KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team heads back out on the road on Wednesday as it travels to South Bend, Ind., to take on Notre Dame. 
 

GAME INFO

Matchup: Western Michigan (10-23) at Notre Dame (18-15)

Date/Time: Wednesday, April 19 – 6 pm

Site: Frank Eck Stadium (South Bend, Ind.)

Video: ACCNX

Live Stats: StatBroadcast

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Western Michigan steps outside of MAC play on Wednesday to take on Notre Dame
• Wednesday's contest will be WMU's 10th against a Power Conference opponent (3 SEC, 6 Big Ten)
• Notre Dame holds a 63-59-1 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs
• The Broncos topped the Fighting Irish 12-2 in their most recent meeting on April 10, 2019, in South Bend
• Drew Szczepaniak collected his first collegiate win that day for Western Michigan
• WMU last faced an ACC opponent back in 2020, when it lost three games at then #3 Louisville
• The Broncos split two games over the weekend at NIU, with Sunday's series finale canceled due to weather 
• Dylan Nevar hit .583 (8-for-15) last week, including a career-high tying four-hit game on Saturday
• Jackson Kitchen stayed hot and boosted his average to .350 and OBP to .480 over WMU's last 10 games
• Dane Armbrustmacher fired a career-high eight scoreless innings to get the win on Saturday afternoon
• Since joining the starting lineup, Grady Mee has hit .340 and reached base at a .411 clip
• During this 13-game stretch, eight of Mee's 17 hits have gone for extra bases (5 2Bs, 3 HRs)
• Brady Miller turned in his four straight quality start in MAC play on Friday (6.0 IP, 1ER, 4K)
• WMU's defense leads the MAC and ranks 17th nationally with 32 double plays
• The Bronco defense ranks third in the MAC and 56th nationally with a .976 fielding percentage

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Broncos step outside of conference play on Wednesday as they visit Notre Dame. Wednesday's game against the Fighting Irish will be WMU's 10th of the season against a Power Conference opponent (6 Big Ten, 3 SEC). 

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Western Michigan enters the week with the 16th-most difficult non-conference schedule in the country, and the most-challenging in the MAC. During their non-confrence slate, the Broncos have played nine games against teams ranked in the RPI top-100, with eight of those coming against teams inside the top-60. WMU has three more non-conference games against RPI top-100 teams remaining, including Notre Dame (No. 51) on Wednesday and a home-and-home series with Valparaiso (No. 90) next month.

WMU VS NOTRE DAME
Notre Dame holds a 63-59-1 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs. The most recent meeting between the Broncos and the Fighting Irish was back on April 10, 2019, in South Bend. Western Michigan won that contest, 12-2. Drew Szczepaniak earned the win that day for WMU, the first victory of his collegiate career.

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH
Western Michigan will be the second of two midweek games for the Fighting Irish this week, as they're set to face Valparaiso on Tuesday at Frank Eck Stadium. Notre Dame is coming off of a series loss at Clemson over the weekend to drop to 8-10 in ACC play. Brooks Coetzee is currently the national leader in hit by pitches with 24 this season. 

LAST TIME OUT
WMU is coming off of a split of its weekend series at Northern Illinois. The Broncos fell victim to a late rally and dropped the series opener in extra innings on Friday, but bounced back to take Saturday's contest, 7-1. Sunday's series finale was canceled due to weather. 

ARMBRUSTMACHER SHUTS DOWN NIU
Dane Armbrustmacher delivered a career-high eight shutout innings for the Broncos in Saturday's win at Northern Illinois. The lefty faced just one more than the minimum through the first four innings, and struck out the side in the seventh on the way to nine strikeouts for the game. Armbrustmacher's eight-inning outing was the longest by a Bronco pitcher so far in 2023. 

MILLER MOWS 'EM DOWN
Brady Miller turned in another quality start for the Broncos in the series opener against NIU, as the righty yielded one earned run in six innings. The redshirt junior has turned in four consecutive quality starts in MAC play, and now owns a 3.19 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 31.0 innings of work in conference games. 

NEVAR'S HOT WEEK
Dylan Nevar had a sizzling week at the plate for WMU, going 8-for-15 (.533) with a .588 on-base percentage. Nevar's week included a career-high tying four-hit game on Saturday at NIU, during which he scored twice and drove in three runs. 

LOOK AT MEE
Since his insertion into the everyday lineup, Grady Mee has been an on-base machine for the Broncos, as he's hitting .340 with a .411 on-base percentage. During this 13-game stretch, Mee has 17 hits, eight have which have gone for extra bases (5 2Bs, 3 HRs). The freshman has scored 10 runs and driven in 11 during this run. 

JACKSON IS COOKING
Jackson Kitchen has been hot lately as well, boasting a .350 average and getting on base at a .480 clip over WMU's last 10 games. The junior is currently on a 29-game on-base streak, the longest by a Bronco in 2023. 

MASHING MORRISON
Will Morrison leads the Broncos in several offensive categories, including batting average (.333), on-base percentage (.436) and hits (39). He enters the week 10th in the MAC in batting average.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
The WMU defense has turned 32 double plays this season, the most in the MAC and 17th-most in the country. The Broncos rank third in the conference and 56th nationally with a .976 fielding percentage.