DETROIT -- The Wayne State University baseball program (29-19 overall), reigning GLIAC Tournament Champion, will begin its title defense on Thursday night at Jackson Field in Lansing, Mich. The third-seeded Warriors will first face fourth-seeded Davenport (18-32 overall) at 7 p.m. to begin a double-elimination format.
Up Next
If Wayne State wins, it'll face the winner of top-seeded Saginaw Valley State and sixth-seeded Purdue Northwest on Friday night at 7 p.m. If WSU loses, it'll take on the winner of second-seeded Grand Valley State and fifth-seeded Parkside on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. No team will have to play more than once until day three on Saturday.
2024 Records vs. GLIAC
#6 Purdue Northwest, 6-1 (faced off in Florida once)
#5 Parkside, 5-1
#4 Davenport, 4-2
#1 Saginaw Valley State, 2-4
#2 Grand Valley State, 2-4
Series History
Wayne State and Davenport have played each other 31 times in the all-time series with DU holding a four-win edge, 17-13. The Warriors have been victorious in seven of their last nine meetings, but the Panthers hold a 2-0 advantage in the GLIAC Tournament including an 8-5 decision in 2022 (Gary, Ind.) and 6-5 final in 2019 (Traverse City, Mich.). They'll be seeing each other in Lansing for the first time. WSU has claimed six GLIAC Tournament Championships (1980-82, 1998, 2010 and 2023) while DU has accounted for two (2021-22).
2024 vs. Davenport
Offensively, Wayne State hit .358 (78-for-218) in six games against Davenport this season with a .555 slugging percentage and .425 on-base percentage. Individually, two Warriors accounted for 22 of those 78 hits including
Owen Tuccinardi at .500 (11-for-22) and
Kyle Ray at .478 (11-for-23). Tuccinardi and Ray were two of seven regulars with a clip of at least .300 along with
Logan Tobel at .471 (8-for-17),
Drew Hill at .421 (8-for-19),
Jacoby Dale at .375 (9-for-24),
Logan Van Sicklen at .333 (4-for-12) and
Mason McGuire at .320 (8-for-25).
On the mound, WSU accounted for a 3.38 ERA in 48 innings pitched.
Karter Fitzpatrick (2-0),
Ashton Potts (1-0) and
Griffin Kilander (1-0) were perfect against DU with earned run averages of 1.29 (14 IP), 0.00 (6.1 IP) and 2.57 (14 IP), respectively. Warrior hurlers notched 39 strikeouts and 28 walks against Panther batters with a batting average against of .229.
