DAYTON, Ohio -- The Wayne State University baseball team (4-4 overall) won game one 7-3 on Tuesday afternoon against Ohio Dominican (2-6 overall) before falling in the nightcap 3-2. The Warriors' next game won't happen for nine days and it will take place in Winter Haven, Fla. versus Ashland as part of the annual RussMatt Invitational.
GAME ONE
Wayne State plated five runs before Ohio Dominican was able to get its first across. The scoring started in the bottom of the second inning when
Mason McGuire (Lyon Twp., Mich. / Brighton [Mott CC]) came in on a wild pitch, which was ball four to
Logan Van Sicklen (Waterford Twp., Mich. / Waterford Kettering) in the box.
The Warriors took all of the momentum the next inning with a four spot and it started when
Bennett Hitzelberger (Richmond, Mich.) drew a bases-loaded walk that forced in
Tony Hatzigeorgiou (Oxford, Mich.). McGuire then pushed across
Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) thanks to a sacrifice fly to left field.
Jacoby Dale (Roseville, Mich. [Spring Arbor/Henry Ford CC]) singled in
Brady Blakita (Canton, Mich. / Detroit Catholic Central) before
Owen Tuccinardi (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline) did the same to bring in Hitzelberger, and the good guys were in control by five runs.
The Panthers scratched one across in each of the fourth and fifth frames, but WSU responded in the home half of the fifth when Tuccinardi doubled in McGuire. Despite ODU cutting the margin to three again in the sixth, Hill stretched it back to four in the seventh on a solo home run to right, his second of the season.
Macio Miller (Kimball, Mich. / Marysville [Jackson CC]) improved to 1-0 with four brilliant innings. Miller gave up one earned run on three hits with three walks and six strikeouts. In relief,
Carson Tehan (LaSalle, Ont. / Sandwich S.S.) handled the fifth and sixth frames before
Ethan Getting's (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Portage Northern [Purdue Northwest]) scoreless seventh.
GAME TWO
Ohio Dominican held Wayne State's offense scoreless on just three hits through the game's first six innings. Heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Warriors trailed the Panthers 3-0 before their bats came to life a bit.
Dale coaxed a one-out walk and so did Hill to put runners on first and second. One out later, WSU's three hitter Hitzelberger laced a double down the left field line that scored both base runners. However, McGuire flew out to the centerfield warning track and the game was over.
Gavin Nash (Howell, Mich. / Hartland) suffered the loss after six innings pitched and fell to 1-1 on the young season. Nash surrendered three earned runs on seven hits with two free passes and six punchouts. Out of the bullpen,
TJ McAllister (St. Clair Shores, Mich. / South Lake) tossed a perfect seventh with one strikeout.