Western Wayne Today

The Wayne State University baseball team is set to start its 85th season in South Carolina, facing Newberry College. The series will take place at the Wolves' Smith Road Complex, beginning with a game on Friday at 4 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon, and concluding with a final game on Sunday also at noon.

Newberry College has already begun its season with an impressive 4-0 record. They swept Barton in a three-game series from January 31 to February 1, achieving scores of 16-3, 3-1, and 13-9. On Tuesday, they continued their winning streak by defeating Emmanuel (Ga.) with a score of 16-6 during their home opener for the year.

Newberry's strong performance can be attributed to their potent offense. The team boasts a batting average of .378 over four games, recording 56 hits in 148 at-bats. Sophomore second baseman Bryson Nuckols stands out with a batting average of .625 (10-for-16), along with one triple, four RBIs, and two walks without any strikeouts. Other key players include redshirt-freshman left fielder Wilson Wages (.636), junior shortstop Chandler Mims (.571), senior third baseman Jesse Free (.462), and senior center fielder Kade Faircloth (.353).

On the pitching side, Newberry's starters have each secured victories: freshman Chansen Cole (1.80 ERA), freshman Jaob Clark (4.50 ERA), senior Hunter French (4.76 ERA), and senior Ethan LeBron (4.76 ERA). French was recognized last year as a Third Team All-SAC recipient and SAC All-Tournament pick after achieving a record of six wins against three losses with an ERA of 4.53 over leading innings pitched for his team.

In preseason predictions within the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) poll, Newberry was ranked sixth among thirteen teams with one first-place vote out of thirteen total votes cast. Jay Snyder leads the Wolves as head coach; he joined the program in 2008 before being promoted to associate head coach in 2014.