EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Western Michigan baseball team cranked out 24 hits and scored 19 runs on its way to a doubleheader sweep on Sunday at World War Memorial Stadium in East Greensboro, N.C. The Broncos began the day with a 9-5 victory over Bucknell, and then followed it up with a 10-1 win over North Carolina A&T.
FINAL SCORE (G1): Western Michigan 9, Bucknell 5
LOCATION: World War Memorial Stadium (East Greensboro, N.C.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (2-7) | Bucknell (2-8)
W: Ethan Houghtaling (1-1)
| L: Tyler O'Neill (1-2)
FINAL SCORE (G2): Western Michigan 10, North Carolina A&T 1
LOCATION: World War Memorial Stadium (East Greensboro, N.C.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (3-7) | North Carolina A&T (5-6)
W: DJ Thompson (1-1)
| L: Jaheim Brown (0-1)
Will Morrison led the Western Michigan attack with six hits over the course of the two contests, including a career-high tying four knocks in the second game of the day. The redshirt junior scored five times and also drove in five runs on Sunday. Morrison has registered multiple hits in six consecutive games for the Broncos and leads the club with a .432 batting average.
Cade Sullivan tallied four more hits on Sunday, including his third home run of the weekend. In game two against NC A&T, Sullivan had three knocks and four RBIs.
Dylan Nevar also brought in four runs on Sunday for WMU.
Western Michigan got a strong outing from
Ethan Houghtaling in game one. The right-hander went a career-high 5.1 innings and collected a career-high six strikeouts while limiting Bucknell to two runs on four hits.
The lone two runs against Houghtaling came in the fourth, and the tallies gave Bucknell a short-lived 2-0 edge.
Western Michigan answered with four in the next half inning. Morrison tied the game with a two-run double, with
Gavin Doyle and
Jimmy Allen each plating a run to give the Broncos their first lead, 4-2.
Morrison brought in his third run of the afternoon in the sixth, and later scored on a balk to make it 6-2 in favor of WMU.
The Broncos added their final three runs of the opener in the eighth, as Sullivan, Nevar and
Josh Swinehart each registered a run-scoring knock.
Western Michigan grabbed the early lead in game two, as Nevar delivered a two-out, two-run single in the top of the first inning.
WMU's advantage ballooned to 6-0 with a four-run second, as Morrison and Sullivan each plated two with base hits.
North Carolina A&T got its lone run of the contest in the second, but
Luke Thelen prevented further damage in the frame with a pair of strikeouts. In the first start of his collegiate career, Thelen went a career-high four innings and registered a career-high five strikeouts. He yielded one run on three hits.
The Broncos stretched the margin to 8-1 in the fourth, as Sullivan doubled in a run, and Nevar plated Doyle with a sacrifice fly.
After a run scored on a double play in the eighth, Sullivan capped WMU's offensive explosion with a solo home run, his third long ball of the weekend.
Following Thelen, the Western Michigan bullpen combined to allow just two hits and shut the Aggies out over the final five innings.
DJ Thompson went a career-high three shutout frames and picked up a career-high three strikeouts to earn his first collegiate win.
Ryan Watt and
Drew Szczepaniak tossed a scoreless inning apiece.
Western Michigan wraps up its trip to the Carolinas on Tuesday as it heads down to Clinton, S.C., to take on Presbyterian. First pitch between the Broncos and Blue Hose is set for 4 pm, and the game can be seen on
ESPN+.