OXFORD, Ohio – The Western Michigan baseball team got a strong outing from Dane Armbrustmacher and home runs from both Greg Budig and Cade Sullivan on the way to a 5-1 series-clinching victory over Miami on Sunday afternoon. The RedHawks took the second game of the day, 4-1.
 
FINAL SCORE (G1): Western Michigan 5, Miami 1
LOCATION: McKie Field at Hayden Park (Oxford, Ohio)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (7-17, 4-4 MAC) | Miami (6-22, 3-8)
W: Dane Armbrustmacher (3-2) | L: Zach Maxey (2-5)
 
FINAL SCORE (G2): Miami 4, Western Michigan 1
LOCATION: McKie Field at Hayden Park (Oxford, Ohio)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (7-18, 4-5 MAC) | Miami (7-22, 4-8)
W: Kenten Egbert (2-2) | L: Luke Thelen (0-3) | Save: Patrick Mastrian IV (2)
 
Armbrustmacher got into a groove right away for the Broncos in the opener, as he retired 11 of the first 12 RedHawks he faced, with eight of those coming via the strikeout. The southpaw did not allow a hit until the fourth, and limited Miami to one run on two hits over his six innings of work. He struck out a season-high nine for the afternoon.
 
Budig gave Western Michigan the lead in the second inning of game one, as he launched a two-run shot to open the day's scoring.  
 
WMU added another in the fourth on a Jimmy Allen RBI single which brought Josh Swinehart home. The RedHawks got their lone run of the contest in the home half to trim the margin back to two, 3-1.
 
Behind Armbrustmacher, the Western Michigan bullpen retired nine of the 10 batters it faced. Joe Shapiro needed just six pitches to set Miami down in order in the seventh. DJ Thompson struck out three of the four he faced, and Hayden Berg notched a pair of strikeouts in a spotless ninth. The Bronco staff totaled 15 strikeouts, a new season high.
 
Western Michigan picked up a pair of insurance runs in the ninth inning, as Will Morrison collected an RBI single and Sullivan launched a solo home run. It was the second straight game with a homer for Sullivan.
 
In game two, the teams remained scoreless until Miami pushed across single tallies in the third and fourth frames to grab a 2-0 edge.
 
Those were the only runs yielded by WMU starter Luke Thelen, who limited Miami to three hits over a career-high five innings of work. The righty registered four strikeouts in the contest.
 
Western Michigan got its lone run of the second game in the sixth. Grady Mee started the inning with a single, the second of his two hits in the contest. Following a fielder's choice, Morrison ripped a double down the left field line to get the Broncos within one, 2-1.
 
Miami added a pair of insurance tallies in the seventh to stretch the margin to 4-1.
 
Western Michigan steps outside of conference play on Tuesday as it heads to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan. First pitch between the Broncos and Wolverines is slated for 4 pm.