Baseball 4/1/2026 3:30:00 PM Cooper Weidenthaler, Assistant Director for Media Relations

Wayne State Baseball and Grand Valley State Prepared for Top-25 Showdown

The sixth-ranked Lakers come in to Detroit to face the 22nd-ranked Warriors.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University baseball team (21-5 overall, 5-3 GLIAC) will host Grand Valley State (24-4 overall, 4-0 GLIAC) in a massive four-game series at Harwell Field on Thursday through Saturday for the Green and Gold's first home games of the 2026 season.

WSU will finally make its home debut after having three separate home dates postponed and not played against Ohio Dominican in March due to inclement weather.

National Spotlight
Both teams continue to receive recognition at both the regional and national levels. According to the most-recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) rankings, Grand Valley State is the top-ranked squad in the Midwest Region, while Wayne State checks in at third.

Nationally, when using the same source, the Lakers are No. 6 in all of Division II while the Warriors slid to No. 22 following a four-game split at Davenport. In the D2 Baseball top 25, GVSU is still sixth and WSU is 19th. When it comes to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), Grand Valley State is slotted in eighth and Wayne State in 28th. Last, but not least, in the Perfect Game rankings, the Lakers are ninth, with the Warriors coming in unranked.

Pitching Prowess
WSU has begun its 2026 season with one of the best pitching staffs in the nation. The Warriors rank first in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.86), first in WHIP (1.14), second in ERA (3.08), 10th in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (3.37f), and 17th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.38).

Individually, Will Lowery's impressive start to the season, including a no-hitter at Parkside on March 20, has him within the upper echelon of Division II. The redshirt junior ranks first in WHIP (0.72), second in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (4.21), 15th in ERA (1.73), 40th in pitching victories (five). The first-year Warrior has nine walks through 36.1 innings pitched, and a batting average against of just .135.

Following last season's chaotic pitching rotation due to a rash of injuries, the Warriors have had a relatively stable assortment of starters in 2026. Lowery is one of three starters to have made six starts, joining Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Aurora, Ont. / Newmarket [Central Florida / Georgia Highlands College]) and Gavin Nash (Howell, Mich. / Hartland). Pulford-Thorpe (3-0 record) has a 5.58 ERA through 30.2 innings, while Nash has a 3.69 ERA following 31.2 frames.

In relief, five Warriors have made five or more appearances, including 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]). Miller made his first WSU start in the previous contest at Davenport and was a winner with six innings of three-run baseball for a quality start.

Getting Offensive
To this point in 2026, Wayne State maintains a .289 (248-of-858) team batting average. The offensive attack has been led by Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North), who is hitting over .400 at .409 (36-of-88). Hill is one of just three players in the GLIAC to have an average over .400, among qualified hitters. His 1.214 OPS ranks third in the conference, while his five home runs are tied-for-sixth in the league. The junior outfielder also has five doubles, three triples, 27 RBI, and 21 walks (tied-for-fourth).

While Hill is the only Warrior over a .400 average, he is joined in the .300+ club (25 or more at bats) by Bennett Hitzelberger (Richmond, Mich.) at .351 (34-for-97), Rhett Roeser (New Baltimore, Mich. / Warren De La Salle) at .342 (26-for-76), and Nick Sandiha, Jr. (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Brother Rice [Macomb C.C.]) at .328 (21-for-64). Hitzelberger and Owen Tuccinardi (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline) lead the Warriors in home runs with six apiece.

Scouting Grand Valley State
Coached by third-year man Jordan Keur, the eighth head coach in program history has led Grand Valley State to a 97-43 record already in two-plus seasons. This season, like Wayne State, he's relied heavily on his pitching staff.

Grand Valley State's arms rank third in ERA (3.27), third in WHIP (1.21), fifth in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (7.69), fifth in shutouts (five), eighth in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (3.19), and 19th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.37).

Individually, the student-athlete at the forefront of that production has been senior Collin Bradley. Among the best Division II has to offer, Bradley ranks first in ERA (0.60), second in WHIP (0.74), second in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (0.60), third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.0), 18th in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.04), and 40th in pitching victories (five). Through 44.2 innings pitched, he's accounted for just three free passes, 30 punchouts and a batting average against of .186.

Bradley is one of three Lakers to have made seven starts, the other two being freshman Jackson Kees (1.95 ERA, 37 IP, 8 BB, 28 SO, .198 BAA) and junior Owen Avery (2.94 ERA, 33.2 IP, 17 BB, 27 SO, .264 BAA). The fourth start in the series this week would most likely be made by junior JJ Manion (4.50 ERA, 20 IP, 2 BB, 17 SO, .269 BAA).

Out of the bullpen, graduate student Ethan Houghtaling (1.50 ERA, 18 IP, 5 BB, 18 SO, .203 BAA) and sophomore Ty Uchman (4.50 ERA, 10 IP, 3 BB, 7 SO, .279 BAA) each have three saves to their name with eight appearances and nine appearances, respectively.

Offensively, GVSU is 19th in the country for batting average (.338), 13th in triples per game (0.46), 14th in total triples (13), 16th in runs per game (9.9), 27th in on-base percentage (.442), 35th in slugging percentage (.511), and 42nd in total runs scored (276).

Individually, four regulars are hitting .345 and up. That quartet includes senior Evan Morrison (.471), junior Caleb Estrada (.388), senior Jake Skaggs (.347), and senior Jovan Gill (.345). Morrison is ranked among the top 25 in the nation for multiple categories including second in hits per game (2.04), third in average, third in runs per game (1.68), fifth in toughest to strikeout, seventh in hits (57), 12th in triples (4), 17th in triples per game (0.14), and 18th in runs (47).

Up Next
Wayne State will stay at home with a four-game series against Saginaw Valley State on April 10-12, at Harwell Field.

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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

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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