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 Jay Alexander is the GLIAC Coach of the Year. |
May 8, 2008
Complete GLIAC Release in PDF Format 
MIDLAND, Mich. - Seven members of the Wayne State baseball team received All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference postseason honors, as announced by the league office during the GLIAC Tournament at Dow Diamond. Included among the recipients were head coach Jay Alexander, who was named Coach of the Year, junior Anthony Bass (Trenton, Mich.) who earned Pitcher of the Year honors, and Michael Wiseman (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland) who was named Freshman of the Year.
Alexander garnered his second Coach of the Year award after guiding the Warriors to their fourth GLIAC Tournament appearance in the last five years. Wayne State posted a 23-5 conference record during the regular season and has a 30-15 overall mark entering Thursday. The team is currently ranked fourth in the region and 29th nationally.
Bass, who was also named to the All-GLIAC First Team for the second consecutive season, leads the GLIAC in ERA (2.43) and opposing batting average (.213) while ranking second in wins (8), third in strikeouts (72) and tied for sixth in innings pitched (59.1). A two-time GLIAC Pitcher of the Week this season, Bass is averaging 10.92 strikeouts per nine innings and is on pace for the second-best strikeout/walk ratio in school history (6.55).
An Honorable Mention All-GLIAC selection, Wiseman leads Wayne State with 12 multiple-RBI games and is fourth in multiple-hit games (13). He leads the Warriors with 41 RBI and 27 walks, which ranks eighth and seventh in the league, respectively. Wiseman also earned his first career GLIAC Player of the Week award on April 21.
Joining Bass on the All-GLIAC First Team was senior second baseman Brett Witczak (Hudsonville, Mich.). A Second Team honoree a year ago, Witczak is tied for 16th in the GLIAC in batting average (.343). He leads WSU with 16 multiple-hit games, put together a team-best 12-game hitting streak April 19-30, and has chipped in 11 extra-base hits, 23 runs and 27 RBI.
A pair of juniors, first baseman Adam Kaminski (Clinton Twp., Mich./Mt. Clemens) and pitcher Dane Little (Windsor, Ont./F.J. Brennan Catholic), were selected to the All-GLIAC Second Team.
Wayne State's leader in batting average (.434), slugging percentage (.586), and on base percentage (.509), Kaminski also has 10 doubles and 28 RBI in 34 games. He has 15 multiple-hit games, tied for second-most on the squad, and is carrying an 11-game hitting streak into this week's GLIAC Tournament. He also ranks fourth in the conference in fielding percentage (.992), committing just one error in 130 chances.
Kaminski also serves as Wayne State's closer, posting a 2-1 record with a 1.32 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 12 appearances. He is tied for fifth in GLIAC with three saves.
Little is tied for third in the GLIAC in starts (11), fourth in innings pitched (63.2), fifth in strikeouts (54), and eighth in ERA (3.82) and opposing batting average (.269). He has totaled a career-high 54 strikeouts and two complete games this season.
Sophomore outfielder Ryan LaPensee (LaSalle, Ont./St. Thomas of Villanova) joined Wiseman as an Honorable Mention selection for the second time in his career in 2008 after also being named Freshman of the Year a season ago. LaPensee is 12th in GLIAC in batting average (.367) through Thursday and tied for fifth in sacrifice bunts (8). He has 15 multiple-hit games and eight multiple-RBI games, tied for second most on team in both categories.
Wayne State, the top seed in the GLIAC Tournament, will meet Findlay in the opening round Thursday at 6:00 p.m. Live audio and statistics from Dow Diamond are accessible via the league's online tournament bracket.