MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball offense was firing on all cylinders in the series finale against Central Michigan but was edged in a slugfest, 11-8 on Sunday afternoon at Theunissen Stadium.
The Broncos plated eight runs on nine hits against the Chippewas, scoring in four of the first six innings of play. The Brown & Gold led off the game with two runs a piece in both the first and second inning while scoring three in the top of the fourth.
WMU had six players register a hit with three players earning multi-RBI games against CMU. Hitting second in the line-up, sophomore
Blake Dunn went 3-for-4 on the day with two RBIs and three runs scored.
The Saugatuck, Mich., native recorded his team-high 22nd multi-hit game this season and eighth multi-RBI game and was a home run away from complete the cycle.
Senior
Jimmy Roche joined Dunn with multi-hits on Sunday going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Roche earned his 11th multi-hit game of the season along with his sixth multi-RBI game. With the performance at the plate, the senior third baseman extended his reached base streak to 14 games while extending his hitting streak to five games.
Junior
Ethan Hajdukovic earned his second multi-RBI game of the season after a 1-for-4 performance at the plate with two RBIs. Hajdukovic laced a two RBI single back up the middle in the top of the first to give WMU its first lead of the game.
The Broncos notched their 26th home run of the season thanks to senior
Cooper Marshall blasting his third home run of the year over the right centerfield wall in the top of the second. Marshall went 1-of-5 at the plate with a home run, an RBI and one run scored.
On the weekend, Dunn led the Broncos with a .444 batting average along with a staggering .778 slugging percentage and .615 on-base percentage. The senior duo of
Jimmy Roche and
Nate Grys led the team with three RBIs each along with two doubles. As a team the Broncos scored 13 runs on 20 hits and registered eight extra-base hits.
Western Michigan now has an overall record of 13-26 and is 6-10 in Mid-American Conference play. The Broncos are back at home on Wednesday, May 1 for its second match-up of the season against Valparaiso at Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. WMU continues play at home next weekend for a three-game series against Eastern Michigan, May 3-5.
WMU got off to a fast start against CMU in the series finale scoring two runs in both the first and second inning. In the first with runners on second and third and one out, Hajdukovic roped a two RBI single back up the middle to give the Broncos a 2-0 advantage.
After CMU scored a run in the bottom half of the first, the Brown & Gold struck again with two runs on two hits in the top of the second. With one out, Marshall connected on his third home run of the season over the right centerfield wall to propel WMU's lead to 3-1.
Redshirt senior
Andrew Stone drew a walk with two outs prior to Dunn lacing an RBI double down the left field line, scoring Stone from first to widen WMU's lead to 4-1.
CMU battled back in the bottom of the third scoring two runs on two hits to cut into the Bronco lead. After a fly out began the inning, the Chippewas used back-to-back triples to cut their deficit down to two with one out. In the next at-bat, CMU's Jacob Crum recorded a sacrifice ground out to cut WMU's lead down to 4-3 through the first three innings of play.
The Bronco quickly went back to work in the top of the fourth, registering three runs on three hits to extend its lead. Sophomore
Justin McIntyre led off the inning with a double to centerfield and moved to third one batter later on a groundout. Dunn brought McIntyre around to score on the next at-bat with a single to centerfield to widen the Bronco lead.
WMU loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the fourth for Roche who lined a two RBI double to left field, to score Dunn and Grys to give the Broncos a 7-3 lead.
The Brown & Gold held a 7-3 lead until the bottom of the fifth before the Chippewas scored four runs on four hits to knot the game at 7-7 after five innings. The CMU inning was highlighted by a two run home run to right field along with an infield RBI single and a sacrifice fly.
In the top of the sixth Dunn led off the inning with a triple to centerfield, his first of the season to give WMU a runner in scoring position with no outs. WMU regained the lead off the bat of Forestell who roped an RBI single just over the glove of the CMU second baseman to put the Bronco back in front 8-7.
The Broncos held their one-run lead until the bottom of the seventh before the Chippewa offense exploded for four runs on four hits to gain an 11-8 advantage and their first lead of the ball game.
WMU looked to mount a comeback in the bottom of the eighth, placing runners on first and second with two outs before a swinging strikeout ended the scoring chance. In the ninth, the Broncos went down in order as CMU clinched the series finale, 11-8.
