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Wayne State University Athletics

2026 Baseball Roster

Romer Santacruz
Romer Santacruz
Romer Santacruz
Romer Santacruz
Romer Santacruz
Taylor Carrow
Findlay Sports Information
David Thurman

8 Rocco Cardinale

8 Rocco Cardinale

  • Position:
    RHP
  • Height:
    6-2
  • Weight:
    193
  • Letters:
    2
  • Class:
    Sophomore
  • Hometown:
    Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.
  • High School:
    Grosse Pointe North

Summary

Biography

Career Notes:  Saw action in four contests, including one start, during freshman campaign with the program ... tallied first collegiate save on February 24, 2025, against Ohio Dominican.

2026:  Named to the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team ... appeared in 15 games (tied-for-second on the squad), all of which were out of the bullpen, which was tied with Philip Miller (16 appearances, one start) for the team lead in relief outings ... registered 18.1 innings pitched, a 3.93 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, a 1-2 win-loss record, seven saves (tied-for-22nd in the nation & tied-for-first in the GLIAC), 13 strikeouts, 13 walks, and a batting average against of just .164 (third-lowest mark on the squad) ... that pitching victory, the first of his collegiate career, came on Feb. 28 against Findlay (2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO) ... his seven saves (tied-for-eighth in program history) were the most by a Warrior pitcher in a single season since Tyler Tompson and Taylor Horn had 10 and nine, respectively, during the 2017 campaign ... Cardinale's saves occurred on Feb. 22 vs. Lewis (1.0 IP), March 9 against Minnesota State (1.0 IP), March 12 vs. Minnesota Duluth (1.0 IP), March 27 at Davenport (2.0 IP), April 10 at home against Saginaw Valley State (0.2 IP), April 25 at home vs. Purdue Northwest (0.1 IP), and May 8 against the Pride (1.2 IP) to stay alive in the GLIAC Tournament ... lasted more than one frame of work on six occasions, the longest outing (of his career) being two and one-third innings pitched on Feb. 14 against Tiffin, his first outing of the season, and Feb. 28, his pitching victory against the Oilers ... didn't give up a single earned run in 11 of the 14 appearances in which he retired at least one batter ... defensively, made one error on three chances with a pair of assists for a .667 fielding percentage ... Game-By-Game Stats.

2025:  Made four appearances, including one start, with five and one-third innings pitched before suffering an injury that ended his season ... gave up just one earned run in those 5.1 frames for a 1.69 ERA with six strikeouts, four walks and a .105 batting average against ... first career outing came on Feb. 7 at Newberry (1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 17 pitches) ... followed that with back-to-back scoreless efforts, Feb. 9 at Newberry (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 32 pitches) and Feb. 24 against Ohio Dominican in game one of the doubleheader for his first collegiate save (0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 10 pitches) ... made first collegiate start on March 8 vs. Malone ... surrendered two hits and one earned run with two free passes and a punchout against the Pioneers, while retiring four batters before suffering season-ending injury ... Game-By-Game Stats.

High School:  A 2024 graduate of Grosse Pointe North High School ... was a three-year varsity letterwinner for the Norsemen ... recorded 49 strikeouts, while allowing just nine earned runs (16 total runs allowed) on 30 hits ... tossed a shutout against Warren De La Salle in a MHSAA regional contest for coach Kevin Shubnell ... selected East Team MVP of the 2024 MHSAA All-Star Game ... also played football and led the squad in interceptions with five in 10 games ... received Honorable Mention All-Macomb Area Conference recognition in basketball ... served as a team captain in all three sports ... garnered Scholar-Athlete accolades ... plays summer ball for USA Prime.

Personal:  Full name -- Rocco P. Cardinale ... born on September 5, 2006, in Royal Oak, Mich. ... son of Louis and Paula Cardinale ... has an older brother, Louis, and an older sister, Dylan ... Louis pitched in 25 games over three seasons (2021-23) at Albion ... Dylan played in 116 games over four seasons (2022-25) at Albion ... is majoring in Finance ... named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (term GPA 3.5+) for Fall 2024 (4.00), Winter 2025, Fall 2025 and Winter 2026.
No stats available for the current season.

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Stat Snapshot (Career)

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Strikeouts
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Season Stats

Season:
2026
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Career Stats

Career Statistics

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Historical Player Information

  • 14

    2025Freshman

    RHP
    6'2" 185 lbs
    14
  • 8

    2026Sophomore

    RHP
    6'2" 193 lbs
    8