EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Ryan Missal homered for the third time in the last four games and Brendan Harrity added an inside-the-park home run as Western Michigan dropped both ends of a doubleheader at SIUE, 4-1 and 12-6, on Friday.
 
FINAL SCORE (G1): SIUE 4, Western Michigan 1 (F/7)
LOCATION: Roy E. Lee Field at Simmons Baseball Complex (Edwardsville, Ill.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (1-6) | SIUE (3-4)   
W: Noah Matheny (1-1) | L: Dane Armbrustmacher (0-1) | S: Jake Bockenstedt (1)
 
FINAL SCORE (G2): SIUE 12, Western Michigan 6 (F/7)
LOCATION: Roy E. Lee Field at Simmons Baseball Complex (Edwardsville, Ill.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (1-7) | SIUE (4-4)   
W: Kaid Karnes (1-1) | L: Jack Huisman (0-2)
 
Connor Charping went 3-for-3 in game one for the Broncos and notched a team-high four hits for the day. Missal went deep in the opener for Western Michigan, while Harrity raced around the bases for his inside-the-park home run in the day's finale. In game two, Jimmy Allen, Harrity and Will Morrison had two hits apiece. Harrity drove in three in the nightcap to tie his career high.
 
In the opener, SIUE got all the runs it needed in the top of the first. The Cougars loaded the bases with one out, and after a strike out, put together back-to-back run-scoring knocks to take an early 4-0 advantage.
 
The score remained the same until the fifth, when Missal launched a solo home run, his team-leading third of the season. It was the senior's third homer in WMU's last four games.
 
Cade Sullivan followed the Missal long ball with a double, but was left stranded. Western Michigan put two more runners on in the sixth, but was once again turned away.
 
The combination of Dane Armbrustmacher and Brenden Lovell combined to keep SIUE scoreless over the final five frames of the contest. Armbrustmacher allowed six hits over five innings and struck out six, while Lovell tossed a scoreless sixth frame for WMU.
 
Western Michigan struck first in the nightcap, as Josh Swinehart plated Morrison with a two-out RBI single. SIUE responded with four in its half of the first to take a 4-1 edge.
 
The Cougars tacked on runs in each of the next four frames as well, and led 11-1 after five.
 
The Broncos got one back in the sixth, as Harrity tripled, then came home on a Missal bounce out. SIUE answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning to make it 12-2.
 
In the seventh, Justin McIntyre collected an RBI single which brought Charping home. Following a Morrison single, Harrity smashed a ball into the gap and raced all the way around the bases for a three-run inside-the-park home run. The WMU rally was halted after that, as SIUE completed the doubleheader sweep.
 
The Broncos and Cougars continue their four-game weekend series on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is set for 2 pm.