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 Anthony Bass went the distance for his ninth win of the year. |
May 8, 2008
MIDLAND, Mich. - The 29th-ranked Wayne State University baseball team (31-15) held off a late rally by the University of Findlay (26-19) to earn a 3-2 win Thursday evening in the opening round of the 2008 GLIAC Tournament at Dow Diamond.
Anthony Bass (Trenton, Mich.) went the distance for the Warriors, his first career nine-inning complete game, and surrendered just two runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out six as Wayne State, the top seed in the tournament, earns its first postseason victory since 2005.
Wayne State capitalized on a pair of Findlay errors in the bottom of the third, as Drew Churchward (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) came across to score an unearned run and snap the scoreless tie.
The Warriors doubled their lead in the fifth on an RBI single by Matthew Williams (Detroit, Mich./Royal Oak Shrine), plating Scott Martin who led off the inning with a walk. Brett Witczak (Hudsonville, Mich.) added an unearned insurance run in the sixth, aided by another UF fielding miscue, on a base hit that brought in Ryan LaPensee (LaSalle, Ont./St. Thomas of Villanova).
Findlay cut into its deficit with two runs in the eighth, scoring on a wild pitch and an RBI single by George Rohan.
A one-out double by Brian Sampsel put the tying run in scoring position in the final inning, but Bass was able to escape with his career-high ninth win of the year.
Wayne State will face Grand Valley State in the second round Friday at noon.
NOTES
Bass is just the sixth Warrior hurler in history to record nine wins in a season and the first since current assistant coach Kyle Hill in 2005 ... his three walks marked a season-high ... LaPensee led WSU with three of the team's eight hits ... Wayne State is 21-16 all-time against Findlay ... Grand Valley State advanced to the second round of the winner's bracket following a 3-2 win over Ashland in the tournament opener.