TOLEDO, Ohio – Junior first baseman
Cade Sullivan homered in both games and drove in seven runs for the day to help Western Michigan to a pair of wins, 9-8 and 13-5, over Toledo on Saturday afternoon. The victories extended WMU's winning streak to five in a row, its longest since 2021.
FINAL SCORE (G1): Western Michigan 9, Toledo 8
LOCATION: Scott Park (Toledo, Ohio)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (14-24, 11-7 MAC) | Toledo (20-22, 8-11)
W: Brady Miller (5-3)
| L: Jack Walker (1-4)
| Save: Hayden Berg (2)
FINAL SCORE (G2): Western Michigan 13, Toledo 5
LOCATION: Scott Park (Toledo, Ohio)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (15-24, 12-7 MAC) | Toledo (20-23, 8-12)
W: Dane Armbrustmacher (6-3)
| L: Camryn Szynski (0-2)
The Broncos got their offense going right away in game one, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first.
Gavin Doyle drew a walk with the bases loaded to bring home
Jackson Kitchen, and
Dylan Nevar knocked in
Will Morrison to give the visitors the early 2-0 edge.
WMU pushed its lead to 4-0 in the third as Nevar collected an RBI double, then came around to touch home on a
Jimmy Allen base hit.
After Toledo notched its first run of the day in the home half, Western Michigan responded with four in the top of the fourth. Kitchen knocked in a run with a single, and Sullivan then blasted a three-run shot to increase WMU's cushion to 8-1.
The Rockets closed the gap to 8-3 with a pair in the bottom of the fourth, and
Greg Budig then responded with Western Michigan's final tally of the opener with a fifth-inning sacrifice fly.
Brady Miller got the start on the mound for the Broncos in game one and tied his career high with 10 strikeouts over six innings of work.
Toledo used the long ball to get back into the contest, using two-run homers in the fifth and sixth frames, as well as a seventh-inning solo shot, to get back to within one, 9-8.
Following Miller, Western Michigan turned to
Hayden Berg for the final three innings. With two on and one out in the bottom of the eighth, UT's Owen Jackson roped a line drive right at Sullivan, who made the catch and fired down to second to complete the inning-ending double play. The Rockets again threatened in the ninth, but Berg slammed the door to earn his second save of the season.
The WMU offense continued to roll in game two, as it equaled its season high with 17 hits. All nine starters had at least one knock in the nightcap, with six Broncos registering multiple hits. Budig and Doyle had three hits apiece, with Budig collecting three extra-base knocks (a homer and two doubles) and Doyle coming within a triple of the cycle.
After a pair of scoreless frames to start the contest, Sullivan ignited the WMU offense with a grand slam in the third inning. Doyle followed with a solo shot, the third time this season the Broncos have hit back-to-back home runs.
Western Michigan tacked on two in the fourth, as Morrison doubled to bring in
Grady Mee and then scored on a Doyle sacrifice fly. Mee made it 8-0 with a fifth-inning sacrifice fly.
The Broncos pushed across four more in the sixth. The trio of Doyle, Nevar and
Josh Swinehart produced three consecutive run-scoring hits for WMU, with Budig then adding an RBI double one out later to extend the margin to 12-0.
The offensive outburst was more than enough for
Dane Armbrustmacher, who retired nine Rockets in a row at one point during the middle innings of the contest. The lefty logged a total of 7.1 innings and struck out six on the way to his team-leading sixth win of the season, one shy of the conference lead.
Budig capped Western Michigan's offensive display with a long solo home run in the top of the eighth to make it 13-1.
Toledo made a late push, scoring all five of its runs in the final three innings, but
DJ Thompson got the final five outs to complete the twin bill sweep for Western Michigan.
The Broncos take aim at their second consecutive Mid-American Conference sweep on Sunday afternoon as they close out their series against Toledo. First pitch is scheduled for 1 pm, and the game will be streamed on
ESPN+.
