Baseball 4/8/2026 1:00:00 PM Cooper Weidenthaler, Assistant Director for Media Relations

Baseball Continues Homestand Against Saginaw Valley State

The Warriors will return to their regular Friday-Sunday schedule this weekend at Harwell Field.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University baseball baseball squad (23-7 overall, 7-5 GLIAC) will continue its season-long eight game stay at Harwell Field this week when Saginaw Valley State (16-13 overall, 7-5 GLIAC) comes to Motown for a four-game series between Friday and Sunday. First pitch for the series-opener on Friday is scheduled for 3 p.m.

The Green and Gold played its first four home contests this past weekend against Grand Valley State and split the four-game set in a battle of nationally-ranked foes. WSU won the second and fourth games of that series.

National Spotlight
Wayne State continues to receive recognition at both the regional and national levels in 2026. According to the most-recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) rankings, WSU is still third in the Midwest Region behind Grand Valley State and Illinois Springfield.

Nationally, when using the same source, the Warriors are No. 21 in all of Division II. That is a jump of one position from last week's rankings. In the D2 Baseball top 25, the Green and Gold is 19th (no change from last week). When it comes to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), WSU is one of several squads receiving votes and under consideration. Last, but not least, in the Perfect Game rankings, the Warriors are unranked.

Pitching Prowess
While its pitching depth was tested this past weekend against one of the top offenses in the nation in Grand Valley State, the Warriors still have an assortment of throwers with quality numbers in 2026. As a group, they have combined to rank fourth in WHIP (1.24), sixth in ERA (3.63), sixth in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (7.58), 15th in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (3.56), and 25th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.22) in all of Division II.

The weekend against GVSU likely did not go the way Will Lowery (Grosse Ile, Mich. [Kalamazoo Valley C.C.]) expected. However, the redshirt junior still helped the Warriors in a big way as he earned his first collegiate save on Sunday in the series finale. Lowery handled the final 2.2 innings and struck out three Lakers in WSU's 10-8 win. That came after Lowery had started the opener on Friday and tossed one inning.

WSU's quartet of Lowery, Gavin Nash (Howell, Mich. / Hartland), Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Aurora, Ont. / Newmarket [Central Florida / Georgia Highlands College]), and Gabe Nazelli (Farmington Hills, Mich. / Detroit Country Day) have formed a relatively stable starting rotation for the Warriors in 2026, as they have started 26 of Wayne State's 30 games this year. Nash put in a strong effort in game one of Saturday's doubleheader with GVSU (a 3-1 win) by tossing 6.1 frames of one-run baseball with five strikeouts.

In relief, six Warriors have made six or more appearances out of the bullpen. They are Nick Baker (Brighton, Mich. [Lansing C.C.]), Philip Miller (Flat Rock, Mich. / Woodhaven [Schoolcraft C.C. / Tusculum]), TJ McAllister (St. Clair Shores, Mich. / South Lake), Rocco Cardinale (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North), Will DeMasse (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota), and Ethan Getting (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Portage Northern [Purdue Northwest]). Of those six, Baker owns the lowest ERA at 1.72 in 15.2 innings pitched. Cardinale has racked up a squad-best four saves.

Getting Offensive
After an even 30 games so far in 2026, typically about half of a full season, Wayne State holds a .291 (287-for-985) team batting average, which ranks fourth in the GLIAC. The offensive attack continues to be led by Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North), who is batting .422 (43-for-102). That is good enough for third in the league and just one of four in the conference above the .400 plateau (qualified hitters), joining GVSU's Evan Morrision and Caleb Estrada, as well as SVSU's Buck Snabes.

Hill cranked his 6th home run of 2026 on Sunday vs. Grand Valley State in the Warriors' victory. That tied the junior for the team lead in homers with six, joining both Bennett Hitzelberger (Richmond, Mich.) and Owen Tuccinardi (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline).

Others batting above .300 for the Green and Gold, with a minimum of 30 at bats, include Hitzelberger at .343 (37-for-108), Brady Blakita (Canton, Mich. / Detroit Catholic Central) at .375 (12-for-32), and Rhett Roeser (New Baltimore, Mich. / Warren De La Salle) at .341 (29-for-85).

Following his two-homer weekend against the Lakers, freshman catcher Brayden Crowe (Brighton, Mich. / Hartland) moved up to fourth on the squad in home runs with four, as his two blasts doubled his total entering the home-opener last Friday.

Scouting Saginaw Valley State
The Cardinals own a 16-13 record heading into a non-conference affair with Tiffin on Wednesday afternoon in Utica, Mich. Saginaw Valley State is 7-5 in the GLIAC, which includes a 3-1 mark at Purdue Northwest, a split at home with Parkside (2-2), and most recently another split with Davenport on the road (2-2). SVSU is coached by Adam Piotrowicz, who is in his fourth season in University Center, Mich. Piotrowicz led the Cardinals to a 41-win season in 2024 that included a GLIAC Regular Season Championship. He is 114-77 as head coach of SVSU.

For the second straight weekend, the Warriors will face one of the leading hitters in not just the GLIAC, but in all of Division II. Junior infielder Buck Snabes ranks second in the conference in batting average at .436 (48-for-110), which is also tied-for-24th in the nation. Snabes also leads SVSU in hits (48), while tied-for-first in runs scored (35). His 21 stolen bases is second on the squad behind Ethan Scheib's 23. Senior outfielder Aaron Bess owns the best numbers in several other categories, including slugging percentage (.621), walks (26), and doubles (12), while junior infielder/outfielder Ryan Jarvis has the most RBI with 35 driven in.

Saginaw Valley State has several threats on the pitching side amongst its starters and relievers. Of those with at least 20 innings under their belts, redshirt junior Chase Raymond owns the lowest ERA at 2.63, although in just four starts. Right behind him with a 2.84 ERA is redshirt sophomore Nathan Masar, who has had eight appearances with five starts. The team leader in strikeouts is the aforementioned Masar with 49 in 38.0 innings, while senior lefty Jack Decker follows closely with 48 punchouts in 38.1 IP.

Up Next
The Warriors will head to Hillsdale for a non-conference tilt with the Chargers on Tuesday afternoon (April 14), before returning to GLIAC play with a four-game set at Roosevelt between Friday, April 17, and Sunday, April 19.

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Players Mentioned

#25 Nick Baker: LHP; 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior; L/L

#5 Brady Blakita: 2B; 5' 8"; Junior; S/R

#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

#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

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

Players Mentioned

#25 Nick Baker
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior; L/L
: LHP

#5 Brady Blakita
: 5' 8"; Junior; S/R
: 2B

#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

#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

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