DETROIT -- Riding the program's first 4-0 start in seven years, the Wayne State University baseball team will head to The Volunteer State on Friday-Sunday for another in-region series. The Warriors will do battle with Lewis (1-3 overall) at the USA Stadium Complex in Millington, Tenn. Start times include 2 p.m. on the 20th, 2 p.m. on the 21st (doubleheader) and noon on the 22nd.
Weekend Rewind
WSU's 4-0 mark comes at the hands of Tiffin (0-7 overall) at the University of Cincinnati's stadium in The Queen City on Friday through Sunday. Wayne State's victories included final scores of 11-1, 16-5, 9-4, and 6-1. Going back to 2019, the last time the Warriors won their first four games of a campaign, the Green and Gold started that season at 8-0.
Offense
Starting at the plate, the good guys outscored their opponent 42-11 with 43 hits to the Dragons' 21 and a team batting average of .331 (43-for-130).
Individually,
Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) had the best week of any Warrior going 7-for-10 (.700 batting average) with six runs scored, two doubles, one home run, four RBI, 12 total bases, five walks, a sacrifice fly, and only one strikeout. Appearing for the first times in his career,
Rhett Roeser (New Baltimore, Mich. / Warren De La Salle) was also above .500 at .571 (4-for-7) with four runs, one blast, five driven in, seven total bases, three free passes, and only one punchout.
Those two were joined by five others to finish the series with an average of at least .300. That quintet included
Bennett Hitzelberger (Richmond, Mich.) at .375,
Owen Tuccinardi (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline) at .357,
Nick Sandiha, Jr. (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Brother Rice [Macomb C.C.]) at .333,
Alfredo Velazquez (Livonia, Mich. / Brother Rice [Michigan]) at .308, and
Gabe Zeldes (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Detroit Country Day) at .300.
Pitching
Wayne State holds a 2.81 team ERA with a batting average against of just .186.
Three Warrior hurlers pitched multiple innings and didn't surrender a single run. That trio includes
Gabe Nazelli (Farmington Hills, Mich. / Detroit Country Day) with five innings pitched,
Will Lowery (Grosse Ile, Mich. / Gross Ile [Kalamazoo Valley C.C.]) with five frames and
Nick Baker (Brighton, Mich. [Lansing C.C.]) with three.
The newcomer Lowery and Baker each notched pitching victories while the other two belonged to
Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Aurora, Ont. / Newmarket [Central Florida / Georgia Highlands College]) and another new face in
Philip Miller (Flat Rock, Mich. / Woodhaven [Schoolcraft C.C. / Tusculum]).
When it comes to strikeout totals, Nazelli and Pulford-Thorpe each punched out five batters in their five frames apiece.
Scouting Lewis
At 1-3 overall, Lewis' one win was 4-2 against Cedarville. The three losses included 9-6 and 14-3 to Saginaw Valley State as well as 6-4 to Cedarville. The Flyers are coached by fifth-year leader Mike Vucsko, who is 119-95-1 overall in four-plus seasons, for a 55.6 winning percentage.
Offensively, Lewis has been paced by a quartet of players hitting at least .400 in Chris Daugherty (.500, 5-for-10), Jimmy Spellman (.467, 7-for-15), Jackson Hunley (.417, 5-for-12), and Kyle Peterson (.400, 4-for-10). Tylor Phommachanhom is at the top of the runs category with five and three different players have stolen a base, but the Flyers have yet to hit a home run.
On the mound, Tanner Johnson is the squad's ringleader so far with a 1.59 ERA in one start that lasted five-and-two-thirds innings. Jackson Bruno (2.1 IP) and Ben Catrambone (2.0 IP) are the team's only two players to have pitched multiple innings without a single run given up.
All-Time Series
Wayne State and Lewis have faced off five times in the all-time ledger with the Warriors having won four of those meetings.
