Baseball 4/20/2026 4:00:00 PM Cooper Weidenthaler, Assistant Director for Media Relations

Baseball to Host In-Region Foe Hillsdale on Tuesday at Harwell

The Chargers walked off the Warriors on their field, 11-10, on April 14.

DETROIT -- Following a four-game GLIAC sweep at Roosevelt on Friday through Sunday, the 15th-ranked Wayne State University baseball team (30-9 overall) will take a brief break from league play. On Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m., the Warriors will host Hillsdale (18-20 overall) at Harwell Field. The Chargers' record will be different as they're set to host Findlay in a G-MAC doubleheader later on Monday.

National Spotlight
With the new rankings set to be released on Wednesday afternoon, Wayne State sits at No. 15 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll. 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.

The official NCAA regional rankings will come out this week as well with the first installment featuring the teams in alphabetical order.

About a Week Ago, Week Ago
Wayne State and Hillsdale combined to score 21 runs on 19 hits last Tuesday, but the Chargers got the best of the Warriors with an 11-10 walk-off victory at Lenda and Glenda Hill Stadium at TFO Partners Field. That result came despite WSU having a six-run advantage through six-and-a-half innings at 10-4.

Despite racking up 10 hits, only two Warriors finished with more than one including Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) at 3-for-4 and Owen Tuccinardi (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline) at 2-for-5.

Not atypical for a mid-week contest, the Green and Gold threw nine pitchers into the game. Only starting pitcher Will DeMasse (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota) with 2 IP and reliever Rocco Cardinale (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) with 1.2 IP, saw more than an inning of work. Besides DeMasse and Cardinale, the seven Warrior relievers were Nick Baker (Brighton, Mich. [Lansing C.C.]), TJ McAllister (St. Clair Shores, Mich. / South Lake), Coy Plummer (New Hudson, Mich. / South Lyon), Carson Tehan (LaSalle, Ont. / Sandwich S.S.), Ethan Getting (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Portage Northern [Purdue Northwest]), Landon Ide (Fort Myers, Fla. / Bonita Springs), and Philip Miller (Flat Rock, Mich. / Woodhaven [Schoolcraft C.C. / Tusculum]).

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 .438, 10th in the country and first in the GLIAC, Hill's 20 multi-hit games lead Wayne State this season while his 12 multi-RBI contests are one behind Tuccinardi for the squad's best. Among the best that Division II has to offer, Hill also ranks 30th in on-base percentage (.535), 35th in total triples (four) and 42nd in slugging percentage (.745). Something to keep in mind, if the season ended right now, that .438 clip for Hill would be good for fifth in the program's single-season record book.

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 3.14 thanks to just nine earned runs allowed in his last six starts, a stretch that includes 37 frames of work. For those of you doing the math at home, that equates to a 2.18 ERA, not to mention 37 strikeouts to just six walks during that same span.

Scouting Hillsdale
Hillsdale is led by fifth-year head coach Tom Vessella, who has guided HC to a 113-128 ledger in his tenure. The Chargers will be coming off a four-game G-MAC series against Findlay, which finishes up on Monday night, after the two squads split the first two meetings on Friday.

Hillsdale's leading batter at the dish is sophomore Gaard Swenson. Swenson is currently hitting at a team-best .350 clip (55-for-157) and is one of just three student-athletes to have started all 38 games in 2026. Swenson also paces HC in hits (55), stolen bases (15), and triples (three). Junior Rocco Tenuta, one of the other two that have played in every game, is first on the squad in OPS (.938), runs scored (31, tied with Aaron Jasiak), home runs (five), RBI (33), and slugging percentage (.514). Freshman Nolan Coppens is the team leader in doubles (12) and walks (26).

Of those with at least 15 innings thrown, senior Patrick MacLean is the only one with an ERA lower than two at 1.82 in 29.2 IP. MacLean is part of a challenging relief tandem with redshirt sophomore Josh Novak, who holds opposing batters to a team-low .173 batting average against, while also having a squad-low 1.05 WHIP. Novak and MacLean have also nabbed six of Hillsdale's eight saves on the season.

In strikeouts, sophomore Brenden Smith has racked up a team-high 39, which is four more than fellow starter Logan McLaughlin with 34. The trio of Smith, redshirt junior McLaughlin, and junior Jacob Pallo have combined to start 27 of the Chargers' 38 games this campaign.

Up Next
Wayne State will play its final home games of the 2026 regular season on Friday through Sunday. The Warriors will host Purdue Northwest for a four-game series, including a 3 p.m. start on Friday, 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, and noon on Sunday for Senior Day.

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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

#15 Ethan Getting: RHP; 6' 2"; Senior; R/R

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

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

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

#41 Coy Plummer: RHP; 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior; R/R

#10 Carson Tehan: RHP; 6' 0"; Sophomore; R/R

#2 Owen Tuccinardi: DH; 6' 0"; 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

#15 Ethan Getting
: 6' 2"; Senior; R/R
: RHP

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

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

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

#41 Coy Plummer
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior; R/R
: RHP

#10 Carson Tehan
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; R/R
: RHP

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