KALAMAZOO, Mich. – On Saturday afternoon the Western Michigan baseball scored eight runs on 17 hits in a doubleheader split against Kent State, winning the first game 6-5 in extra innings before falling in the second game 9-2.

The Broncos scored eight runs on 17 hits in the Saturday doubleheader as WMU had five batters hit over .300 against the Golden Flashes. The Broncos had three players with double digit RBIs led by sophomore Jimmy Allen with a .571 batting average. Allen along with junior Sean O'Keefe and senior Logan Hudson each had two RBIs on the day.

Of the eight runs WMU scored, two were scored by O'Keefe followed by seniors Ethan Hajdukovic and Drew Devine each having two as well. Logan Hudson led the Broncos with a .833 slugging percentage to go along with a .429 on-base percentage.

On the mound the Broncos allowed 12 earned runs on 20 hits against the Golden Flashes. WMU used just four pitchers against Kent State registering 13 strikeouts with sophomore RHP Easton Sikorski leading WMU with seven strikeouts.

With the Saturday doubleheader split the Broncos now have an overall record of 21-24 and 20-15 in Mid-American Conference play. Western Michigan concludes its four-game series with the Golden Flashes on Sunday, May 23. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.

Game One (Western Michigan – 6, Kent State – 5)
In a nine-inning affair in game one of Saturday's doubleheader the Western Michigan baseball team secure a 6-5 victory over Kent State to even the series.

The Broncos scored six runs on 11 hits in the game one victory with three Broncos recording multi-hit games and two Broncos having multi-RBI games. The WMU offense was led by junior Sean O'Keefe who went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs. O'Keefe also connected on his seventh home run of the season.

Sophomore Jimmy Allen had a stellar day at the plate going 2-for-5 with two RBIs and earning his fifth double of the season. Freshman Greg Budig also had a multi-hit game going 2-for-4 with one double.

On the mound the Broncos got a stellar performance out of sophomore RHP Easton Sikorski who threw 6.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts. Freshman Ryan Watt earned his third victory of the season after throwing the final 2.2 innings, allowing one earned run on three hits with one strikeout.

Western Michigan got on the board quickly in the top of the first with two runs on one hit. With two outs senior Drew Devine registered a walk before junior Sean O'Keefe blasted a two-run home run over the right field wall to give WMU a 2-0 lead. The Golden Flashes responded in the bottom of the second with one run to trim the Bronco lead down to one.

The Broncos added a run in both the third and fourth innings to grab a 4-1 advantage. In the top of the third a groundout and a fly out started the inning for the Brown & Gold. Continuing his stellar weekend senior Drew Devine connected on a solo home run over the left field wall to extend the WMU lead.

WMU added another in the top of the fourth with one run on one hit. After Ethan Hajdukovic drew a walk with one out and then stole second base. With Hajdukovic on second, Gavin Doyle roped an RBI single to center field to give WMU a 4-1 lead.

Western Michigan held a 4-1 lead until the bottom of the seventh before Kent State scored three runs on three hits in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 4-4. The game was tied until the top of the ninth when the Broncos scored two runs on two hits to regain the lead.

In the top of the ninth Sean O'Keefe registered a single with one out before Hajdukovic drew a walk to give WMU runners on first and second with one out. Jimmy Allen rocketed a two RBI double down the left field line to give the Broncos a 6-4 lead in the top of the ninth.

Kent State looked to make a comeback attempt in the bottom of the ninth as the Golden Flashes scored one run to trim the Bronco lead. However, the Broncos closed out the game and secured the game one victory of Saturday's doubleheader 6-5.
 
Game Two (Western Michigan – 2, Kent State – 9)
Late Inning Runs from the Golden Flashes were too much for the Western Michigan baseball team to overcome in a 9-2 loss in game two of Saturday's doubleheader.

WMU scored two runs on six hits in the doubleheader finale as Connor Charping and Jimmy Allen each had multi-hit games. Logan Hudson registered the lone multi-RBI game
for the Broncos going 1-for-2 with two RBIs and one run scored.

Charping at the top of the line-up registered a multi-hit game going 2-for-3 while Allen went a perfect 2-for-2 with one run scored and one walk.

On the mound the Broncos used two different pitchers with Dane Armbrustmacher and Zach Mehelich combining for five strikeouts. Earning the start, Armbrustmacher posted three strikeouts while Mehelich had two strikeouts.

It was scoreless between the Broncos and the Golden Flashes until the top of the second when WMU scored one run on two hits. Back-to-back singles by Jimmy Allen and Gavin Doyle gave WMU the runners on the corners with one out. Logan Hudson grounded out to the KSU shortstop, scoring Allen from third to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead.

Kent State gained the lead in the bottom of the fourth with three runs on two hits. WMU cut the lead down to one in the top of the fifth after scoring one run on two hits. The Broncos got on the board from one swing by senior Logan Hudson as Hudson rocketed a home run on a 2-2 count to bring the Broncos to within one.

The Golden Flashes extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth with three runs on four hits to take a 6-2 lead.  Kent State added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth as Western Michigan earned the doubleheader split with the Golden Flashes.