HAMMOND, Ind. -- The 18th-ranked Wayne State University baseball team (15-6 overall, 4-0 GLIAC) finished up a perfect league-opening weekend on Sunday sweeping Purdue Northwest (8-9 overall, 0-4 GLIAC) with scores of 9-1 and 6-2. During their six-game winning streak, the Warriors have outscored their opponents 56-8. They'll be at Saginaw Valley State on Wednesday for one game beginning at 3 p.m.
GAME ONE RECAP
Wayne State brought in nine runs before Purdue Northwest scored one and did so with just one extra-base hit. That was an RBI double from
Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) forcing in
Bennett Hitzelberger (Richmond, Mich.) in the seventh inning.
Kyle Ray (Woodhaven, Mich.) got the scoring started with a two-run single in the first that allowed
CJ Maury (Brampton, Ont. / Mayfield SS) and Hitzelberger to touch home plate.
Then in the third, Ray was at it again with a sacrifice fly to center field in which Maury tagged up from third, and Hitzelberger scored
Nate Crossman (Canton, Mich. / Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard) with a base knock in the fourth.
That run-scoring double by Hill in the seventh was part of a five-run frame for WSU. The other four runs came in when Crossman singled in Ray, Hill scored on a wild pitch,
Jacoby Dale (Roseville, Mich. (Spring Arbor/Henry Ford CC)) pushed in
Gabe Zeldes (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Detroit Country Day) with a sac fly and
Mason McGuire's (Lyon Twp., Mich. / Brighton (Mott CC)) base knock scored Crossman.
On the mound,
Seth Marano (Canton, Mich. / Lansing CC) improved to 3-1 with his first complete-game victory as a Warrior. Marano gave up one earned run on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
GAME TWO RECAP
Trailing 2-0 after three innings, Wayne State scored its first run in the fourth when
Tony Hatzigeorgiou (Oxford, Mich.) singled in McGuire.
Facing a 2-1 deficit in the sixth with two outs, the Warriors drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks to go ahead 3-2. Then, Crossman and Hitzelberger came in after Dale reached on an error by the third baseman. WSU tacked on an insurance run in the seventh as Maury reached on an error by the shortstop to score
Logan Tobel (Brighton, Mich. / Hartland).
Starter
Ashton Potts (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Stevenson (Kellogg CC)) lasted 4.1 innings with two runs surrendered, one earned, three hits, three free passes and two punchouts. First out of the bullpen,
Cam Rosen (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Dexter) picked up the first victory of his career with a scoreless frame.
Rosen teamed up with relievers
Gavin Nash (Howell, Mich. / Hartland),
Gabe Nazelli (Farmington Hills, Mich. / Detroit Country Day) and
Macio Miller (Kimball, Mich. / Marysville (Jackson CC)) for four and two-thirds innings of shutout work.
