VALPARAISO, Ind.- The Western Michigan baseball team defeated defending back-to-back Horizon League champion Valparaiso, 3-2, on the road Tuesday. The Broncos scored all three runs in the second.
Hunter Prince,
Steve Buglione and
Vinnie Booker each had an RBI.
Senior RHP
David Brennan (1-1) was the first out of the Bronco bullpen and threw 3.2 innings of relief in the winning effort. He struck out two, gave up two hits and walked none.
The Broncos had to battle back from a 2-0 deficit after Valparaiso third baseman Michael Morman hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first off of WMU starter
Nick Bradley.
Jared Kujawa led off the second for Western Michigan with a single to right, stole second and advanced to third on an error.
Caleb Caton walked to give WMU runners on the corners and Prince doubled to the gap in right center to score Kujawa. Buglione grounded out to the shortstop in the next at bat, however Caton was able to make his way home and Prince moved over to third. Booker laid down a sacrifice squeeze bunt to plate Prince and put WMU ahead, 3-2.
Western Michigan had just three hits the rest of the game, singles by
Kurt Hoekstra and
Brett Sunde and a double by Kujawa in the ninth.
Brennan took the mound with two outs and two runners on in the second and ended the inning with a strikeout. He went on to retire eight batters in a row.
Left-handed sophomore
Derek Schneider took over for Brennan with one on and one out in the sixth. The Crusaders managed to load the bases after a two-out walk, but Schneider regrouped and recorded a flyout to escape any damage. Sophomore RHP
Gabe Berman tossed the ninth to earn his team-leading sixth save of the season, 11th career.
Kujawa finished the day with two of the Broncos' five hits, going 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and stolen base. WMU upped its overall record to 16-23 while the Crusaders fell to 15-23.
Western Michigan takes on Notre Dame tomorrow at Four Winds Field in South Bend, Ind. First pitch is at 5:35 p.m. The Broncos return to Kalamazoo to host Eastern Michigan in a three-game Mid-American Conference series over the weekend.
