Wayne State baseball, riding a six-game winning streak and ranked in the top 20 of the NCBWA Poll, heads into a challenging stretch of GLIAC contests beginning on March 27 at Saginaw Valley State. 

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The Warriors opened their 2024 GLIAC slate with a dominant doubleheader against Davenport, scoring 12-0 and 6-2 wins on March 23. Wayne State followed up with wins at Purdue Northwest, 9-1 and 6-2. 

Wayne State's pitching staff is off to an impressive start to the GLIAC season, paced by Griffin Kilander. The 6-foot-5 right-hander followed up a one-hit, complete-game shutout of Purdue Northwest in non-conference action on March 14 with a seven-inning, four-hit start against Davenport. 

Kilander has struck out 45 batters on the season, ranking 39th among all Div. II pitchers — and second on his own staff. 

Karter Fitzpatrick has done his part to Wayne State's strong play, moving down 54 batters in 37 innings. He ranks 11th nationally heading into the Warriors' upcoming stretch of GLIAC contests. 

SVSU, up first for Wayne State, has gotten solid starts from Hayden Jatczak and Chase Raymond. Each has throw 21 innings, with Jatczak sporting a 1.29 ERA, 11.14 strikeouts per inning, and a WHIP of .95. Raymond has an ERA of 3.43 and WHIP of 1.76. 

Parkside, which visits Wayne State for a doubleheader on March 29, is seeking its first GLIAC win of the season. Despite the 0-3 start in conference, the Rangers feature two of the GLIAC's top offensive weapons in 2024 between Andrew Harris and Peter Fusek. 

Grand Valley State finishes the loaded week of competition for the nationally ranked Warriors, hosting a March 30 doubleheader. 

The Lakers opened their GLIAC schedule taking a pair from Parkside before splitting a series against SVSU. Nick Rutkowski is off to a strong start on the mound with a 3.03 ERA and 23 strikeouts over a team-high 29 2/3 innings pitched through March 25. 

Players to Watch 

Bennet Hitzelberger, Wayne State 1B

With a team-leading batting average of .413, Bennett Hitzelberger has been the picture of consistency for Wayne State throughout the first month-and-change of the 2024 season. 

He's bookended the schedule-to-date with hitting streaks of nine and six games, the latter of which he takes into the SVSU showdown. Hitzelberger has three games with at least three hits, including a 4-for-5 effort against Tiffin on Feb. 23 and a 3-for-3 day in GLIAC play vs. Purdue Northwest. 

Colin Cornwell, Saginaw Valley State OF 

Colin Cornwell has hits in all but three of his appearances for Saginaw Valley State through March 26. He also carries a streak of three consecutive contests with an RBI into Wayne State. 

Cornwell's batting average is a whopping .494 on a team-high 79 at-bats. he boats an on-base percentage of .559, a slugging percentage of .772 and has 13 multiple-base hits out of his 39 knocks overall. 

Peter Fusek, Parkside OF/RHP 

In addition to pitching out of the bullpen, making six appearances on the mound for the Rangers in 2024, Peter Fusek has been an especially prolific offensive weapon. 

Fusek is batting .384 in 73 at-bats with a home run, seven doubles and two triples. He's also drawn 13 walks to contribute to his .500 on-base percentage. When getting aboard, Fusek makes opponents pay with 13 stolen bases on 14 attempts. 

Kyle Nott, Grand Valley State OF 

A star wide receiver for the perennial title-contending GVSU football team, Kyle Nott has moved over to the diamond this spring with a flourish. He opened 2024 on a five-game hitting streak, the first three of which were multiple-hit performances. 

His .316 batting average leads the Lakers, as well as his seven stolen bases — showing off the same speed that makes him a touchdown threat on the gridiron. 

Wayne State Baseball Scores

• March 11 - Wayne State 0, No. 14 Saint Leo 5 
• March 12 - Wayne State 3, Minnesota Crookston 6 
• March 13 - Wayne State 19, Florida Southern 3 
• March 14 - Wayne State 4, Purdue Northwest 0 
• March 23 - Wayne State 12, Davenport 0 
• March 23 - Wayne State 6, Davenport 2 
• March 24 - Wayne State 9, Purdue Northwest 1 
• March 24 - Wayne State 6, Purdue Northwest 2 
• March 27 - Wayne State vs. Saginaw Valley State - 2 p.m. EDT 
• March 29 - Wayne State vs. Parkside - 12 p.m. EDT
• March 29 - Wayne State vs. Parkside - 3 p.m. EDT 
• March 30 - Wayne State vs. Grand Valley State - 1 p.m. EDT 
• March 30 - Wayne State vs. Grand Valley State - 4 p.m. EDT 

Saginaw Valley State Baseball Scores

• March 12 - SVSU 17, Hillsdale 18 
• March 13 - SVSU 10, Hillsdale 4 
• March 19 - SVSU 2, Northwood 3 
• March 24 - SVSU 6, Grand Valley State 2 
• March 24 - SVSU 2, Grand Valley State 10 
• March 25 - SVSU 14, Parkside 6 
• March 25 - SVSU 27, Parkside 4 
• March 26 - SVSU 1, Central Michigan 11 
• March 27 - Wayne State vs. Saginaw Valley State - 2 p.m. EDT 
• March 29 - SVSU vs. Davenport, 1 p.m. EDT 
• March 29 - SVSU vs. Davenport, 4 p.m. EDT
• March 30 - SVSU vs. Purdue Northwest, 1 p.m. EDT 
• March 30 - SVSU vs. Purdue Northwest, 4 p.m. EDT 

Parkside Baseball Scores

• March 12 - Parkside 14, Viterbo 12 
• March 15 - Parkside 3, Northland College 1 
• March 15 - Parkside 14, Northland College 3 
• March 16 - Parkside 10, Rockford 4 
• March 23 - Parkside 2, Grand Valley State 7 
• March 23 - Parkside 1, Grand Valley State 12 
• March 25 - Parkside 6, SVSU 14 
• March 25 - Parkside 4, SVSU 27 
• March 29 - Wayne State vs. Parkside - 12 p.m. EDT
• March 29 - Wayne State vs. Parkside - 3 p.m. EDT 
• March 30 - Parkside vs. Davenport - 1 p.m. EDT 
• March 30 - Parkside vs. Davenport - 4 p.m. EDT 

GVSU Baseball Scores

• March 10 - GVSU 12, Wayne State (NE) 8 
• March 15 - GVSU 0, Seton Hill 6 
• March 16 - GVSU 2, Seton Hill 6 
• March 16 - GVSU 3, Seton Hill 7 
• March 23 - GVSU 7, Parkside 2 
• March 23 - GVSU 12, Parkside 1 
• March 24 - GVSU 2, SVSU 6 
• March 24 - GVSU 10, SVSU 2 
• March 27 - GVSU at Hillsdale 
• March 29 - GVSU at Purdue Northwest 
• March 29 - GVSU at Purdue Northwest
• March 30 - Wayne State vs. Grand Valley State - 1 p.m. EDT 
• March 30 - Wayne State vs. Grand Valley State - 4 p.m. EDT 

How To Watch Wayne State Baseball 2024

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FloBaseball will be streaming GLIAC Baseball all season long. 

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