Wayne State University Athletics

Baseball 4/16/2026 12:00:00 PM Cooper Weidenthaler, Assistant Director for Media Relations

Baseball Heads to Roosevelt for Final GLIAC Road Series

The Lakers will host the Warriors on their own field for the first time ever.

DETROIT -- The 15th-ranked Wayne State University baseball team (26-9 overall, 10-6 GLIAC) will make its final league road trip of the 2026 regular season on Friday through Sunday in Crestwood, Illinois. There, the Warriors will do battle with Roosevelt (9-27 overall, 0-12 GLIAC) in a four-game series at the Lakers' Ozinga Field, the two squads' first-ever meetings on that diamond.

Last Time Out
Wayne State was last in action on Tuesday afternoon for a non-conference contest at Hillsdale. While the Warriors, ranked No. 21 at the time, were feeling good after six-and-a-half innings of action (up 10-4), the Chargers rallied back for a walk-off 11-10 victory. The home team used a six-run seventh to tie the game at 10-10, before winning the game via a walk-off single to center field in the bottom of the ninth.

Individually at the plate, Drew Hill (3-for-4, 3 R, 3 RBI) was the story as he finished a triple short of the cycle and his two-run home run in the third tied him with Owen Tuccinardi (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline) for the team lead with seven. On the mound, WSU threw nine pitchers into the game, only two of which retired more than three batters, the starter Will DeMasse (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota) and Rocco Cardinale (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North).

National Spotlight
Despite falling in a one-run thriller on Tuesday, Wayne State was able to move up six spots from No. 21 to No. 15 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll. That ascent came thanks in part to the Warriors taking three of four games at home against Saginaw Valley State last weekend.

Additionally, the Green and Gold appeared in second for the Midwest Region rankings, behind just fellow GLIAC foe Grand Valley State. Traditionally, the top two squads in the region earn the opportunity to host a portion of the NCAA Midwest Regional, which this season will be held between Thursday, May 14, and Sunday, May 17.

Blackjack
No. 21, Wayne State's redshirt-sophomore Gavin Nash (Howell, Mich. / Hartland), has been pitching as well as anyone as of late. After a 6.17 ERA through his first three starts (11.2 IP, 5 BB, 9 SO), Nash has lowered that mark to 3.07 thanks to just seven earned runs allowed in his last five starts, a stretch that includes 32.1 frames of work. For those of you doing the math at home, that equates to a 1.94 ERA, not to mention 33 strikeouts to just three walks during that same span.

Lucky 13
Not including his first game of the season in which he went 0-for-2 at the plate, Drew Hill's (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) batting average has dipped below the .400 mark just twice, .397 after an 0-for-2 day at Parkside and .394 following an 0-for-3 performance against Grand Valley State. With a season average sitting at .433, 23rd in the country and first in the GLIAC, Hill's 17 multi-hit games lead Wayne State this season while his nine multi-RBI contests are tied with Tuccinardi for the squad's best. Among the best that Division II has to offer, Hill also ranks 48th in on-base percentage (.527) and 63rd in slugging percentage (.717). Something to keep in mind, if the season ended right now, that .433 clip for Hill would be good for fifth in the program's single-season record book.

Scouting Roosevelt
Still in search of its first conference victory, Roosevelt is coached by sixth-year leader Jason Becker who has gone 126-145 overall and 5-31 in GLIAC games during his tenure with the Lakers. Prior to taking over at RU, Becker spent nine seasons at Robert Morris University of Illinois (263-173 record), so his career record sits at 389-318 entering the four-game set against Wayne State.

Roosevelt's .263 team batting average is thanks in large part to a quartet of players. Those four student-athletes are freshman Ian Bagaconza (.364 average), junior Maxwell Bowers (.306), junior Alejandro Munoz (.303), and junior CJ Chalk (.298). On the mound, with an 11.30 team ERA, the Lakers don't boast a single pitcher with an individual ERA below nine and at least one inning pitched. Senior Liam Neely leads the team in both frames worked with 44 and ERA at 8.18.

Up Next
Wayne State will play its final home games of the regular season next week. Hillsdale will come to Detroit on Tuesday afternoon for a 2 p.m. first pitch, before Purdue Northwest is in town on Friday through Sunday for a four-game set at Harwell Field.

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Players Mentioned

#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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#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

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

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