KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team used a clutch five-run eighth inning to break a tie game and pull away with a 6-1 win over cross-state rival Eastern Michigan. With the win, the Broncos claimed the series and have now won three of their last four Mid-American Conference (MAC) games.
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WMU, who improved to 16-19 overall and 6-9 in the MAC, needed just two pitchers to hold the Eagles to one run on six hits. Jacob Piechota got the starting nod and pitched 5.1 innings allowing one run on four hits while forcing two perfect double play balls. Nic Laio was huge for the Broncos, as he pitched the final 3.2 innings scoreless on the way to earning his first career win.
Laio got out of two big jams in the game, first in the top of sixth where he forced a bases loaded double play ball and next in the top of the seventh inning where the Eagles had runners on second and third with just one out, where the Downers Grove, Ill., native forced two straight groundouts to get out of the inning and went on to retire eight of the next nine batters he faced, including a perfect ninth inning.
The Broncos took the early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a run off a Tanner Allison RBI single to score Andrew Stone, who led off with a single up the middle.
It went 4.0 scoreless innings until the Eagles tied it up with a run in the top of the sixth inning off an RBI single to center field.
It went to the eighth inning where the Bronco offense erupted for five runs on seven hits including three doubles. Jesse Forestell opened the inning up with a double to right field and Nick Vogelmeier put runners on the corners with a single to left center. After a groundout, Tyler Frank broke the 1-1 tie with an RBI single through the left side to make it 2-1. The Eagles got a strikeout to give the Broncos two outs, but the next four WMU batters reached, starting with a two-run double to left center by Connor Smith. Grant Miller followed that with an RBI double to right center and Allison finished off the scoring in the inning with an RBI single up the middle. Alex Goodwin also singled in the inning, but the Eagles finally got out of the jam with a routine fly ball.
The Broncos offense, who finished with 15 hits, got support from everywhere in the lineup, including four players with multiple hit games. Allison bounced back with a monster 4-for-5 game that included a double and two RBI while Goodwin stayed hot with a 3-for-4 game and drew a walk. Forestell went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and Vogelmeier went 2-for-3. Stone, Smith and Miller all went 1-for-4 with a run while Smith added a double and two RBI and Miller had a double and an RBI.
With no midweek game scheduled, the Broncos will rest up for next weekend's home series with Ohio. Admission to all home baseball games is free of charge.
