DETROIT -- The seventh-ranked Wayne State University baseball team (19-3 overall, 3-1 GLIAC) is set to continue GLIAC play on the road this week as it'll travel to Davenport (12-14 overall, 4-0 GLIAC) for a four-game series on Friday through Sunday.  The Panthers ended the Warriors 2025 season in the GLIAC Tournament finals last May.

Mr. No-Hitter
Redshirt junior Will Lowery (Gross Ile, Mich. [Kalamazoo Valley C.C.]) was named Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Pitcher of the Week on Monday followed by National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) Midwest Region Pitcher of the Week honors on Wednesday.   The honors come after Lowery threw Wayne State's first nine-inning no-hitter since 2019, and just the second in the last 22 years, in WSU's 10-1 win at Parkside the previous Friday.  While improving to 5-0 on the season and throwing 119 total pitches, Lowery surrendered one unearned run, one walk and struck out 10 Rangers.

National Spotlight
Because of that red-hot 19-3 start to the season, Wayne State continues to be a mainstay in the rankings among multiple national polls.  The Warriors are listed seventh for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), 19th for D2 Baseball and 22nd for the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).

Pitching Prowess
Thanks in large part to the work of Lowery on the mound, Wayne State has begun its 2026 campaign with one of the best pitching staffs in the country.  Nationally, the Warriors rank first in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.5), first in WHIP (1.11), second in ERA (2.79), 13th in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (3.47), and 19th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.35).  The WSU pitchers also have a solid defense behind them to thank as the Green and Gold's collective fielding percentage of .973 is good for 30th for all of Division II.

Individually, Lowery is third in all of Division II for WHIP (0.68), fourth in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (4.35), 11th in ERA (1.45), 24th in pitching victories (five), 38th in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (1.74), and 44th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.33).  At 5-0 overall, the first-year Warrior has 26 strikeouts to only six walks through 31 innings pitched and a batting average against of just .142.

Lowery is one of three Warriors to have made five starts, along with Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Aurora, Ont. / Newmarket [Central Florida / Georgia Highlands College]) and Gavin Nash (Howell, Mich. / Hartland).  Pulford-Thorpe (3-0 record) has a 5.96 ERA through 25.2 innings and Nash has a 3.86 ERA after 25.2 frames.

Out of the bullpen, five Warriors have made five 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:  1.88 ERA, 14.1 IP, .160 BAA
Cardinale:  2.35 ERA, 7.2 IP, .185 BAA, 3 saves (36th in DII)
McAllister:  0.00 ERA, 8.1 IP, .036 BAA
DeMasse:  2.61 ERA, 10.1 IP, .222 BAA
Miller:  3.48 ERA, 10.1 IP, .162 BAA, 16 SO

Getting Offensive
So far this season, Wayne State carries a .297 (216-for-728) team batting average, an offensive attack that has been spearheaded by Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North).  Hill is hitting .397 (29-for-73, fifth in GLIAC) with a 1.199 OPS (fourth), 19 runs scored, three doubles, two triples, five home runs (tied-for-fourth), 23 RBI, 18 walks (fifth), and three sacrifice flies (tied-for-fourth).

Hill is one of five Warrior regulars hitting above .300 so far, the other four being Rhett Roeser (New Baltimore, Mich. / Warren De La Salle) at .371 (23-for-62), Bennett Hitzelberger (Richmond, Mich.) at .342 (27-for-79), Tony Hatzigeorgiou (Oxford, Mich.) at .329 (23-for-70), and Owen Tuccinardi at .320 (24-for-75).  More specifically, Tuccinardi has been WSU's biggest power threat so far with six round trippers and 27 runs driven in, both of which are tops on the team.

Scouting Davenport
Coming off the aforementioned GLIAC Tournament championship over Wayne State last season as part of a 42-15 season, the Panthers are just 12-14 to this point in 2026.  However, Head Coach Kevin Tidey's squad has played an assortment of challenging GLVC teams, including Rockhurst, UIndy, Quincy, Missouri-St. Louis, and Illinois Springfield.  DU has won its last five games, with four of those coming to start GLIAC action at home against Roosevelt.

Tidey, now in his 15th season at the helm of the Panthers' baseball program, owns a record of 486-248 with the squad.

Davenport's team batting average of .325 is second best in the GLIAC, behind Grand Valley State's .336 mark.  They are led by senior Justin Johnson's .406 average (42-of-103), which ranks fourth in the conference amongst qualified hitters.  Other leaders on the offensive side for DU include redshirt sophomore Sam Clay in runs scored (31), senior Travis Liford in doubles (13), and senior Dylan Pawenski in both RBI (30) and in slugging percentage (.726).

While having a dynamic offense, Davenport does struggle on the pitching side.  The team's 8.31 ERA sixth out of seven squads in the conference.  Of those with at least 10 innings under their belts this season, the best DU pitcher has been relief pitcher and redshirt junior Jaden Alberson.  Alberson has a team-low 3.48 ERA, which equates to four earned runs allowed in 10.1 IP.  Senior Sean Knorr, a starting pitcher, has a squad-best 1.35 WHIP, while also leading Davenport in strikeouts (29).  DU runs a closer-by-committee bullpen, as four pitchers have earned one save apiece.

Up Next
Wayne State will finally make its 2026 home debut with a non-conference affair against Ohio Dominican on Tuesday at 2 p.m.  The Warriors and Panthers are scheduled to play nine innings at Harwell Field.