KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team is back in Kalamazoo for its first home game of 2023 on Tuesday afternoon as it welcomes Michigan State to Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field.

GAME INFO

Matchup: Western Michigan (5-16) vs Michigan State (13-8)

Date/Time: Tuesday, March 28 – 3:05 pm

Site: Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field (Kalamazoo, Mich.)

Probables: RHP Luke Thelen (0-2, 11.81 ERA) vs RHP Adam Berghorst (1-0, 4.40 ERA)

Video: Bronco All-Access

Radio: Bronco Media Network

Live Stats: StatBroadcast

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• After starting the season with 21 straight games away from home, Western Michigan plays its first home game of 2023 on Tuesday as it welcomes Michigan State to Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field
• Tuesday's game wraps up a stretch of five straight games against Big Ten opponents for WMU
• The Broncos enter the week at 124 in the RPI and with the 11th-toughest strength of schedule
• Michigan State swept a doubleheader on Sunday to claim a series victory over Purdue
• Western Michigan leads the all-time series against MSU, 98-79
• The Spartans beat the Broncos 8-3 up in East Lansing in the first meeting of the season between the two
• Western Michigan has beaten five different Big Ten teams under Billy Gernon, including five wins over MSU
• The Broncos are coming off of a sweep at the hands of 20th-ranked Iowa over the weekend
• Jackson Kitchen reached base in all three games to extend his on-base streak to 17 in a row
• The 17-game streak is the longest by a Bronco this season
• Cade Sullivan is right behind Kitchen with an active 16-game on-base streak
• Will Morrison enters the week ranked seventh in the MAC with a .375 batting average
• The Bronco defense has turned 22 double plays, the most in the MAC and 15th-most in the nation
• Western Michigan is 11th in the nation in double plays per game at 1.05

HOME SWEET HOME
After playing its first 21 games of 2023 away from home, Western Michigan finally takes to its home field for the first time in 2023 on Tuesday as it welcomes Michigan State to Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. The Broncos moved their rematch against the Spartans up by a day due to forecasted weather on Wednesday. WMU was supposed to host a three-game MAC series against Eastern Michigan from March 17-19, but was forced to relocate the series to Western Kentucky University due to weather. 

BIG STRETCH CONCLUDES
Wednesday's game concludes a five-game stretch for Western Michigan against Big Ten competition. The Broncos began this stretch with an 8-3 loss at Michigan State on Wednesday and then had a three-game series at 20th-ranked Iowa over the weekend in Iowa City. 

WMU VS MSU
The Broncos hold a 98-79 advantage in the all-time series against Michigan State. These two teams met last Wednesday in East Lansing, with the Spartans coming out on top, 8-3. A former assistant under Michigan State head coach Jake Boss, Billy Gernon is 5-14 against the Spartans during his tenure at the helm of the Broncos. 

BRONCOS AGAINST THE BIG TEN
The Broncos have picked up 13 victories over Big Ten opponents under head coach Billy Gernon, with five of those wins coming over Michigan State. During Gernon's tenure, WMU has also beaten Northwestern (three times), Michigan (twice), Ohio State (twice) and Minnesota. Western Michigan has one more Big Ten opponent on its schedule, as it heads to Ann Arbor on April 4 to face Michigan. 

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Western Michigan enters the week at 124 in the RPI, and with the 11th-most difficult strength of schedule in the NCAA. The Broncos have had by far the toughest strength of schedule in the MAC, with Ohio (122) owning the second-toughest schedule in the league thus far. Of WMU's 21 games, 10 have come against teams ranked in the current top-100, including six inside the top-50 (three each against No. 4 LSU and No. 48 Iowa). Of the current top-100 teams in the RPI, Western Michigan still has games remaining against Notre Dame (No. 28), MSU (No. 61) and Michigan (No. 80), as well as three game series against Kent State (No. 54) and Central Michigan (No. 66).

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan is coming off of a three-game sweep at the hands of #20 Iowa over the weekend. After a 9-3 Iowa win on Friday, the two teams played a twin bill on Saturday, with the Hawkeyes overcoming an early deficit to top the Broncos in game one, and Iowa completing the sweep with another victory in game two of the double dip. 

I GOT A THELEN
Tuesday's starter for WMU, Luke Thelen, faced Michigan State last Wednesday and got out to to a terrific start, as he did not allow a hit to the Spartans until the fifth inning. The right-hander allowed two earned runs, and tied his career highs in innings pitched (4.0) and strikeouts (5).

MASHING MORRISON
Will Morrison continues to lead the Western Michigan offense in several categories, including batting average (.375), on-base percentage (.452), hits (30) and runs scored (20). Morrison's .375 batting average enters the week at seventh in the MAC. 

DOUBLE TROUBLE
The Western Michigan defense has been adept at turning double plays, as it has turned 22 of them so far this season, the most in the MAC and 11th-most in the country. The Bronco defense also ranks 15th in the nation with 1.05 twin killings per game.