KENT, Ohio – The Western Michigan baseball team begins play at the 2023 Mid-American Conference Tournament on Wednesday afternoon with a matchup against top-seeded Kent State. 
 

GAME INFO

Matchup: No. 4 Western Michigan (21-29, 18-11 MAC) at No. 1 Kent State (40-14, 24-6)

Date/Time: Wednesday, May 24 – 12:30 pm

Site: Olga Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium (Kent, Ohio)

Video: ESPN+

Live Stats: SIDEARM

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• No. 4 seed Western Michigan opens up the MAC Tournament against the top seed Kent State on Wednesday
• WMU, who has made 7 of the last 11 MAC Tournaments, is back in the field for the first time since 2017
• Western Michigan owns a 14-29 all-time mark in MAC Tournament play
• By virtue of its sweep of WMU earlier this month, Kent State owns an 85-84 edge in the all-time series
• The Broncos are 2-5 in tournament play against the Golden Flashes, and have won the last two meetings
• The most recent meeting was the 2016 championship game, during which Western Michigan upset top-seeded Kent State to capture the lone MAC Tournament title in program history
• The Broncos ended the regular season by taking two out of three last weekend at home against rival CMU
• Jimmy Allen stayed hot, going 7-for-11 (.636) with five doubles, four runs and five RBIs
• Allen, Brady Miller and Cade Sullivan were all named to the All-MAC Second Team on Tuesday
• In MAC play, Sullivan led the league in both home runs (11) and RBIs (39)
• Sullivan is two homers away from tying WMU's single-season (18) and career (28) home run records
• Wednesday starter Brady Miller won seven of his 10 MAC starts, tied for the most league wins
• WMU's defense leads the MAC and ranks 14th nationally with 48 double plays
• The Bronco defense ranks second in the MAC with a .976 fielding percentage

TOURNAMENT TIME
Following its series victory over rival Central Michigan to end the regular season, Western Michigan heads to Kent, Ohio, to begin play at the 2023 Mid-American Confrence Tournament. By virtue of their series victory over the Chippewas, the Broncos earned the fourth and final spot in the field. WMU is set to open the tournament on Wednesday against top seed and regular season champion Kent State.

WMU MAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Despite having not appeared in the MAC Tournament since 2017, Western Michigan has reached seven of the last 11 tournaments (the 2020 and 2021 tournaments were canceled due to COVID-19). WMU is 14-29 all-time in the MAC Tournament, and captured the lone tournament title in program history in 2016. WMU is 2-5 against Kent State in MAC Tournament play, including wins in the last two matchups. In 2016, the Broncos took down the top-seeded Golden Flashes in the tournament championship game. 

WMU VS KSU
Kent State owns a slim 85-84 edge in the all-time series between the two programs. The Golden Flashes swept a three-game series from the Broncos earlier this month at Schoonover Stadium. It was the only time this season that Western Michigan was swept by a conference opponent, and was the first MAC series loss for WMU since March. 

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN FLASHES
Kent State closed the regular season on a five-game winning streak, including a sweep at Ball State last weekend to clinch the league's regular season title. Led by MAC Pitcher of the Year Joe Whitman, KSU has the best ERA in the conference and the 13th-best in the nation at 4.12. The Golden Flashes also led the league in batting average with a .305 mark which is inside the nation's top-30. Including Whitman, a total of six Golden Flashes earned All-MAC First Team honors, and head coach Jeff Duncan was named the MAC Coach of the Year. Kent State went 22-1 at Schoonover Stadium during the regular season. 

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan is coming off of a series victory over rival Central Michigan to wrap up the regular season. On Thursday, the Broncos got four RBIs from Dylan Nevar and three from Josh Swinehart to clinch their spot in the MAC Tournament. WMU rolled to a 14-5 victory on Friday to clinch its sixth MAC series win before CMU took the finale. 

ALL-MAC SELECTIONS
The Broncos had a trio of players earn All-MAC honors, the league office announced on Tuesday, as Jimmy Allen, Brady Miller and Cade Sullivan were all selected to the All-MAC Second Team. Sullivan earned a Second Team spot for the second consecutive year, while Allen also earned his second career All-MAC accolade, having earned a spot on the All-Defensive Team back in 2021. Right-hander Brady Miller was an All-MAC selection for the first time in his career. 

SULLIVAN OF SWAT
Cade Sullivan enters the tournament tied for third in the conference with 16 long balls and is third in the league with 53 RBIs this season. In conference play, the junior led the league in both home runs with 11 and RBIs with 39. Sullivan's 16 home runs put him two shy of tying both the Western Michigan single-season (18) and career (28) program home run records. 

AWESOME ALLEN
Jimmy Allen had a huge series against CMU for the Broncos as he went 7-for-11 (.636) with five doubles, four runs scored and five RBIs. The senior owns a team-best .311 batting average and ranked sixth in the conference with a .368 average in league play. Allen is tied for the team lead with 15 doubles, and his 13 doubles in league play were third-most in the conference. 

GETTING DEFENSIVE
WMU has turned 48 double plays, the most in the league and 14th-most in the country. The Broncos rank second in the MAC with a .976 fielding percentage. One of Western Michigan's top defenders has been shortstop Jimmy Allen, who made just one error in 119 chances (.992 fielding percentage) in conference play. 

WESTERN WORKHORSES
Dane Armbrustmacher and Brady Miller combined to make 27 starts for the Broncos during the regular season. Miller leads Western Michigan in wins (7), innings pitched (82.0) and strikeouts (86). He is tied for third in the league in wins, ranks third in innings pitched and sixth in strikeouts. Miller won seven of his 10 MAC starts, with his seven league wins tied for the most in the conference. Armbrustmacher has logged 76.0 innings, seventh-most in the MAC, and racked up 83 strikeouts, eighth-most in the league. Both Miller (T-80) and Armbrustmacher (T-97) rank amongst the top-100 strikeout pitchers in the nation so far this season. 

GO DJ, THAT'S MY DJ
DJ Thompson came on in relief in Friday's game and turned in a career-high six innings against CMU, limiting the Chippewas to two runs on three hits while collecting a career-high five strikeouts. The freshman picked up the win for the second consecutive outing, as he had also earned a win in relief in WMU's sweep of Ohio. Over his last two outings, Thompson has yielded two runs on five hits while racking up seven strikeouts in 10.1 innings.