The Wayne State University baseball team concluded its regular season on May 3 with a split doubleheader against Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. The Warriors dropped the first game, which was suspended due to weather and completed over two days, by a score of 13-4 before rallying for a 6-5 extra-inning win in the series finale.
This outcome secured Wayne State a final regular season record of 35-12 overall and a conference mark of 17-7. The team will enter the upcoming Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament as the No. 2 seed and is set to face Parkside in its opening postseason matchup.
In game one, Rollins took an early lead before rain halted play after four innings. Wayne State responded with a four-run fifth inning, including key hits from Caleb Sanders and Ty Garza, but could not overcome Rollins’ subsequent scoring surge when play resumed. Multiple Warrior pitchers contributed during the contest as Rollins extended their advantage late.
Game two saw both teams struggle offensively early on before Sanders sparked Wayne State’s comeback with his fifth home run of the year in the seventh inning. Rhett Roeser tied it up later with a two-run double. In extra innings, Owen Tuccinardi hit his eleventh home run of the season to give Wayne State its first lead; additional insurance came when Roeser reached base on an error that allowed another run to score. Reliever Gabe Nazelli earned his fourth win by pitching four effective innings out of the bullpen.
The Warriors are known as Wayne State University’s athletics teams’ nickname and are represented by ‘W the Warrior’ as their official mascot according to the official website. The men’s baseball program competes at NCAA Division II level within GLIAC according to their official site and plays home games in Detroit, Michigan according to school sources. The team previously captured the GLIAC Tournament title in 2010 as reported by university records.
Looking ahead, Wayne State aims for another strong showing at this year’s conference tournament after finishing second in league play.
