Baseball Splits Doubleheader At Wayne State - NU Remains In GLIAC Lead

OVERVIEW – WAYNE STATE

SCORES: Wayne State Warriors 5, Northwood Timberwolves 3/Northwood 6, Wayne State 5

RECORDS: Northwood (26-11), Wayne State (21-13)

LOCATION: Harwell Field – Detroit, Mich.  

RECAP: Baseball splits pair at Wayne State Saturday afternoon (May 15), falling 5-3 in game one before earning a 6-5 win in game two.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS (SEVEN INNINGS)

• The Warriors got on the board first with a solo home run in the top of the second to go up 1-0.
• Northwood responded right away in the top of the third, starting with a two-run double by Cole Brooks to put the Timberwolves up 2-1.
• Matt Magno followed with an RBI single to push the lead to 3-1.
• Wayne State came back to tie the game in the fourth with a pair of runs.
• NU had a great chance to take the lead in the top of the fifth, putting the first two runners on and loading the bases with one out. But the Warriors ended the threat with a double play to keep the game tied.
• WSU then scored runs with two-outs in both the fifth and the sixth to lead 5-3, which proved to be the final score.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Wayne 5/7/0, Northwood 3/4/1
• Runners left on base: Wayne State 6, Northwood 5
• Winning Pitcher – Jack Schmidt (4-2): 2 2/3 IP, BB, 2 K
• Losing Pitcher – Drew Schultz (4-2): 4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, BB, K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Brooks: 1-2, 2B, R, 2 RBIs
• Magno: 1-3, RBI
• Michael Karam/Jacob Rybicki: H, R each

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS  (NINE INNINGS)

• Northwood started fast in game two, as Rybicki led the game off with a home run to put the Timberwolves on top.
• Magno made it 2-0 later in the first on a solo home run of his own.
• The Warriors responded right away in the first, bringing home a pair to level the score 2-2.
• Northwood went back on top in the top of the second thanks to an RBI double by Karam to make the score 3-2.
• WSU came right back in the bottom of the second, plating three runs to lead 5-3.
• The score remained 5-3 until the fifth when Rybicki came up with the key hit of the game. His second homer of the game was a three-run shot that put the Timberwolves back on top 6-5.
• The story of the game proved to the work out of the bullpen of freshman Derek Clark. He took over in the second inning and shut down the Warriors the remainder of the game. He allowed just two hits over his 7 1/3 innings of work, striking out six while walking just one.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors: Wayne State 5/9/1, Northwood 6/7/0
• Runners left on base: Wayne State 8, Northwood 3
• Winning Pitcher – Derek Clark (7-1): 7 1/3 IP, 2 H, BB, 6 K
• Losing Pitcher – Karter Fitzpatrick (4-3): 5 2/3 IP, 7 H, 6 R, BB, 4 K

TOP NU PERFORMERS­

• Rybicki: 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBIs
• Karam: 2-4, 2B, R, RBI
• Magno: H, RBI
• Jeffers: 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB

GLIAC NOTES

• Three teams could still claim the GLIAC regular season title, which is based on win percentage in conference games, with one day to go in the season.
  • The Timberwolves are tied with Davenport on top of the GLIAC standings after today's results at 18-9 (.667). Both teams have one game left (NU vs. WSU, DU vs. Parkside).
  • Grand Valley State has completed GLIAC play for the season at 13-7, good for a win percentage of .650.
  • Northwood would hold the tiebreaker on Davenport since the Timberwolves went 3-1 against DU this season.
  • If Northwood wins tomorrow, they will clinch a share of the title and be the number one seed for the upcoming GLIAC Tournament.
  • If Northwood loses to Wayne State and Davenport wins, the DU will be the No. 1 seed and GLIAC Champions. GVSU would be the two seed and Northwood would fall to three.
  • If both Northwood and Davenport lose tomorrow, Grand Valley State would be the GLIAC Champion and earn the top seed in the tournament. Northwood would be the two seed and Davenport would be three.

UP NEXT

• Northwood and Wayne State will finish their weekend series with a single game Sunday (May 16). First pitch is set for Noon.