DeKalb, Ill. – On Saturday Western Michigan baseball split its doubleheader with Northern Illinois winning the series opener, 5-3 before falling in the night cap, 3-1 at Ralph McKinzie Field.

The rubber match between the Broncos and the Huskies is set for Sunday, April 8 with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m. With the split, WMU improves its overall record to 12-15 and 2-6 in Mid-American Conference play.

On the day the Brown & Gold went 15-for-66 from the plate with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs. As a team the Broncos recorded a slugging percentage of .303 and an on-base percentage of .329.

WMU was led by junior Jimmy Roche who hit a blistering .571 with one double and two RBIs. Fellow junior Nate Grys hit the lone home run for the Broncos, a two-run home run over the left field wall in the top of the ninth inning in game one to secure the Bronco victory.  

On the mound the Broncos used just four pitchers in two games, registering a 2.65 ERA. As a pitching staff, WMU collected 11 strikeouts with seven coming from RHP Nic Laio and four coming from LHP Jacob Piechota.

Game One (WMU – 5, Northern Illinois – 3)
In the series opener the Broncos got a stellar pitching performance from Laio who went seven innings, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out seven. Laio's seven innings of work tied a career-high.   

The game was tied at 3-3 heading into the ninth before the Broncos scored two runs on one hit to gain the lead and secure the victory. With one out and a runner on first, Grys walked to the plate and sent a pitch over the left field wall that gave WMU a 5-3 lead. For Grys, it's his team-high third home run of the season and 12^th of his career.

NIU got on the board first, scoring three runs on two hits in the bottom of the first inning. NIU's Cam Smith slapped a two out, two RBI single through the right side that gave the Huskies an early 3-0 lead.

WMU tied the game in the top of the fifth with three runs on two hits. The Brown & Gold loaded the bases with one out before Grys was hit by a pitch to score the run from third and get WMU on the board.

Following the hit by pitch, Jimmy Roche roped a two RBI single to centerfield, scoring juniors Connor Smith and Jesse Forestell to knot the game at 3-3.

Laio and the Broncos held the Huskies scoreless after the first inning with Laio at one point retiring 11 straight batters. Senior Andrew Reisinger came on for relief in the eighth and shut down the Huskie offense going two innings, allowing no runs on no hits.        

Game Two (WMU – 1, Northern Illinois – 3)
In the nightcap WMU scored just one run on eight hits and was unable to halt the Husky offense as the Broncos fell to NIU, 3-1.

The game was scoreless until the fifth inning before the Broncos got on the board with one run on one hit and one error. An error by the NIU pitcher allowed Conner Henderson to reach first before Ethan Hajdukovic executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Henderson into scoring position with one out.

Sophomore Drew Devine came through with an RBI double to left center field scoring Henderson from second to give WMU an early 1-0 lead. However, NIU responded quickly with two runs on one hit along with two Bronco errors in the bottom of the fifth to grab a 2-1 lead.

NIU tacked on one more run in the bottom of the sixth to gain a 3-1 lead. The Broncos had a scoring opportunity in the top of the ninth with runners on first and second and one out before a strikeout and a fly out ended the threat and the game.

In game two, junior Connor Smith and Drew Devine each went 2-for-4 with Devine registering the lone RBI for the Broncos.