DETROIT -- The final home games of the 2026 regular season are here for the Wayne State University baseball team (31-9 overall, 14-6 GLIAC) and they'll come on Friday through Sunday at Harwell Field.  The Warriors will host Purdue Northwest (14-19 overall, 6-10 GLIAC) in a four-game set -- 3 p.m. on Friday, 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and Sunday's Senior Day beginning at high noon.

Last Time Out
Wayne State avenged its 11-10 loss at Hillsdale on April 14 by taking care of the Chargers 13-8 in Detroit this past Tuesday.

Starting at the plate, WSU racked up 13 hits, its 22nd game with 10 or more this spring (18-4 record).  Of the seven Warriors to collect a hit, four of those seven turned in multi-hit performances.  They were Tony Hatzigeorgiou (Oxford, Mich.) off the bench at 3-for-3, Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) at 3-for-5, Brayden Crowe at 2-for-4, and Ty Garza (Grosse Ile, Mich. [Barton College]) at 2-for-5.  Of the Green and Gold's 13 total hits, the most important may have been Garza's grand slam over the monster in the bottom of the sixth inning that put his team ahead by one, 6-5.

A grand total of seven pitchers saw time on the mound for the Warriors in the victory.  That began with starting pitcher TJ McAllister (St. Clair Shores, Mich. / South Lake) in his first start of 2026.  McAllister went the first two innings, allowed three hits and one earned run, while punching out a team-best four among those seven WSU arms.  Philip Miller (Flat Rock, Mich. / Woodhaven [Schoolcraft C.C. / Tusculum]) threw the next two innings with one run allowed and three strikeouts.

Joel Mator (Trenton, Mich.) picked up the first win of his collegiate career by being the pitcher of record when Wayne State grabbed its first lead of the day.  Mator went 1.1 innings after Coy Plummer (New Hudson, Mich. / South Lyon) picked up two outs.  Closing out the Warrior victory after the home squad obtained the lead were Rocco Cardinale (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) with two scoreless frames, Oscar Pace (Brighton, Mich. / Hartland), and Carson Tehan (LaSalle, Ont. / Sandwich S.S.) with the final out of the contest via a strikeout.

National Spotlight
Wayne State comes into this series at No. 14 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll.  Additionally, the Green and Gold appeared in second for the Midwest Region rankings for that same source, behind just fellow GLIAC foe Grand Valley State.  Traditionally, the top two squads (of seven total) 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 top seed hosts a three-team regional while the two seed hosts a four-team regional.

The official NCAA regional rankings were also released this week, in alphabetical order, and Wayne State was one of the 10 squads featured.

Lucky 13
Not including his first game of the season in which he went 0-for-2 at the plate, Hill's  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 .444, ninth in the country and first in the GLIAC, Hill's 21 multi-hit games lead Wayne State this season while his 13 multi-RBI contests are tied with Owen Tuccinardi (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline) for the squad's best.  Among the best that Division II has to offer, Hill also ranks 26th in on-base percentage (.537), 35th in total triples (four), 42nd in hits per game (1.58), and 44th in slugging percentage (.739).  Something to keep in mind, if the season ended right now, that .444 clip for Hill would be good for fifth in the program's single-season record book.

Blackjack
No. 21, Wayne State's 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 Purdue Northwest
At 5-11 on the road so far this season, Purdue Northwest has won consecutive games away from home just once this spring and it came back on March 8 at Lewis.  The Pride are coached by Dave Griffin, Griffin's 13th season at the helm.

With a team batting average of .278, PNW features three regulars hitting above the .300 mark in sophomore Brayden Barrett (.365, 96 AB), freshman Billy Chidsey (.325, 114 AB) and freshman Drew Kosteba (.323, 127 AB).  With that being said, sophomore Joey Guiliano is second on the team in at-bats with 119 and a .286 batting average to show for it.  One of those first three players listed leads the team in just about every offensive statistical category.

On the mound, with a 7.44 team ERA, two everyday pitchers have a sub-six ERA.  They are senior Owen Walkowiak (4.62 ERA, 37 IP) and freshman Colin Pfeifer (5.19 ERA. 34.2 IP).  Walkowiak is one top of the strikeout department with 32, rookie Preston Burton has accounted for three pitching victories and junior Ivan Balboa has a 2.61 ERA through 10 and one-third frames.

Up Next
Wayne State will take a break from league play prior to the GLIAC Tournament.  The Warriors will travel to Winter Park, Fla. and Rollins College for a four-game series on May 1-3.  With WSU's conference bye week coming on the last week of the regular season, the team found a scheduling partner in the Tars.