KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan baseball dominated St. Joseph's 9-2 Saturday afternoon at Melching Field, as the Broncos have now won three straight and are 2-0 to open the Stetson Tournament. WMU and the host Hatters will square off on Sunday, March 5 at 3 p.m. for the tournament finale.
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"It was good to see us make some offensive adjustments midway through the game but we have to find a way to limit our free passes if we want to reach our full potential," head coach Billy Gernon said. "I was excited to see senior Nick Vogelmeier to have a big day."
WMU took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning off three hits and a hit batsman. Tanner Allison, who saw his amazing four-game home run streak come to an end, was hit by a pitch with one out to get things rolling. Alex Goodwin delivered a single through the left side and Jesse Forestell singled through the right side to score Allison and make it 1-0. Beau Filkins followed that with another single, the third straight for the Broncos, but Goodwin was thrown out at home plate.
After the Hawks tied it up at 1-1 in the top of the seventh, the Broncos didn't take long to regain the lead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh all coming with two outs. Forestell and Filkins hit back-to-back singles and Tyler Frank reached on a throwing error by the shortstop to load the bases, setting up Nick Vogelmeier for a clutch three-run double into the left-center gap to make it 4-1 WMU.
SJU added one run in the top of the seventh to make it 4-2, but once again the Broncos answered, this time plating four runs to take an 8-2 lead. In the inning, Vogelmeier led off with a double to right center, his second of the game. Connor Smith was hit by the next pitch and Grant Miller moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt. Nate Grys brought Vogelmeier in with a single to right field and Allison drilled a two-run double to right center to score Grys and Smith. A Hawks pitching change didn't stop the Bronco offense, as Goodwin then singled up the middle to bring in Allison and make it 8-2.
Allison added another insurance run for the Broncos in the bottom of the eighth inning, hitting an RBI single with the bases loaded to make it 9-2.
The Broncos finished with 13 hits, making this the third straight game they've outhit their opponent. Vogelmeier had a huge game in the leadoff spot, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, three RBI and two runs while Allison stayed hot in the early parts of the spring, going 2-for-4 with a double, three RBI and two runs. Goodwin finished 2-for-5 with an RBI while Forestell and Filkins each went 2-for-4.
Freshman Brandon Petersen earned the first save of his young career, pitching the final 3.0 innings allowing just one hit and one walk with two strikeouts. Senior Gabe Berman picked up the win for the Broncos, going 2.2 innings allowing one earned run with two strikeouts. Andrew Reisinger started the game for WMU, throwing 3.1 innings with six strikeouts while allowing one run.
The Broncos will face the Hatters on Sunday, March 5 at 3 p.m. (or about 30 minutes after previous game finishes) before heading to Port Charlotte to compete in the Snowbird Classic.
