Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Pedro Dager's three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh helped secure a 7-4 victory over Toledo, as Western Michigan earned the series win over the Rockets Sunday at Hyames Field. Freshman Brian Stroud picked up the win on the mound, keeping his record perfect at 5-0 on the season.
WMU improved to 23-17-1 on the year, 8-10 in the Mid-American Conference, while Toledo fell to 15-27, 8-10 MAC.
The game was a seesaw battle before Dager's big knock gave the Brown & Gold the cushion it needed late in the contest. With Western Michigan leading, 4-3, in the bottom of the seventh, Kyle Galbraith singled down the left field line. Matthew Abro was then hit by a pitch, and with two outs, Dager cracked his second home run in as many days, a shot out over the wall in left center. It was Dager's third home run of the season.
Stroud scattered three runs on five hits over 7.0 innings in the winning effort. He tied a season-high with seven strikeouts, fanning the side in order in the second. Joe Sheets tossed the final two innings for Western Michigan, allowing one unearned run on two hits.
WMU was the first to strike in the game, manufacturing a run without a hit in the second. Dager reached on a error and walks by Derek Mosher and Zach Gentile loaded the bases. With two outs, Galbraith was plunked by a pitch, scoring Dager.
Toledo fired back with two runs in the top of the second to take a 2-1 lead, but the Broncos countered with a run in the bottom of the frame. Abro reached safely on throwing error by the third baseman and moved over to third on a single by Sheets. Dager came through with a sacrifice fly to tie up the score.
Both teams would plate a run in the fourth, as the game remained tied, at three all. Grant Simotes got things going for WMU with a base hit to left center and came across the dish on an RBI triple by Zach Gentile to right center.
Western Michigan took the lead for good in the sixth, going ahead, 4-3, on a Simotes RBI-single. Toledo trailed 7-3 after Dager's blast and an unearned run by the Rockets in the ninth made for a 7-4 final.
Dager finished the day with four RBIs and two runs scored. Simotes was the only Bronco to have a multi-hit game, collecting three of WMU's eight hits, going 3-for-4 from the plate.
Kyle Rawlings (2-6) took the loss for UT, surrendering four runs (two earned) on five hits in six innings. Toledo had seven total hits, with Chris Dudics and Aaron Dudley recording two each.
Western Michigan will take a break from conference play with midweek games at Oakland and Michigan State up next for the Brown & Gold. The Broncos take on the Grizzlies Tuesday at 3 p.m. and face the Spartans at 6:05 p.m. at Oldsmobile Park in Lansing on Wednesday. WMU travels to Central Michigan for a three-game MAC series this weekend.
