KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team closed out play at the Atlanta Challenge Sunday afternoon, falling to Georgia Tech 8-3. The Yellow Jackets are currently receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches' Poll and improved to 3-0 while the Broncos fell to 0-3.

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"It was a 4-3 ball game in the eighth on the road in an ACC park which speaks to how well we played," head coach Billy Gernon said. "Final stats say eight hits but we moved the ball all over the field today. I was very proud and encouraged by what I saw today."

Sophomore Jack Szott held the Yellow Jackets in check in the early going, retiring the first six batters he faced, but Georgia Tech got to him in the third where they scored four runs on five hits to lead 4-0.

The Broncos got one run back in the top of the fifth inning where junior Tanner Allison hit his first home run since his freshman year to make it 4-1 Georgia Tech. WMU made it 4-3 in the top of the seventh inning, where the team had two hits and were helped by an error and a hit batsman. Sophomore Jesse Forestell was hit by a pitch to lead off, then moved up to third on Allison's double to right field. With runners on second and third, senior Nick Vogelmeier reached on a throwing error by the third baseman that allowed Forestell to score. Sophomore Connor Smith drove in Allison with an RBI single to the shortstop.

The Broncos put the tying run on in the top of the eighth inning and bunted him over to second with one out, but Georgia Tech was able to get out of the inning with the one-run lead still intact. The Yellow Jackets tacked on four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning off four runs and a Bronco error.

Allison finished 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and two runs while Grant Miller went 2-for-5 and Vogelmeier had a double. WMU used seven pitchers in the game, as Szott suffered the loss. Junior Jake Bartels pitched 1.1 scoreless innings while Brandon Petersen threw a scoreless inning as well. 

The Broncos will head to Johnson City, Tenn., next weekend for a three-game series with East Tennessee State. The Broncos and Buccaneers will play Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m., 2 p.m., and 1 p.m., respectively.