MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team handed rival Central Michigan its first home loss of the season on Sunday, as the Broncos pounded the Chippewas 11-2. The win snapped CMU's overall home winning streak of 21 in a row, which had dated back to early May of 2021.
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 11, Central Michigan 2
LOCATION: Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium (Mount Pleasant, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (16-29, 13-18 MAC) | Central Michigan (31-15, 24-6 MAC)
W: Hayden Berg (4-4) |
L: Adam Mrakitsch (3-1)
After
Easton Sikorski got the starting nod,
Hayden Berg came out of the WMU bullpen and fired a career-high six-and-two-thirds scoreless innings. Berg also collected four strikeouts.
The two-through-six hitters in the Western Michigan order all had multi-efforts, led by
Justin McIntyre's career-high tying four knocks. McIntyre also scored three times and drove in a pair.
Cade Sullivan had three RBIs, while
Gavin Doyle and
Josh Swinehart plated two apiece for WMU. Doyle notched a pair of hits to extend his hitting streak to 14 in a row, tied for the longest by a Bronco this season.
Single runs in the first and second frames gave Central Michigan the early 2-0 edge.
Western Michigan answered in the third, tying it up on RBI doubles by McIntyre and Sullivan.
Dylan Nevar and Swinehart then gave WMU the lead with back-to-back run-scoring singles.
The Broncos tacked on three more in the fourth, getting one home on a balk and two more on a Sullivan two-run single, to stretch their advantage to 7-2.
After a pair of one-out walks in the bottom of the fourth, Berg retired the next five in a row and seven of the next eight he faced, with the lone runner in that stretch reaching on an error.
Western Michigan added to its lead in the sixth with a Swinehart double, then plated three more in the seventh frame on a McIntyre RBI single and two-run base hit by Doyle.
The first two Chippewas reached in the last of the eighth, but a double play helped maintain WMU's nine-run cushion. After a one-out hit in the ninth,
Ethan Houghtaling came on for Western Michigan and recorded the final two outs to seal the victory for the Broncos.
Western Michigan returns home on Wednesday for Southwest Michigan Miracle League Day at Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. The Broncos are set to welcome Michigan State to town for the contest, which is slated to begin at 4:05 pm.
