KALAMAZOO, Mich. –  On a rainy Wednesday afternoon inside Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field, Western Michigan baseball and Michigan State combined for 17 runs and 26 hits as the Broncos fell to the Spartans, 10-7.

It's the third straight game in which the Brown & Gold have registered double digit hits. WMU had seven different players record a hit with the junior trio of Connor Smith, Jimmy Roche and Nate Grys each recording multi-hit games.

Grys led the Bronco offense with his eighth multi-RBI performance of the season going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and one run scored. The Madison Heights, Mich., native rocketed his team-high fifth home run of the season in the bottom of the third inning.

Fellow junior Jimmy Roche led the Broncos with three hits, including a career-high two doubles and two RBIs. Roche notched his eighth multi-RBI game of the season while extending his hitting streak to six games.

Smith reached base safely for the 15^th straight game on Wednesday against the Spartans going 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. The junior infielder collected his 11^th multi-hit game of the season and extended his hitting streak to four games.

On the mound the Broncos used seven different pitchers, registering a total of nine strikeouts. In relief, senior LHP Jacob Piechota had a team-high four strikeouts going 2.1 innings, allowing two unearned runs on three hits. In the final three innings, the trio of Matt McConnell, Jake Bartels and Blake Dunn held the Spartan offense to just one run on three hits while striking out two.

WMU and MSU split its season series for the second consecutive year with each team winning on the road. Western Michigan continues its season long homestand on Friday, April 20 with a three-game series against Mid-American Conference rival Central Michigan. Friday's first pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.

The Spartans got on the board quickly in the top of the first as MSU connected on an RBI double to right centerfield with two outs to grab an early 1-0 lead.

In the bottom half of the inning the Broncos responded with one run on one hit to knot the game at 1-1.  With runners on the corners and one out, Grys laced a single to left field scoring Smith from third to tie the ballgame. WMU looked to strike once again in the first with runners on the corners and two outs before a liner to third base ended the scoring threat.

Michigan State regained the lead in the top of the third scoring four runs on four hits on one Bronco error. An infield RBI single by MSU's Bryce Kelley with two outs extended the MSU lead to 5-1.

Once again the Bronco offense responded with four runs on four hits highlighted by Grys blasting his fifth home run of the season over the left field wall. To begin the third, the Broncos recorded back to back doubles for Roche and junior Jesse Forestell to cut into the Spartan lead

For the second straight game, Grys hit a home run and cut the deficit to 5-4. After sophomore Drew Devine drew a walk, he reached third base with one out after a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly. On a 2-1 count, redshirt junior Andrew Stone singled back up the middle to tie the game at 5-5 after three innings of play.

In the fifth, the Spartans grabbed the lead thanks to a two out two-RBI single to right field by Justin Antoncic. Antoncic leads Michigan State in batting average and runs scored. MSU added two more runs in the top of the sixth to give them a 9-5 advantage.

WMU closed the gap in the bottom of the sixth scoring two runs on three hits. Sophomore Ethan Hajdukovic led off the inning with an infield single before advancing to second on a wild pitch. After a strikeout, Connor Smith smacked a ball through the right side of the infield to score Hajdukovic and cut into the Spartan lead.

Later in the sixth with runners on first and second and one out, Jimmy Roche laced a double down the left field line that scored Smith from second. Michigan State intentionally walked Nate Grys to load the bases before the Brown & Gold grounded into a double play to end the inning.  

MSU grabbed one more run in the top of the ninth to make it 10-7 heading into the bottom half of the inning. The first two batters for WMU in the bottom of the ninth reached base before three straight fly outs ended the comeback attempt.

MSU's Caleb Sleeman (1-1) earned the victory while Jake Lowery (2) earned the save. Piechota (1-5) recorded the loss for the Broncos.