DEKALB, ILL. – The Western Michigan baseball team split its Saturday doubleheader with Northern Illinois, defeating the Huskies in game one 5-2 before falling to the Huskies by the same score in game two inside Ralph McKinzie Field.

Western Michigan scored seven runs on 10 hits in the Saturday doubleheader with three doubles and one home run. The duo of junior Connor Charping and senior Ethan Hajdukovic each hit over .300 for the Broncos with junior Sean O'Keefe leading WMU with three RBIs.

Charping hit .429 on Saturday with one double, one RBI and one run scored. Charping had a .571 slugging percentage and was 1-for-2 in stolen base attempts. O'Keefe continued his stellar weekend at the plate hitting .286 with three RBIs, one home run, one double and two runs scored.  O'Keefe now has three home runs in the series and six overall this season.

The Broncos used just three pitchers in the Saturday doubleheader, holding NIU to a .250 batting average. The trio of Easton Sikorski, Brady Miller and Brenden Lovell allowed seven earned runs on 13 hits with 13 strikeouts. The trio also allowed just two extra-base hits with one double and one home run.

With the doubleheader split the Broncos now have an overall record of 17-20 and 16-11 in Mid-American Conference play. WMU and NIU conclude its series on Sunday, May 9 at 3:00 p.m.

Game One (Western Michigan – 5, Northern Illinois – 2)
Behind a complete game performance from RHP Easton Sikorski the Western Michigan baseball team defeated Northern Illinois 5-2 in game one of Saturday's doubleheader inside Ralph McKinzie Field.  

Sikorski picked up his fourth victory of the season after throwing a seven-inning complete game, allowing two earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts. Sikorski had just two walks in 28 batters faced with 72 of his 116 pitches being strikes.

Offensively the Broncos scored five runs on seven hits with three players registering multi-hit games. Junior Sean O'Keefe had another stellar day at the plate going 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBIs. O'Keefe now has six home runs on the season and three through the first two games of the series.

In the leadoff spot junior Connor Charping was 2-for-4 with one run scored and a stolen base. Senior Ethan Hajdukovic rounded out the trio of multi-hit performances going 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored.

Western Michigan scored first once again with one run on two hits in the top of the first. With two outs junior Sean O'Keefe registered his third home run of the series and sixth of the season over the left field wall to give WMU a 1-0 lead.

The Bronco offense continued its momentum in the top of the second scoring one more run on two hits to gain a 2-0 advantage. After a leadoff double to right centerfield by Ethan Hajdukovic, senior Drew Devine recorded a walk to give the Broncos runners on first and second with no outs.

A fielder's choice gave the Broncos runners on the corners with one out for Will Morrison who executed a perfect down the third base line to score Hajdukovic and extend the Bronco lead to 2-0. The Broncos held their two-run advantage until the bottom of the fourth when NIU scored two runs on three hits to tie the game.

It wasn't tied for long as Western Michigan responded with three runs on three hits in the top of the fifth. With runners on first and second and no outs, O'Keefe delivered a bases clearing two-RBI double to left center field to propel the Broncos back in front. One batter later, an RBI single from Hajdukovic scored O'Keefe and gave the Broncos a 5-2 advantage.

The three-run lead was all Sikorski needed down the stretch as Sikorski retired eight of the final 11 batters to secure the 5-2 victory.

Game Two (Western Michigan – 2, Northern Illinois – 5)
It was the same score but a different result for the Broncos in game two of Saturday's doubleheader as Western Michigan fell to Northern Illinois, 5-2 to split the doubleheader.

In game two WMU scored just two runs on three hits with Connor Charping, Justin McIntyre and Jimmy Allen each registering a hit. The duo of Charping and McIntyre were the lone Broncos to record an RBI in game two against the Huskies.

Junior Connor Charping continued his hot bat in the leadoff spot for the Brown & Gold going 1-for-3 with an RBI. Behind Charping, Justin McIntyre was 1-for-2 with one RBI. Jimmy Allen rounded out the hitting with a 1-for-3 performance at the plate while Max Huntley and Will Morrison each scored a run.

On the mound RHP Brady Miller went 4.2 innings, giving up just six hits while striking out five. In 1.1 innings of relief Brenden Lovell allowed just one hit and no runs while striking out two NIU batters.

Northern Illinois got off to a quick start in game two as the Huskies scored one run in the second, three in the third and one in the fifth to gain a 5-0 advantage through five innings.

Western Michigan scored two runs on one hit in the top of the sixth to inch closer in the late innings. After a walk and a hit by pitch the Broncos had runners on first and second with no outs. Charping roped an RBI single to centerfield, scoring Huntley from second to give WMU its first run of the ballgame.

In the next at-bat, Justin McIntyre recorded a sacrifice fly to left field allowing Morrison to score and cut the NIU lead down to 5-2. In the bottom of the seventh WMU placed a runner on base after a single by Jimmy Allen with two outs. However, a comeback would fall short as a fly out to the NIU first baseman ended the game.