TOLEDO, Ohio – Junior first baseman Cade Sullivan belted a pair of home runs and drove in four as Western Michigan completed a weekend sweep with a 9-6 win at Toledo on Sunday afternoon. The win secured WMU's sixth consecutive victory and second straight Mid-American Conference series sweep.
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 9, Toledo 6
LOCATION: Scott Park (Toledo, Ohio)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (16-24, 13-7 MAC) | Toledo (20-24, 8-13)
W: Luke Thelen (1-3) | L: Nathan Leininger (1-1) | Save: Drew Szczepaniak (1)
 
The weekend sweep marked Western Michigan's first road sweep since brooming a three-game set at Bowling Green in 2013, and its first sweep of the Rockets since a three-game sweep at Toledo in 2005. It is also the first time the Broncos have secured back-to-back MAC sweeps since 2012. The six-game winning streak is WMU's longest since it had a seven-game run in April of 2021.
 
For the second consecutive game it was a Sullivan home run which got the Broncos started, as the junior launched a two-run shot to right center in the top of the first to put WMU on top, 2-0. Sullivan has homered in five consecutive games, all Western Michigan wins.
 
Toledo picked up its first run of the afternoon on a home run of its own in the second inning.
 
Western Michigan added two to its tally in the third on a Dylan Nevar two-run single, then extended the margin to 5-1 in the fourth on a Gavin Doyle sacrifice fly.
 
The Rockets closed the gap to 5-2 with a single run in the fifth.  
 
In the sixth, Sullivan's second home run of the game, and fourth of the series, gave the Broncos a 7-2 cushion.
 
Toledo countered with a pair in the seventh to get back to within three, 7-4.
 
Western Michigan responded with a pair of insurance runs in the top of the eighth. With one out, Doyle launched a solo homer to left, his career-high fourth hit of the contest. Later in the frame, Nevar scored on a Toledo error to make it 9-4.
 
The Rockets continued to battle back, as they pushed across a pair in the bottom of the ninth to trim the margin to 9-6. Toledo then loaded the bases with two outs, but Drew Szczepaniak came out of the bullpen and got the final out for Western Michigan to collect his first collegiate save.
 
Luke Thelen earned the victory on the mound for the Broncos after tossing a career-high seven innings and racking up seven strikeouts. It was the first collegiate victory for the redshirt sophomore.
 
Western Michigan returns to Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field on Tuesday afternoon for a non-conference tilt against Valparaiso. First pitch is slated for 3 pm.