WINTER PARK, Fla. -- The 14th-ranked Wayne State University baseball team (34-11 overall) tied up the score 4-4 at No. 20 Rollins (31-12 overall) on Friday afternoon with a no-out bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning. However, the Warriors would strand the bases loaded before being outscored 7-1 the rest of the way, leading to an 11-5 victory for the Tars. The two teams will continue their four-game series on Saturday with a 12 p.m. doubleheader.
Wayne State struck first in the opening inning when
Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) doubled in
Brady Blakita (Canton, Mich. / Detroit Catholic Central) with a knock to left center following Blakita's lead-off walk and stolen base.
Once Rollins tied up the score at 1-1 in the third, the home team proceeded to take a 2-1 lead the inning after.
Trailing 2-1 in the fifth,
Bennett Hitzelberger (Richmond, Mich.) bashed a two-run home run to right field, his ninth of the season, that also scored
Owen Tuccinardi (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline). That blast gave the visitors a one-run advantage, of which the Tars would snatch right back in the sixth.
Again behind by one run, 4-3 in the seventh, Tuccinardi drew a no-out bases-loaded walk, forced in Blakita and the ledger was knotted up once more at 4-4. However, the Warriors proceeded to strand the bases loaded.
In the seventh, RC regained its advantage, but this time by four runs at 8-4. In the eighth, WSU's final score would come when pinch-hitter
Rhett Roeser (New Baltimore, Mich. / Warren De La Salle) singled in
Brayden Crowe (Brighton, Mich. / Hartland) with a base hit down the third-base line and the margin was cut to three at 8-5.
However, that'd be it for WSU's scoring as the hosts would tack on three more runs in the eighth and three of their last four scores overall were of the unearned variety.
Starting pitcher
Will Lowery (Grosse Ile, Mich. [Kalamazoo Valley C.C.]) received a no decision, but did his job through five innings pitched. Lowery gave up two earned runs on five hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
First out of the bullpen,
Philip Miller (Flat Rock, Mich. / Woodhaven [Schoolcraft C.C. / Tusculum]) recorded a pair of outs before
Evan Langlois (Brownstown, Mich. / Woodhaven) relieved him and retired one batter. Collecting his first decision of the season, Langlois fell to 0-1 with the loss.
After that trio, Wayne State's last two hurlers included
Rocco Cardinale (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) and
Nick Baker (Brownstown, Mich. / Woodhaven), each for one frame. Cardinale's final line included no hits, one unearned run and one free pass while Baker's had two hits, three runs, one earned, and one base on balls.
