Baseball 3/19/2026 10:00:00 AM Cooper Weidenthaler, Assistant Director for Media Relations

Seventh-Ranked Wayne State Baseball Ready to Open GLIAC Play at Parkside

The Warriors and Rangers will play four games over the course of three days (Friday through Sunday).

DETROIT -- Off to its best 18-game start in program history, the seventh-ranked Wayne State University baseball team (16-2 overall) is ready for a new season-within-a-season to commence Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play. The Warriors will be at Parkside (11-5 overall) on Friday through Sunday for a four-game series against the Rangers.

Unprecedented Start
As mentioned above, Wayne State has won 16 of its first 18 games to begin a campaign for the first time in program history. The last team to come close to that mark was the 2023 squad that started 15-3. Those Warriors later went on to set the program's single-season record for wins at 42 (42-13 overall). That team also won both the GLIAC Regular Season and GLIAC Tournament Championships, before playing in the NCAA Tournament as part of the Midwest Regional.

Wayne State only two losses came on the front-end of a pair of Saturday doubleheaders, meaning the Green and Gold have claimed a victory every day they have stepped on the field so far in 2026.

National Spotlight
Because of that red-hot 16-2 start, Wayne State has begun to climb up the rankings among multiple national polls. The Warriors are listed seventh for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), 19th for D2 Baseball and 25th for the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).

Pitching Prowess
Wayne State owns the second-best team earned run average (ERA) in the country at 2.71, behind only Bloomsburg's 2.34. The Warriors are also first nationally in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.4), first in WHIP (walks & hits per inning pitched) at 1.13, 24th in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (3.75), 26th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.2), and 26th in fielding percentage (.974).

At the forefront of WSU's pitching staff has been redshirt junior transfer Will Lowery (Grosse Ile, Mich. [Kalamazoo Valley C.C.]). Lowery is 19th in all of Division II for WHIP (0.91), 33rd in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.14), 34th in ERA (2.05), and 35th in pitching victories (four). At 4-0 overall, the first-year Warrior has 16 strikeouts to only five walks through 22 innings pitched and a batting average against of just .195.

Right behind Lowery statistically has been fellow right-hander and grad student Gabe Nazelli. Nazelli has just one pitching decision to his name (1-0 overall), but also owns a 2.18 ERA through 20.2 frames with a 1.31 WHIP, 21 punchouts (team high), nine free passes, and an opponent batting average of .240.

Lowery and Nazelli are two of four Warriors to have made four starts, along with Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Aurora, Ont. / Newmarket [Central Florida / Georgia Highlands College]) and Gavin Nash (Howell, Mich. / Hartland). Pulford-Thorpe (2-0 record) has a 4.50 ERA through 20 innings and Nash has a 4.82 ERA after 18.2 frames.

Out of the bullpen, five Warriors have made four or more appearances. That quintet includes Nick Baker (Brighton, Mich. [Lansing C.C.])), Rocco Cardinale (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North), TJ McAllister (St. Clair Shores, Mich. / South Lake), Will DeMasse (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota), and Philip Miller (Flat Rock, Mich. / Woodhaven [Schoolcraft C.C. / Tusculum]).

Baker: 1.98 ERA, 13.2 IP, .149 BAA
Cardinale: 2.35 ERA, 7.2 IP, .185 BAA, 3 saves (23rd in DII)
McAllister: 0.00 ERA, 7.1 IP, .042 BAA
DeMasse: 2.70 ERA, 6.2 IP, .167 BAA
Miller: 3.72 ERA, 9.2 IP, .171 BAA, 15 SO

GLIAC Pitcher of the Week
Nash was named GLIAC Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career on Monday afternoon. Making his fourth start of the season in No. 16-Wayne State's (NCBWA) 6-2 victory over Winona State on Wednesday, Nash was brilliant through seven innings pitched. The redshirt sophomore picked up his first pitching victory of the season (1-2 overall record) with two earned runs allowed, four hits, only one walk, and 11 strikeouts (career high) on 97 total pitches.

Getting Offensive
So far this season, Wayne State carries a .295 (175-for-593) team batting average, an offensive attack that has been spearheaded by Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North). Hill is hitting .441 (26-for-59, third in GLIAC) with a 1.283 OPS (second), 16 runs scored, three doubles, two triples (tied-for-fourth), four home runs (tied-for-fifth), 20 RBI, 13 walks, and three sacrifice flies (tied-for-second).

Hill is one of four Warrior regulars hitting above .300 so far, the other three being Bennett Hitzelberger (Richmond, Mich.) at .355 (22-for-62), Rhett Roeser (New Baltimore, Mich. / Warren De La Salle) at .340 (17-for-50) and Tony Hatzigeorgiou (Oxford, Mich.) at .321 (17-for-53). With all of that being said, Owen Tuccinardi (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline) has been WSU's biggest power threat so far with five round trippers and 25 runs driven in, both of which are tops on the team.

GLIAC Player of the Week
Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) was named GLIAC Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Monday afternoon. In six Warrior wins last week, Hill hit .478 (11-for-23) with six runs scored, one double, three home runs, nine RBI, four walks, and one stolen base. The junior slugged .913 while getting on-base at a .556 clip for a 1.469 OPS.

Scouting Parkside
The Rangers enter conference action with an 11-5 overall record, which is good enough for the third-best winning percentage in the GLIAC. However, UWP has not played since Monday, March 9, at Upper Iowa due to a pair of games against Roosevelt and Rockford not played due to weather. Parkside has won its last three contests, all against Upper Iowa, and seven of its past eight. The Rangers are led by fourth-year head coach Zac Charbonneau.

Graduate student Benjamin Loyd has been among Parkside's most consistent hitters at the plate so far this season. The infielder has the best batting average (.357) on the squad amongst those with at least 10 games played. Loyd also paces the squad in hits (20) and tied for the team-lead in total bases (26). Sophomore Josh Wicker leads UWP in doubles with six, as well as in RBI with 13. Senior Joe Mrowiec and junior Trace Kirchberg each have hit three home runs, and their six combined homers account for 60 percent of the Rangers' long balls in 2026.

Pitching wise, a name to take note of is senior Brennen Miller. The right-hander has been devastating to opposing hitters in his four starts, owning a 2.16 ERA, .96 WHIP, 18 strikeouts, and an even .200 batting average against. Parkside follows that with Leo Berger in relief, with the junior claiming a 0.87 ERA (lowest amongst those with at least five innings pitched), which equates to just one earned run in 10.1 IP.

Up Next
Wayne State will stay on the road for league play and be at Davenport for a four-game set on Friday-Sunday, March 27-29.

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Players Mentioned

#25 Nick Baker: LHP; 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior; L/L

#8 Rocco Cardinale: RHP; 6' 2"; Sophomore; R/R

#34 Will DeMasse: RHP; 6' 0"; Junior; R/R

#9 Tony Hatzigeorgiou: 3B; 6' 1"; Senior; R/R

#13 Drew Hill: RF; 5' 10"; Junior; L/L

#24 Bennett Hitzelberger: 1B/LF/LHP; 6' 2"; Senior; L/L

#12 TJ McAllister: RHP; 6' 1"; Graduate Student; L/R

#21 Gavin Nash: RHP; 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore; R/R

#17 Gabe Nazelli: RHP; 6' 3"; Graduate Student; L/R

#32 Rhett Roeser: RHP/2B/3B; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R

Players Mentioned

#25 Nick Baker
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior; L/L
: LHP

#8 Rocco Cardinale
: 6' 2"; Sophomore; R/R
: RHP

#34 Will DeMasse
: 6' 0"; Junior; R/R
: RHP

#9 Tony Hatzigeorgiou
: 6' 1"; Senior; R/R
: 3B

#13 Drew Hill
: 5' 10"; Junior; L/L
: RF

#24 Bennett Hitzelberger
: 6' 2"; Senior; L/L
: 1B/LF/LHP

#12 TJ McAllister
: 6' 1"; Graduate Student; L/R
: RHP

#21 Gavin Nash
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore; R/R
: RHP

#17 Gabe Nazelli
: 6' 3"; Graduate Student; L/R
: RHP

#32 Rhett Roeser
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R
: RHP/2B/3B