KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan baseball looks to secure its fifth straight Mid-American Conference Tournament appearance on the road this weekend at Ball State, May 17-19.



Game Information
Game One: Thursday, May 17 | 3:00 p.m. | LIVE STATS | VIDEO
Game Two: Friday, May 18 | 3:00 p.m. | LIVE STATS | VIDEO
Game Three: Saturday, May 19 | 1:00 p.m. | LIVE STATS | VIDEO

Probable Starters
Game One: RHP Nic Laio (3-3, 3.55 ERA) vs, RHP John Baker (4-4, 3.59 ERA)
Game Two: RHP Chris Modrzynski (3-3, 6.29 ERA) vs. RHP Drey Jameson (6-1, 3.62 ERA)
Game Three: LHP Jacob Piechota (3-7, 3.11 ERA) vs. RHP Evan Marquardt (3-2, 6.29 ERA)

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Scouting the Broncos
Heading into the weekend, Western Michigan has an overall record of 22-23 and 11-11 in conference play. WMU currently sits as the No. 5 seed if the MAC Tournament were to begin today. Against Ball State the Broncos lead the all-time series, 98-76.

MAC Tournament Time
The MAC Tournament begins Wednesday, May 23 in Avon, Ohio at Sprenger Stadium. The top six teams advance to the tournament with the top two seeds earning a first-round bye. The Broncos look to qualify for the tournament for the fifth year in a row and seventh time under eighth year head coach Billy Gernon. Under Gernon, WMU has a tournament record of 10-11 and have never went 0-2 in the tournament.

The Power of Nate Grys
Junior Nate Grys has provided the power at the plate for the Broncos this season. Grys has 10 home runs to lead WMU and is the first Bronco since 2009 to have double digit home runs in a season. Overall the Madison Heights, Mich., native leads the team in doubles (14), triples (2), home runs (10), RBIs (47) and slugging percentage (.642).

Broncos on the Mound
Western Michigan along with Miami are the only schools in the conference to have two players rank in the top ten in ERA this season. Senior LHP Jacob Piechota ranks sixth in the MAC with a 3.11 ERA while junior RHP Nic Laio with a 3.55 ERA ranks ninth.

Streaks
Junior Jimmy Roche is currently riding a team-high 11-game hitting streak while freshman Blake Dunn has reached base safely in 12 straight contests.

Fourth Inning Power
Of the 22 home runs that the Broncos have hit this season, eight have come in the fourth inning. In innings one through five, WMU has hit 17 of its 22 home runs.

Consider It Dunn
Freshman Blake Dunn had a stellar weekend at the plate against Ohio, registering a .643 batting average with two doubles, two runs scored and four RBIs. In Friday's 7-6 victory over Ohio, Dunn drove in the go-ahead RBI in the top of the ninth to cap off a perfect 5-for-5 day.

Scouting the Cardinals
Ball State heads into the series with an overall record of 29-23 and 15-9 in MAC play. The Cardinals have clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament and are currently the No. 3 seed. Last weekend BSU won its fourth straight MAC series after taking two of three from Toledo on the road. On Tuesday, Ball State defeated Fort Wayne in walk-off fashion, 3-2.

The Cardinal offense which ranks seventh in the MAC is led by Jeff Riedel who leads the team in batting average (.342), runs (47) and RBIs (47). Colin Brockhouse leads the team with nine home runs. BSU has a team ERA of 4.84 and a team fieldling percentage of .973.