Wayne State University Athletics

Baseball 3/7/2026 1:00:00 PM Cooper Weidenthaler, Assistant Director for Media Relations

Baseball to Begin Play at Annual RussMatt Invitational in Florida

The Warriors will play six games against six different opponents next week in The Sunshine State.

DETROIT -- Already 12 games into the 2026 campaign, the Wayne State University baseball squad (10-2 overall) will once again play in the annual RussMatt Central Florida Invitational across three cities in the Sunshine State. WSU will have a busy week with six games in six days between Monday, March 9, and Saturday, March 14, with the contests being held in Davenport, Fla. (four contests), Winter Haven, Fla. (one game), and Auburndale, Fla. (one contest).

Full Schedule
Game 1 (Monday, March 9): Minnesota State, Mankato, at 11 a.m., in Davenport, Fla.
Game 2 (Tuesday, March 10): St. Cloud State, at 1 p.m., in Winter Haven, Fla.
Game 3 (Wednesday, March 11): Winona State, at 10 a.m., in Davenport, Fla.
Game 4 (Thursday, March 12): Minnesota Duluth, at 11 a.m., in Davenport, Fla.
Game 5 (Friday, March 13): Northern State, at 3:45 p.m. in Auburndale, Fla.
Game 6 (Saturday, March 14): California (Pa.), at 9 a.m. in Davenport, Fla.

Coincidentally, the first four contests are all against squads from Minnesota and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), while Northern State (South Dakota) competes in the same conference. California (Pa.) calls the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) home.

Opponents (all numbers through March 5):
Minnesota State, Mankato
Conference: Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC)
Record: 10-3 Overall, 5-1 NSIC
Coach: Matt Magers, 18th Season, 685-219 Record
Top Pitcher: Sam George, 22.0 IP, 0.82 ERA, 22 SO, 5 BB
Top Hitter: Jake Berkland, .440 AVG (22-for-50), 4 HR, 17 RBI, 1.311 OPS
Full Statistics

St. Cloud State
Conference: NSIC
Record: 8-6 Overall, 5-1 NSIC
Coach: Pat Dolan, 19th Season, 647-275-1 Record
Top Pitcher: Kahler Key, 19.1 IP, 2.79 ERA, 25 SO, 12 BB
Top Hitter: Ryan Cahoon, .444 AVG (16-for-36), 1.207 OPS, 16 R, 9 RBI
Full Statistics

Winona State
Conference: NSIC
Record: 4-3 Overall, 1-2 NSIC
Coach: Seth Wing, Fourth Season, 71-87 Record
Top Pitcher: Sawyer Hoffman, 8.0 IP, 3,38 ERA, 11 SO, 2 BB
Top Hitter: Easton Arendt, .450 AVG (9-for-20), 1.107 OPS, 6 R, 4 RBI
Full Statistics

Minnesota Duluth
Conference: NSIC
Record: 3-5 Overall, 2-4 NSIC
Coach: Bob Rients, 20th Season, 430-500 Record
Top Pitcher: Henry Wilkinson, 10.1 IP, 4.35 ERA, 9 SO, 4 BB
Top Hitter: Henry Bushey, .400 AVG (10-for-25), 1.283 OPS, 5 2B, 12 RBI
Full Statistics

Northern State
Conference: NSIC
Record: 0-4 Overall, 0-3 NSIC
Interim Coach: Brandon Kusler, First Season, 0-4 Record
Top Pitcher: Mason Hoheisel, 6.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 4 SO, 1 BB
Top Hitter: Drew Benson, .417 AVG (5-for-12), 1.417 OPS, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Full Statistics

California (Pa.)
Conference: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)
Record: 4-3 Overall
Coach: Joey Noro, First Season, 4-3 Record
Top Pitcher: Beau Bigam, 11.2 IP, 1.54 ERA, 12 SO, 2 BB
Top Hitter: Connor Evans, .462 AVG (12-for-26), 1.275 OPS, 4 2B, 9 RBI
Full Statistics

Wayne State, meanwhile, has won 10 of its first 12 contests, which all came against Midwest Region foes in Tiffin, Lewis and Findlay. The Warriors swept the Dragons in Cincinnati, Ohio, to kick off the campaign, before nabbing three of four against the Flyers in Millington, Tenn. Most recently, the Green and Gold secured three victories in four tries with the Oilers in Cincinnati. The winning scores were 9-2, 6-4, and 15-1 in the series finale on Sunday, March 1.

Leading the way offensively for the Warriors is Rhett Roeser (New Baltimore, Mich. / Warren De La Salle), who currently owns the only WSU batting average over .500 this season. The redshirt freshman, in his first season with playing time, has a .519 AVG (14-for-27), a 1.280 OPS, two doubles, one home run, 10 RBI, and a .704 slugging percentage. Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) is the other Warrior with at least a .400 batting average at .417 (15-for-36). Owen Tuccinardi (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline) brings the power with a team-leading four home runs along with 19 RBI (also a team high) and a squad-best .780 slugging percentage. Overall, nine members of the Green and Gold have homered in its 12 games played so far this season.

On the mound, both Gabe Nazelli (Farmington Hills, Mich. / Detroit Country Day) and Will Lowery (Grosse Ile, Mich. [Kalamazoo Valley C.C.]) have provided strong starting pitching for WSU. Nazelli owns a 1.23 ERA in 14.2 IP, which is the lowest of Wayne State's four starters. The graduate student has also struck out a team-best 16 opposing hitters. Lowery has won each of his three starts this year and holds a 2.40 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP in 15.0 innings pitched. Overall, the Warriors' team ERA of 3.21 ranks second in the GLIAC, behind only Grand Valley State's 2.15 ERA. The pitching staff as a whole has allowed just 35 earned runs in 98.0 total innings.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#2 Owen Tuccinardi: DH; 6' 0"; Junior; R/R

#35 Will Lowery: RHP; 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior; R/R

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#2 Owen Tuccinardi
: 6' 0"; Junior; R/R
: DH

#35 Will Lowery
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior; R/R
: RHP