KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team is on the road this weekend facing rival Central Michigan, the only team left undefeated in Mid-American Conference (MAC) play. The Broncos and Chippewas will square off on Friday, April 14 at 3 p.m., Saturday, April 15 at 2 p.m. and Sunday, April 16 at 1 p.m.
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @WMUBaseball
The Brown & Gold enter with an overall record of 13-15 and are 3-6 in the MAC. Last season, WMU knocked the Chippewas out of the MAC Tournament with a 4-0 shutout win in the Semifinals. Central Michigan enters with a 17-15 overall record and is 6-0 in the MAC, earning weekend sweeps over Miami and Ohio. The Chips are hot as of late, winning nine of their last 11, but last their seven-game winning streak with a midweek loss to Madonna on Wednesday.
WMU boasts the No. 35 ranked batting average in the nation (.300) and is also No. 33 in fielding percentage (.978). The offense is led by two-time MAC Player of the Week Tanner Allison, who enters the weekend third in the nation in RBI per game (1.50) and 10th in total RBI (42). His 42 RBI's this season are triple what he had last season and is the highest for a WMU player since Ryan McMillin had 52 in 2012. Also in the top of the order, Connor Smith is hitting .336 and is second on the team in RBI (23) while Grant Miller is batting .308 and is second on the team in walks (17), behind Nick Vogelmeier (19).
The three probable starters for this weekend are Jacob Piechota, Jimmy Townsend-Chase and Kyle Mallwitz, in order. Piechota is 2-2 with a 5.06 ERA in 37.1 innings, Townsend-Chase is 1-1 with a 4.70 ERA in 23.0 innings and Mallwitz is 4-1 with a 4.04 ERA in 49.0 innings. Gabe Berman holds a 3.77 ERA with three saves in 28.2 innings.
Following the weekend at CMU, the Broncos will take on Illinois on Tuesday, April 18 at 6 p.m. before hosting Eastern Michigan in a three-game series.
