Box Score
DEKALB, Ill.- Western Michigan (29-21-1, 12-12 MAC) will be the seventh seed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament next week, after an 8-5 loss to Northern Illinois and a Ball State win over Toledo on Saturday.
Western Michigan finishes the regular season with a .500 MAC winning percentage (12-12), clinching one of two wild card spots in the eight-team conference tournament. Central Michigan, also ending with the same league winning percentage takes the eighth seed, as WMU wins the tie-breaker with a series sweep over the Chippewas earlier this season. The Broncos will face No. 2 seed and West Division Champion Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, at 12:30 p.m. at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.
Ross Westdorp (3-6) got the start on the mound against Northern Illinois and allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits in 3.2 innings in the 8-5 loss.
Western Michigan took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Kyle Gendron blasted his second home run of the season. The Huskies tied the game in the bottom of the inning and went on to score three more in their next at bat to go ahead, 4-1.
The Broncos notched a score in the top of the fourth on Pedro Dager's fourth home run of the year, but NIU fired back with two runs in the home half of the frame to make for a 6-2 score in the Huskies' favor through four innings.
Western Michigan kept things interesting in the top of the fifth, plating three runs to pull within one, 6-5. Dager and Grant Simotes each drove in a run with RBI-singles, while Gendron pushed a score across with an RBI-triple, the first three-bagger of his career.
The 6-5 score would be as close as WMU would get, as the Huskie bullpen held the Bronco bats at bay through the final four innings, allowing just three more hits. Northern Illinois would add runs to its total in the sixth and seventh to make for the 8-5 final.
Gendron led the Brown & Gold offense, batting 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Dager (two RBIs), Simotes and Matthew Abro each had two hits apiece.
Left-handed starter Matt Jernstad (3-4) registered the win for NIU, giving up five runs (two earned) on nine hits in five innings. Andy Deain picked up his 10th save of the season throwing the final inning. Northern Illinois finishes the season with a 26-24 overall record, 16-10 MAC.
MAC Tournament Pairings - Wednesday, May 21
VA Memorial Stadium, Chillicothe, Ohio
Game 1 - No. 3 Bowling Green vs. No. 6 Ohio, 9 a.m.
Game 2 - No. 2 Eastern Michigan vs. No. 7 Western Michigan, 12:30 p.m.
Game 3 - No. 4 Northern Illinois vs. No. 5 Ball State, 4 p.m.
Game 4 - No. 1 Kent State vs. No. 8 Central Michigan, 7:30 p.m.
