 average and has driven in 14 runs. Michael Lee is hitting .301 with five home runs and 27 RBI. Walsh has stolen 64 bases on 73 attempts and are hitting .269 as a team. Neal Edwards leads the team with 14 appearances and carries a sharp 1.82 ERA with his 3-1 record and five saves. Brandon Witslar leads the team with five wins and us tied for the team lead with Matt Iosue at 47 strikeouts. The staff carries a team ERA of 4.27.

ALL-TIME SERIES
WSU leads the all-time series 2-1 with the first ever meetings all coming last season in North Canton, Ohio.

LAST TIME OUT 
The Warriors fell at Tiffin on Wednesday evening, 4-3. WSU scored a run in the ninth and advanced the tying run to third base but were unable to tie the game as the Dragons avoided the series sweep as the Warriors took the first games late last month. Brandyn Hall (3-2) suffered the loss while Cameron Walker drove in two runs with a two-run double in the first inning. Jimmy Jackson threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings to lower his team-best ERA to 1.41.

NEXT UP
WSU will wait to see its opponent in the 2014 GLIAC Tournament in Xenia, Ohio, which begins on Thursday, May 8 at Grady's Field.

AWARDS BANQUET
The Wayne State University baseball team will hold its annual Awards and Senior Recognition Banquet on Monday, May 5th at 6 PM inside the Multipurpose Indoor Facility. Events will include an award presentation, senior speeches and a recap of the regular season's accomplishments on and off the field. The cost for the banquet, which includes a buffet dinner, is $15 per guest. Any questions, to RSVP or sponsor a WSU Baseball student-athlete, please contact assistant coach John DiLaura at 313-577-2749 or jdilaura@wayne.edu. Donations of $15 are being accepted. RSVPs are welcome from the public, alumni and university community. Parking will be available in Lot 40 on the south side of the Matthaei Building.

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 PUTS NAME INTO RECORD BOOK
On Tuesday against Urbana, Clayton Ruch picked up his 10th save of the season and 20th of his career breaking the program record of 19 held by Billy Hurley (2010-12) on April 8 against Urbana. Ruch picked up his 11th save of the season in game one at Findlay on April 9, matching the program' single-season mark. Ruch closed out the home win over Findlay on April 16 for his record setting 12th save of the season.

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 .611 (187-119) 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.

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
For the latest news, notes and in-game updates on Warrior Baseball be sure to find us on Facebook and Twitter. On Facebook, the WSU Baseball pages can be found here and on Twitter, here.

PARKING
If you are coming to campus for Warrior Baseball on the weekends, be sure to park in Lot 50 in front of the Matthaei Building, it's free!

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.

WSU SUMMER CAMP 
The Wayne State University baseball program will host its annual summer camp on July 29-30 at the WSU Baseball Field and Indoor Facility in Detroit. Campers will receive fundamental instruction in all aspects of the game, plus have a chance to meet players from the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers scheduled to appear this year are to be announced as the camp approaches. Past Tigers guests have included Prince Fielder, Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson, Torii Hunter, Brandon Inge, Doug Fister, Austin Jackson, Victor Martinez, Rick Porcello, Pudge Rodriguez, Jose Valverde and Justin Verlander. Clinicians for the camp will include WSU head coach Ryan Kelley and Detroit Tigers pitching coach Jeff Jones, as well as local high school coaches and Wayne State baseball student-athletes and coaches. Camp participants will learn from an open camp environment where questions are encouraged.

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