KALAMAZOO, Mich. – It was an eventful Saturday afternoon at Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field for Senior Day, as the Western Michigan baseball team completed a sweep of Buffalo and junior Tanner Allison broke the WMU single season RBI record in the 2017 regular season finale.
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The Broncos, who finished the regular season 23-27 overall and 12-12 in the MAC, locked up the No. 6 seed in the MAC Tournament and will face No. 3 Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, May 24 at 9:30 a.m. at Sprenger Stadium in Avon, Ohio. The MAC Tournament bracket is attached to the press release.
WMU took game one on Saturday 7-2 after a rain delay that lasted 2:29 and won the nightcap 7-3 in seven innings after the game was called due to darkness. It was the first sweep in WMU history since 2015 where the Broncos also swept the Bulls at home.
Allison broke the record on an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning of game two. He passed Frank Alferi's record of 63 RBI's in the 1999 season, a record that stood for 17 full seasons.
In game one, WMU used a two-run bottom of the first inning to jump to a lead they would not surrender. In the first, Nate Grys drilled a two-run double to right center to score both Allison and Stone and make it 2-0 WMU.
Buffalo scored a run in the top of the second inning, making it 2-1 but the Brown & Gold erased that run in the bottom of the fourth, scoring one on a Vogelmeier RBI single. WMU pulled away in the bottom of the sixth inning where the team plated four runs on five hits and a walk while the first three batters reached on a single. Goodwin got the scoring started with an RBI single through the left side and Stone sent a liner down the right field line to score a pair of runs, making it 6-1 WMU. Allison delivered an RBI single later in the inning, which tied the RBI record at that point and made it a 7-1 score.
Stone had a nice game one, going 2-for-5 with a double, a stolen base, two RBI and two runs as the leadoff hitter. Frank went 2-for-2 with a run as he extended his hitting streak to 15 games after game one, but lost it in game two. Grys went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI while Allison finished 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run.
Jacob Piechota earned the win in the opener, as the junior improved to 3-3 after pitching 5.0 innings allowing one run on six hits and three strikeouts. Andrew Reisinger pitched a scoreless 1.2 innings in relief and Zach Mehelich finished the game off after the rain delay.
In game two, the Broncos were hot early once again, jumping out to a 6-0 lead after the first two innings. Allison brought in Vogelmeier with an RBI single in the bottom of the first on the play that broke the record. WMU piled it on in the second, where five Broncos came across to score after five hits and a hit by pitch. Jesse Forestell and Jimmy Roche led the inning off with back-to-back singles and Drew Devine bunted the two over. A hit by pitch loaded the bases for Stone, who sent a two-run single up the middle to score Roche and Forestell. Conner Henderson came in to score on Grant Miller's RBI single and Allison brought in two more with a double to left center, making it a 6-0 WMU lead.
The final WMU run came in the bottom of the fourth, where Vogelmeier came in on a wild pitch. The Bulls scored one run in the fourth, fifth and seventh before the game was called due to darkness.
In game two, Allison finished 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI while Miller went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Vogelmeier went 1-for-3 with two runs and Roche finished 2-for-3 with a run. Henderson went 1-for-2 with a double and a run and Forestell was 1-for-2 with a run.
Jimmy Townsend-Chase earned the win in the nightcap, pitching 6.0 innings allowing two runs on eight hits with five strikeouts while Chris Modrzynski and Jake Bartels finished out the final inning.
The Broncos will head to Avon, Ohio for the MAC Tournament on Tuesday before playing in the first game at Sprenger Stadium. WMU won the tournament last season as the No. 7 seed after going 4-1 and defeating Kent State in the MAC Championship.
