CINCINNATI -- The Wayne State University baseball team (1-0 overall) couldn't have asked for a better start to the season on Friday afternoon at the University of Cincinnati's UC Baseball Stadium.  The Warriors opened their 2026 campaign with a decisive 11-1 victory over Tiffin (0-4 overall) in the first of a four-game weekend series.

Wayne State's 11 runs on nine hits included two scores in the first inning, three in the second, three in the fourth, one in the fifth, and two more in the eighth.

Six of those nine base knocks came from three Warriors in Bennett Hitzelberger (Richmond, Mich.), Owen Tuccinardi (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline) and Brayden Crowe (Brighton, Mich. / Hartland), each with two to their name.  The other three hits belonged to Nick Sandiha, Jr. (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Brother Rice [Macomb C.C.]), Rhett Roeser (New Baltimore, Mich. / Warren De La Salle) and Gabe Zeldes (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Detroit Country Day).

In the extra-base hit category, Hitzelberger (right center) and Roeser (left) each went deep with a two-run home run.  Tuccinardi, Sandiha, Jr., Crowe, and Hitzelberger had one double apiece as well.  Alfredo Velazquez (Livonia, Mich. / Brother Rice [Michigan]) also drove in a run as well thanks to a sacrifice fly to center.

On the mound, Will Lowery (Grosse Ile, Mich. / Gross Ile [Kalamazoo Valley C.C.]) earned the start on opening day and didn't disappoint.  Lowery lasted five shutout frames for the victory with only two hits allowed, two strikeouts and no walks on 69 pitches.

Out of the bullpen, TJ McAllister (St. Clair Shores, Mich. / South Lake), Landon Ide (Fort Myers, Fla. / Bonita Springs), Oscar Pace (Brighton, Mich. / Hartland), and Carson Tehan (LaSalle, Ont. / Sandwich S.S.) took care of the final four innings, including one each.

Wayne State and Tiffin will continue their four-game set on Saturday with a doubleheader slated to begin at 1 p.m.  Both games are scheduled for seven innings.