KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team's three-game series at Southern Illinois has been altered due to weather concerns this weekend in Carbondale, Ill. The Broncos and Salukis are now slated to open the series on Thursday at 4 pm at SIU's Itchy Jones Stadium. There are several contingency plans in place to ensure that WMU and SIU are able to play all three games. With snow and/or cold temperatures in the forecast for both Friday and Saturday, the two teams have the flexibility to play the remaining two games on some combination of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If both Friday and Saturday are unplayable, the two teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 12 pm. Stay tuned to wmubroncos.com and @WMUBaseball on Twitter for updates. 

GAME INFO
Game One: Thursday, March 10 | 4 pm | LISTEN | LIVE STATS
Game Two: Friday, March 11 | TBD | LISTEN | LIVE STATS
Game Three: Saturday, March 12 | TBD | LISTEN | LIVE STATS

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Due to weather concerns, the opener of this weekend's three-game series has been moved up to Thursday
• The two teams will try and play Friday and Saturday, but will play a twin bill on Sunday if necessary
• This weekend's three-game series is set to be the 13th, 14th and 15th meetings between WMU and SIU
• The all-time series between Western Michigan and Southern Illinois is even at 6-6
• The two teams have not met since 2008, when the Salukis took two of three from the Broncos
• On Saturday at SIUE, Dylan Nevar hit a pair of home runs, the first multi-homer game for WMU this year
• The redshirt freshman also drove in a career-high six runs in the contest, the most by any Bronco in 2022
• Brendan Harrity and Ryan Missal also hit two long balls in the four-game series for Western Michigan
• Harrity hit his home runs in back-to-back games, including an inside-the-park home run on Friday
• Connor Charping went 7-for-17 (.412) for the weekend, scored four runs and stolen two bases
• With hits in all four games, Charping extended his hitting streak to eight and on-base streak to 20 straight
• Will Morrison hit .400 (6-for-15) for the weekend and scored a team-high five runs
• Morrison also boasts an eight-game hitting streak, tied with Charping for the longest by a Bronco this year
• Western Michigan ranks second in the MAC with a .280 team batting average
• After an 18-13 win over SIUE on Tuesday, Southern Illinois has won 10 of its last 11

THE FIRST PITCH
Western Michigan and Southern Illinois are set to meet for a three-game series beginning on Thursday in Carbondale, Ill. Due to weather concerns, the final two games of the series could be played on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, with a Sunday doubleheader the backup plan if the two are unable to fit games in on Friday or Saturday. 

LAST WEEKEND RECAP
The Broncos lost four games at SIUE last weekend and were edged in the late innings in the final two games of the set, 13-11 on Saturday and 11-10 on Sunday. Connor Charping (.412) and Will Morrison (.400) combined for 13 hits and nine runs in the series for Western Michigan. 

SCOUTING THE SALUKIS
Southern Illinois outslugged SIUE 18-13 on Tuesday and is set to play at Arkansas State on Wednesday before the Broncos come to town on Thursday. The Salukis are hitting .285 as a team and lead the Missouri Valley Conference with 100 runs scored so far this season. 

BRONCO BOMBS
Western Michigan hit seven home runs last weekend at SIUE, increasing the team total to 15 in 10 games. Brendan Harrity, Ryan Missal and Dylan Nevar notched two apiece, while Cade Sullivan added one as well. The Broncos hit 44 long balls in 2021, which was their most since 2009.

NEVAR HITS IT FAR
Dylan Nevar launched a pair of home runs in Saturday's setback against SIUE, becoming the first Bronco to post a multi-homer game since Sean O'Keefe hit two at NIU on May 7, 2021. Nevar also drove in a career-high six in that contest, the most by a WMU player this season. 

HARRITY CAN HACK
Brendan Harrity homered in back-to-back games last weekend for the Broncos, including an inside-the-park home run in the second game of Friday's doubleheader. In that same game, the redshirt freshman hit Western Michigan's first triple of the 2022 season.

HITTING "MISSALS"
Ryan Missal hit two more home runs last weekend at SIUE, pushing his team-leading total to four, tied for second in the MAC. The senior is also one of three Broncos to have 10 RBIs, tied for fourth-most in the conference. 

YOU CAN COUNT ON CONNOR
Connor Charping went 7-for-17 (.412) and scored four times for WMU against SIUE. The senior has scored a league-high 14 times for the Broncos this season, and his .386 batting average ranks 12th in the conference.

MASHING MORRISON
Will Morrison had another big weekend at the plate for Western Michigan as well, going 6-for-15 (.400) with five runs scored. The Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., native leads the Broncos with a .395 batting average, ninth in the MAC, and is tied for third in the league with 10 runs scored this season. 

SPREADING THE WEALTH
The trio of Ryan Missal, Dylan Nevar and Josh Swinehart are tied for the team lead with 10 RBIs this season, which is tied for fourth-most in the MAC.

CAN'T CATCH THE CATCHER
After stealing a program-record 32 bases in 2021, senior catcher Connor Charping has stolen five bases so far in 2022. With his 47 career steals, Charping is tied for fifth in Western Michigan program history.

GETTING ON THE PAINFUL WAY
Justin McIntyre was hit by a pitch 10 times last year, and has been plunked seven times in 2022. The senior has been hit 30 times in his career, fourth-most in program history.