AUBURNDALE, Fla. -- Facing Minnesota Duluth (4-5 overall) in a doubleheader for the first time since 2020, the Wayne State University baseball team (8-2 overall) split the twinbill on Thursday to begin its spring break trip. The Bulldogs rolled in game one 12-1 before
Ashton Potts (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Stevenson (Kellogg CC)) led the Warriors to a 3-1 victory in the nightcap.
GAME ONE RECAP
Minnesota Duluth scored one run in the third inning, two in the fourth, one in the sixth and eight in the seventh.
Wayne State's lone run came in the fifth when
Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) singled in
Kyle Ray (Woodhaven, Mich.).
Karter Fitzpatrick (2-1) suffered the loss with 6.0 innings pitched, seven earned runs allowed on 10 hits, two walks and 10 strikeouts.
In relief,
TJ McAllister (St. Clair Shores, Mich. / South Lake) gave up five earned runs on four hits with one free pass and a punchout before
Ryan Szlachcic (Jenison, Mich. / Hudsonville (Kalamazoo Valley CC)) recorded the final out.
GAME TWO RECAP
In his 11 appearances as a Warrior prior to Thursday, Potts (1-0) had never completed more than five frames in a single game. The senior right-hander changed that narrative against Minnesota Duluth thanks to seven innings pitched and only one earned run surrendered on four hits without a single walk and nine strikeouts.
Those nine k's are Potts' most since a career-high 13 as a sophomore at Kellogg Community College on May 12, 2022 (Mid Michigan College).
Offensively, Wayne State scored all three of its runs in the sixth.
Logan Van Sicklen (Waterford Twp., Mich. / Waterford Kettering) got the party started when he singled in
Logan Tobel (Brighton, Mich. / Hartland).
Then,
Tony Hatzigeorgiou (Oxford, Mich.) scored on a passed ball and
Jacoby Dale (Roseville, Mich. (Spring Arbor/Henry Ford CC)) brought in pinch-runner
Gabe Zeldes (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Detroit Country Day) with a sacrifice fly to right field.
WSU will be at Eckerd for a double dip on Friday with the first pitch in game one set for 4 p.m. in St. Petersburg.