Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio- Two home runs, including a grand slam, by Kyle Galbraith and homers by Matthew Abro and Kevan Hess fueled Western Michigan's 13-7 win over Miami Sunday. Winning two of three against the RedHawks over the weekend, the Broncos improved to 15-8-1 on the season and 2-4 in the MAC.
WMU started off strong, scoring four runs in the first inning. Zach Gentile, Joe Sheets and Chris Lewis all hit singles, as Gentile scored on Lewis' hit. Abro then launched his second home run in as many days, cracking a three-run shot over the outfield wall.
Miami (7-20; 2-7 MAC) used a pair of doubles and a two-run Chris Nadeau home run in the third to tie the score at four apiece. The RedHawks briefly took the lead, 5-4, adding another run in the fourth.
Galbraith quickly turned things back in Western Michigan's favor in the fifth, blasting a grand slam after the Broncos loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a single. Hess followed suite, hitting his first career home run in the next at bat, a solo shot to left field, to put WMU on top, 9-5.
Galbraith kept a good thing going in the sixth, tacking on two more runs with his second home run of the day, collecting his fifth and sixth RBIs of the game.
Miami cut the lead to 11-7 in the seventh, using a hit batsman, a pair of singles and a wild pitch to score two runs.
The Brown & Gold capped off its scoring in the eighth, when Gentile delivered a two-run single to left field. Gentile finished the game 3-for-4 from the plate.
WMU starter Brian Stroud earned the win, keeping his record perfect (3-0) on the season. The freshman right-hander pitched 6.1 innings, yielding seven runs (six earned) off five hits, while striking out four. Reliever Tim Mowry allowed just two hits the rest of the game.
Kyle Donawerth absorbed the loss for the RedHawks, dropping to 0-2 on the season. Miami used a total of eight pitchers.
Western Michigan pounded out 16 hits compared to MU's seven. Kelmigian and Grant Simotes each had a pair of hits, both with doubles. Simotes also had two stolen bases.
"I was proud of how the team played the entire weekend, they played hard and gave us a chance to win everyday," WMU head coach Randy Ford said. "The hitting today was outstanding. To take two of three at Miami is a pretty big deal."
Western Michigan kicks off a seven-game homestand on Tuesday, hosting Oakland at 3 p.m. The Broncos come back the next day with a 3 p.m. matchup against Michigan State. WMU welcomes MAC foe Buffalo over the weekend and wraps up its seven-game homestand against Grand Valley State on April 15 and IPFW on April 16.
Game notes: Western Michigan's four home runs against Miami gave the Broncos 19 this season, the team hit just 18 home runs all last season ... collecting its 15th win of 2008, WMU is one win away from matching its win total from last season.
