Eastern Wayne Today

Wayne State University's baseball team is set to travel back to Florida for a four-game series against the 20th-ranked Florida Southern College. The games will take place from Friday through Sunday, with a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday.

Florida Southern, boasting a record of 19-5 overall and 7-2 in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC), has been strong at home with a 14-1 record. Leading the team is first-year head coach Rick O'Dette, who brings over two decades of experience and an impressive career record of 696-530-4. O'Dette previously coached at Saint Leo University and Saint Joseph's College.

The Mocs' offense has been effective this season, hitting .320 as a team. Key players include Grant Thoroman, Rohsean Riley, Mikey Scott, and Noah Rabin, all batting above .300. Thoroman leads in doubles and RBI while also contributing significantly to the team's stolen base count. On the pitching side, Sachem Ramos has emerged as a reliable starter with a 2.98 ERA.

Wayne State enters the series with a 9-10 overall record after recent games in Florida where they won three out of their last four matchups against Minnesota Duluth. The Warriors have shown strength at bat with Bennett Hitzelberger leading in batting average and RBI among others performing well offensively.

The Wayne State pitching staff faces challenges with an overall ERA of 6.83 but sees promising performances from Gabe Nazelli and Macio Miller.

Both teams aim to continue their competitive play as they face off this weekend in what promises to be an engaging series.