KALAMAZOO, Mich. – An outpouring of offense propelled the Western Michigan baseball team to a doubleheader sweep over Bowling Green Friday afternoon, winning game one 12-7, and taking game two 7-5 at Robert J. Bob Stadium at Hyames Field.

The Bronco offense amassed 19 runs on 21 hits in the doubleheader sweep including nine doubles, one triple and three home runs. As a team Western Michigan hit .404 against the Falcons with a stellar .788 slugging percentage and a .530 on-base percentage.

On the mound WMU held BGSU to a .291 batting average posting just 16 hits and 12 runs, seven of which were earned. The Bronco pitching staff collected 13 strikeouts while allowing just one extra-base hit.

Offensively the Broncos were led by sophomore Jimmy Allen who registered a staggering .714 batting average with one double, one triple, one home run, two runs scored and three RBIs. Senior Drew Devine led WMU with four RBIs on Friday while hitting .500 with one double and one run scored.

Fellow senior Ethan Hajdukovic hit .333 against BGSU on Friday with three RBIs to go along with one double and two runs scored. In the lead-off spot for the Brown & Gold, junior Connor Charping hit .667 and had a stellar .750 on-base percentage. Charping posted two RBIs while having one home run, one double and four runs scored.

On the base paths Western Michigan swiped four bases with Charping, Devine, Hajdukovic and junior Justin McIntyre each stealing a base.

With the doubleheader sweep the Broncos improved their overall record to 13-15 and Mid-American Conference record to 12-6. WMU and BGSU play game three of its four-game series on Saturday, April 24 with first pitch set for 3:00 p.m.

Game One (Western Michigan – 12, Bowling Green – 7)
It was an offensive explosion for the Western Michigan baseball team in game one of Friday's doubleheader scoring 12 runs on 12 hits in a 12-7 win over Bowling Green.

WMU had seven different players register a hit in game one with five different players recording multi-hit games and three players with multi-RBI games. The duo of Ethan Hajdukovic and Drew Devine each had three RBIs to lead the Bronco offense.

Senior Drew Devine led the team going 2-for-4 at the plate with one run scored, a double and a team-high three RBIs. Along with Devine, Ethan Hajdukovic was 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored and three RBIs.

Right fielder Jimmy Allen belted his first home run of the season to highlight a 2-for-4 day at the plate with two RBIs and one run scored. Josh Swinehart belted his third home run of the season to cap a 1-for-3 day at the plate with one run scored and one RBI.

At the top of the line-up, Connor Charping was 2-for-3 in game one with two runs scored while drawing a walk. Charping also recorded a stolen base against the Falcons. Behind Charping in the two spot was junior Sean O'Keefe who also went 2-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored.

On the mound senior LHP Brandon Petersen picked up his third win of the season going 6.0 innings allowing just five hits and striking out five. Petersen now owns a 3-1 record on the season with a 4.91 ERA.

It was a scoreless through the first two innings before the Falcons got on the board in the top of the third. BGSU knocked a three-run home run off the center field wall in the inning to take an early 3-0 lead over the Broncos.

Western Michigan responded quickly in the bottom of the third with six runs on four hits. The Broncos loaded the bases with one out before Justin McIntyre grounded out to the BGSU third baseman, scoring Blake Dunn from third to get WMU on the board. A walk by Logan Hudson once again loaded the bases for senior Drew Devine.

Devine on the third pitch he saw blasted it off the left field wall for a bases clearing double to give WMU a 5-3 lead. WMU extended its lead in the next at-bat as Jimmy Allen laced a single to left field and gave the Brown & Gold a 6-3 lead after three innings of play.

The Broncos continued its momentum in the bottom of the fourth scoring four runs on five hits. Leading off the inning Josh Swinehart belted his third home run of the season over the left field wall to give WMU a 7-3 advantage. Two batters later after Charping stole second base, O'Keefe doubled down the left field line to score Charping and extend the Bronco lead to 8-3.

After a groundout to the BGSU shortstop, Western Michigan recorded back-to-back RBI hits from Logan Hudson and Ethan Hajdukovic to give WMU a seven run lead. BGSU got a run back in the top of the fifth before Jimmy Allen connected on his first home run of the season to give the Broncos a 11-4 lead.

A Hajdukovic RBI double in the bottom of the sixth extended the WMU lead to 12-4 heading into the top of the seventh. BGSU looked to make a comeback attempt in the top of the seventh, scoring three runs before a strikeout ended the inning and gave WMU a 12-7 victory in game one.

Game Two (Western Michigan – 7, Bowling Green – 5)
Despite trailing 4-0 early the Western Michigan baseball team rallied back in the middle innings to defeat Bowling Green, 7-5 in game two of Friday's doubleheader at Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field.

The Bronco offense continued to roll in game two of Friday's doubleheader with seven runs on nine hits including one home run and five doubles. WMU had six different player register a hit in game two with Connor Charping and Jimmy Allen each having multi-hit games. Charping along with Justin McIntyre also posted multi-RBI games.

Leading off for the Broncos Charping was 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs, two runs scored, a double and a home run. In the two spot for the Brown & Gold was junior Sean O'Keefe who went 1-for-3 in game two with a double and two runs scored.
Behind O'Keefe, fellow junior Justin McIntyre went 1-for-3 as well with two RBIs and one double.

Sophomore Jimmy Allen registered a perfect day at the plate going 3-for-3 and finishing a home run away from the cycle. Allen scored one run and had one RBI while earning a double and a triple.

On the mound the Broncos used three separate pitchers, allowing 11 hits while totaling six strikeouts. Out of the bullpen senior RHP Will Mullen picked up his fourth win of the season throwing 4.2 innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with three strikeouts. Earning his third save of the season was freshman Ryan Watt who pitched two innings, allowing no runs on two hits with three strikeouts.

It was once again a quick start for the Falcons who put four runs on the board through the first three innings of play. The BGSU offense got going in the top of the first scoring three runs on three hits and added another run in the top of the third.

Western Michigan began its comeback in the bottom of the third scoring three runs on four hits. The inning started off with a bang as Connor Charping belted his second home run of the season on the first pitch of the inning to trim the BGSU lead down to 4-1.

In the next at-bat O'Keefe doubled to left field and was then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt with one out. Logan Hudson scored O'Keefe a few pitches later, registering an RBI double to right center field to give WMU its second run of the game. After a groundout, Devine scored Hudson on an RBI single to center field to cut the WMU deficit down to one.

Western Michigan recorded three more runs in the bottom of the fourth off of three hits to gain a 6-4 advantage. With runners on first and second with one out, Charping delivered with an RBI double down the right field line to tie the game at four.

A hit by pitch put runners on first and second once again with two outs for Justin McIntyre. McIntyre belted a two-RBI double to right center field to extend the Bronco lead to 6-4 after four innings of play.

BGSU cut the Bronco lead down to one in the top of the fifth, scoring one run on two hits. It didn't take long for WMU to respond scoring one run on one hit in the bottom of the fifth. With one out and a runner on second Jimmy Allen recorded his first triple of the season to push the Bronco lead to 7-5.

In the bottom of the seventh the Falcons brought the tying run to the plate before a groundout to shortstop ending the scoring threat and propelled WMU to the 7-5 victory.