KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team begins a crucial six-game road trip to end the season beginning with a three-game series against defending Mid-American Conference Tournament champion, Ohio, May 11-13.
Game Information
Game One: Friday, May 11 | 2:00 p.m. |
LIVE STATS |
VIDEO
Game Two: Saturday, May 12 | 3:00 p.m. |
LIVE STATS |
VIDEO
Game Three: Sunday, May 13 | 1:00 p.m. |
LIVE STATS |
VIDEO
Probable Starters
Game One: RHP
Nic Laio (3-3, 3.24 ERA) vs LHP Gerry Salisbury (4-6, 4.96 ERA)
Game Two: LHP
Jacob Piechota (3-6, 2.78 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Klein (3-1, 4.93 ERA)
Game Three: RHP
Chris Modrzynski (3-3, 5.52 ERA) vs. LHP Derek Carr (1-1, 3.64 ERA)
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @WMUBaseball
Scouting the Broncos
Western Michigan heads into the weekend having won four of its last five MAC Series and has an overall record of 20-22, 9-10 in conference play. In five of the last nine contests the Broncos have registered double digit hits.
Setting the Standard
WMU has now won at least 20 games in each of the past five seasons and has done so seven times under eighth year head coach
Billy Gernon.
Smith Rising Up The Record Books
Junior
Connor Smith continues to rise up the WMU record books as the junior infielder ranks 12th in career hits with 205. The school record is 260 set by Chris Lewis from 2007-2010. During his junior campaign, Smith has a .347 batting average and leads the team in at-bats (170), runs (30), hits (59) and triples (2).
Sacrifice for the Team
Western Michigan currently ranks fifth in the NCAA in sacrifice bunts with 47. Redshirt junior
Andrew Stone ranks second in the MAC and 33rd in the nation with 10 this season.
Grys Bringing the Power
Junior
Nate Grys has brought the power at the plate for the Broncos this season, leading the team in doubles (12), home runs (9), RBIs (43), total bases (82) and slugging percentage (.603).
Broncos Success in the MAC Tournament
The Broncos look to qualify for the MAC Tournament for the fifth year in a row and seventh time in the eight-year tenure of head coach
Billy Gernon. In Gernon's eight years, WMU is the only team to never go 0-2 in the tournament as the Broncos have record of 10-11 in the tournament under Gernon.
The 2017 team was the first senior class in school history to qualify for the MAC Tournament all four years, winning the program's first MAC Tournament title in 2016.
Six of the 10 teams in the MAC qualify for the conference tournament with the top two seeds earning a first-round bye.
Scouting Ohio
Ohio has an overall record of 20-27 and 8-13 in MAC play heading into the weekend. The Bobcats are currently on a six-game losing streak and dropped a 10-9 contest on Wednesday against Youngstown State. In its last MAC weekend, Ohio was swept by Ball State.
Offensively Ohio is powered by Rudy Rott who leads the team in batting average (.366) runs (42), home runs (13) and RBIs (44). As a team the Bobcats have a .256 batting average while on the mound have a 4.33 ERA.
