DETROIT -- In a game postponed from Sunday, March 30, the Wayne State University baseball team (21-24 overall, 9-10 GLIAC) will complete the season series at Purdue Northwest (15-24 overall, 3-16 GLIAC) on Tuesday in Hammond, Ind. with the first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. eastern time.  The Warriors took two of three from the Pride back on March 28-29 in WSU's first league games of the 2025 campaign.

Last Week - Findlay
Wayne State went 2-3 in a week that began with an 11-7 win at Findlay on Tuesday in the team's final non-conference game of the regular season.  The Warriors trailed the Oilers 7-0 through five innings before rattling off 11 runs in the final four innings to triumph and win the season series, two games to one.

While Wayne State scored eight runs in the top of the sixth, 13 batters came to the plate and Findlay utilized three different pitchers.  Those eight runs came in on just three separate plays.  They included a three-run inside-the-park home run by Aidan Arbogast (Livonia, Mich. / Livonia Stevenson [Mid-Michigan C.C. / Kellogg C.C. / Eastern Michigan]), his third (first since March 8), two-run single from Caleb Sanders (Eastpointe, Mich. / Detroit Edison Public School Academy [Dayton]) and three-run double by Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North).

Two frames later in the eighth, Brady Blakita (Canton, Mich. / Detroit Catholic Central) brought in Sanders with a groundout to the shortstop and Arbogast singled in Mason McGuire (Lyon Twp., Mich. / Brighton [Mott CC]).

On the mound, starter Bennett Hitzelberger (Richmond, Mich.) lasted just a third of an inning.  Hitzelberger gave up three runs, two earned, on two hits.  First out of the bullpen, TJ McAllister (St. Clair Shores, Mich. / South Lake) finished the first frame and pitched the second as well.  McAllister surrendered four runs, none of which were earned, on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

The four WSU pitchers that followed that pair were sensational over the course of the contest's final seven innings.  Starting with Will DeMasse (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota), his two scoreless frames, two hits, no free passes and two punchouts.

Miles Jamieson (Grosse Pointe, Mich. / Grosse Pointe South [Mid Michigan / Davidson]) picked up his first victory in the Green and Gold thanks to three shutout innings.  Jamieson allowed just one hit with one strikeout and no walks.

Coy Plummer (New Hudson, Mich. / South Lyon) handled the eighth with a pair of punchouts before Ethan Getting (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Portage Northern [Purdue Northwest]) slammed the door in the ninth while striking out the side.  Getting has conceded zero earned runs in all but four of his 15 appearances this spring.

#21 Davenport
Davenport, the 21st-ranked team in the country according tot he National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), took three of four from Wayne State at Harwell Field.

The Warriors' victory came in game one of the series, 9-8, a game that started on Friday and finished on Saturday due to a lightning suspension.  The Panthers won the other three by scores of 9-0, 4-2 and 12-3.

The Friday/Saturday game was an instant classic that saw a combined three ties, five lead changes, 17 runs scored, and 30 hits.

Davenport struck first with a run in the top of the second inning before Wayne State countered with a four spot in the home half.  Owen Tuccinardi (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline) scored Tony Hatzigeorgiou (Oxford, Mich.) with a groundout to the shortstop, Aidan Arbogast (Livonia, Mich. / Livonia Stevenson [Mid-Michigan C.C. / Kellogg C.C. / Eastern Michigan]) singled in Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) and Mason McGuire (Lyon Twp., Mich. / Brighton [Mott CC]) singled in Arbogast.

The Panthers responded with three scores in the third and another in the fourth to take the advantage back, 5-4.

In the bottom of the fourth with Jacoby Dale (Roseville, Mich. [Spring Arbor/Henry Ford CC]) standing on second and McGuire on first, Caleb Sanders (Eastpointe, Mich. / Detroit Edison Public School Academy [Dayton]) tripled to center.  That three-bagger scored both base runners and put the Warriors back ahead by one, 6-5.

DU notched its sixth score in the fifth before another pair in the eighth to lead again, this time by two, 8-6.

In Wayne State's half of the eighth, Ty Garza (Grosse Ile, Mich. [Barton College] drew a one-out walk before Dale singled to left center to put runners on first and second for McGuire.  McGuire then blasted a three-run home run over the green monster in left center, his third bomb of the season, that gave his squad the lead, 9-8.  That round-tripper gave the senior four hits on the game, his second four-hit performance as a Warrior and first of 2025.

The game was halted right there before being finished first thing Saturday afternoon.

Starter Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Aurora, Ont. / Newmarket [Central Florida / Georgia Highlands College]) lasted two and two-thirds innings in his first home start in the Green and Gold.  Pulford-Thorpe gave up four earned runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

First out of the bullpen, Will DeMasse (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota) threw three frames in his first relief appearance since March 10.  DeMasse allowed two earned runs on eight hits with one free pass.  Next, Miles Jamieson (Grosse Pointe, Mich. / Grosse Pointe South [Mid Michigan / Davidson]) surrendered just as many earned runs in two innings of work.  Jamieson did so on three hits with three walks and three punchouts.

Ethan Getting (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Portage Northern [Purdue Northwest]) improved to 3-2 with the victory after the final four outs on the back end, the first of which happened on Friday.  Davenport was unable to score on Getting who had just one hit next to his name with no walks and a pair of strikeouts.

Last Time Out - Purdue Northwest
In game one of the series, Purdue Northwest stormed out to a 7-0 advantage before Wayne State notched the next eight runs to take a one-run lead into the bottom of the 10th.  However, the Pride walked it off with a two-run sacrifice fly to right field.

The Warriors bounced back in a big way though in Saturday's doubleheader to win by scores of 10-6 and 13-4.

In those three outings combined, WSU racked up 31 total runs on 35 hits.

Scouting the Pride
Coached by 12th-year leader, Dave Griffin, Purdue Northwest comes in with a team batting average of .300 and team ERA of 6.65.

Starting at the plate, three everyday players (2 PA/G & 75% of GP) are above the .300 mark including Kam Earley (.374), AJ Reid (.372) and Dan Puplava (.317).  One of those three leads the team in nearly every statistical category at the plate. 

On the mound, Jake Nightingale has been the Pride's most productive pitcher.  Nightingale's stat line for the season includes a 1.74 ERA, 3-2 record, two complete games, 41.1 innings pitched, 32 strikeouts, only five walks, and a batting average against of .252.

PNW has lost seven games in a row and nine of its last 10 coming into this standalone contest with WSU.