LAKELAND, Fla. – In one of the team's most anticipated games of the season, Western Michigan baseball faced the Detroit Tigers Top Prospects team and lost 7-1 at Joker Marchant Stadium, home of high-A class Lakeland Flying Tigers and the spring training facilities of the Detroit Tigers.
“I would first like to thank Dan Lunetta for making this game possible,” head coach Billy Gernon said. “It is such a privilege for our program. The game serves as a helpful reminder that baseball is supposed to be fun and best played when you are relaxed.”
The Broncos offense had a good start to the game, as senior Mitchell drew a walk and both Evan Nelson and Hunter Prince hit singles, but Ho was thrown out at home trying to score on Princes single. On the mound for the Tigers was Beau Burrows, the No. 2 ranked prospect in the Tigers system by Baseball America. He got out of the inning and set down the Broncos in order in the top of the second.
The Tigers were hot on offense in the second inning, scoring five runs including a two-run home run by Joey Pankake, the 23-year old from Easley, SC.
In the top of the third, Ho drilled a solo home run directly to left field to the Broncos on the board. It was the only hit that Austin Kubitza gave up in his 2.0 innings of work for the Tigers.
The Tigers tacked on one more run in the bottom of the third, but after that Eddie McWilliams, Jacob Piechota and Nic Laio all threw 1.0 scoreless inning in a row to hold the Tigers offense off. Pat Haynes pitched a scoreless first inning as well.
The Tigers used a combination of six pitchers in the game. After Kubitza gave up the solo home run, Tyler Alexander pitched a scoreless 2.0 innings, Fernando Perez pitched a scoreless 1.2 innings, Ross Season went 0.1 scoreless innings and Gerson Moreno, who hit 100-MPH on the gun today, pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
Prince finished 3-for-4 while Ho went 1-for-2 with a home run and the Broncos only RBI and Nelson went 1-for-3. Tanner Allison and Alex Goodwin also added a hit while Jesse Forestell drew a late-inning walk.
For the Tigers, Pankake went 2-for-2 with a HR and 2RBI while Jose Azocar went 1-for-2 with a home run and two RBI. Christin Stewart, who is the No. 4 prospect on the team according the Baseball America, went 0-for-3 with a strikeout against the Broncos pitching staff. Derek Hill, the Tigers No. 10 prospect, was held to 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base.
WMU returns to action with a game against Georgetown on Wednesday, March 9 at 11 a.m. in Port Charlotte, Fla.
