KALAMAZOO, Mich.  – After suffering through an opening weekend series and flight cancellation due to fog in the Chicago area, Western Michigan baseball will head to Emerson, Ga. to take on Purdue in a three-game series beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 17 at Noon.


Game Information
Western Michigan Broncos vs. Purdue Boilermakers
LakePoint Complex | Emerson, Ga.
Game One (Saturday, Feb. 17) – 12:00 p.m.
Game Two (Saturday, Feb. 17) – TBD
Game Three (Sunday, Feb. 18) – 11:00 a.m.

Probable Starters
RHP Jack Szott (1-2, 3.51 ERA*) vs. RHP Tanner Andrews (8-4, 4.52 ERA*)
RHP Nic Laio (4-3, 5.32 ERA*) vs. LHP Gareth Stroh (5-4, 3.89 ERA*)
LHP Jacob Piechota (3-4, 5.25 ERA*) vs. LHP Ryan Beard (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
* 2017 stats

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A tumultuous 24 hours saw WMU have to cancel its opening weekend series at Houston Baptist as its flight was cancelled out of the Chicago due to heavy fog. Purdue suffered the same fate as the Boilermakers were set to take on Baylor before inclement weather rolled in.

Scouting the Broncos
Last season, Western Michigan ended the year with a 24-29 overall record and 12-12 in Mid-American Conference play. WMU advanced to the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the fourth consecutive season and went 1-2, defeating No.3 seed Eastern Michigan

The Broncos offensively were one of the best in the country last year, ranking 18^th in the NCAA in batting average (.308) and set a new school record with 591 hits in a season.  Leading the way was Tanner Allison who was named to two All-American teams and was the MAC Player of the Year after hitting .356 with 18 doubles, nine home runs and 68 runs batted in.

Broncos Picked to Finish Sixth in Preseason Poll
Western Michigan was picked to finish sixth in the MAC with 47 votes. Kent State is the league favorite with 98 votes and eight first-place votes.

Broncos Against the Big Ten
With the added series against Purdue, WMU will now have four Big Ten teams on the 2018 schedule. Against Purdue, the Broncos are 16-15 all-time, with the last meeting coming back in 2005.

Smith Seeking Big Junior Season
Junior Connor Smith returns for his junior campaign after ranking third on the team last season in batting average (.339) and RBI's (35). Smith earned Second Team All-MAC honors for the second straight season.

Nate At the Plate
Junior Nate Grys last season was one of the premier home run threats for the Bronco offense, ranking second behind Allison with six home runs.

Streaks to be Extended 
Junior Jesse Forestell heads into the 2018 season with a team-high eight-game hitting streak while Smith enters the season having reached base safely in three straight.

Double Digit Runs
WMU registered six games of at least 10 runs or more last season. WMU scored a season-high 15 runs on May 14 for a 15-7 road victory over Bowling Green.   

Tanner Allison Did It All in 2017
Tanner Allison led the Broncos in nearly every statistical category en route to being named MAC Player of the Year, the first Bronco to earn POTY honors since 1990. Allison was then selected in the 19^th round of the MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves.

Scouting Purdue
Purdue finished last season with an overall record of 29-27 and 12-12 in the Big Ten Conference. The Boilermakers had three represented on the Big Ten's preseason honors list with the senior trio of Tanner Andrews, Ross Learnard and Harry Shipley.

The Boilermakers return 18 letterwinners from the 2017 team, which posted a program-record 19-win improvement and returned to the Big Ten Tournament for the first time in five years.