KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team has handed out its 2023 team awards, with
Hayden Berg named the Relief Pitcher of the Year,
Dane Armbrustmacher and
Brady Miller selected as the Co-Pitchers of the Year and
Cade Sullivan named the Team MVP, as voted by their teammates.
Berg was named Relief Pitcher of the Year after appearing in 20 games for the Broncos this spring, 19 of which were in relief. The right-hander sported a 4.47 ERA, racked up a team-leading four saves and ranked third on the team in both innings pitched (52.1) and strikeouts (48). Berg took his game to another level in MAC play, posting a 3.13 ERA and .212 opposing batting average in league games, both of which were seventh-best in the conference. All four of his saves were in league contests.
The anchors of the Western Michigan starting rotation, Armbrustmacher and Miller were selected as Co-Pitchers of the Year after making a combined 28 starts for the Brown & Gold this year. Miller registered seven wins to tie for the MAC lead in conference victories. A Second Team All-MAC selection, he led Western Michigan in innings pitched (89.0), second-most in the league, and strikeouts (89), which were seventh-most in the conference. Miller also had the third-highest innings pitched (64.1) and strikeout totals (73) in MAC games.
Armbrustmacher was right behind Miller in many statistical categories, ranking second on the Broncos in wins (6), innings pitched (76.0) and strikeouts (83). The southpaw was ninth in the league with his 83 strikeouts and tied for ninth with his 76.0 innings of work. In conference games, his 57.2 innings were ninth-most, and his 61 strikeouts were 10th.
A Second Team All-MAC selection for the second straight year, Sullivan was a unanimous choice for Team MVP after a junior campaign which saw him tie the WMU single-season program record with 18 home runs. In addition to home runs, he led the Western Michigan offense in numerous offensive categories, including batting average (.306), hits (64), runs scored (53), RBIs (59) and slugging percentage (.617). Sullivan led the league in home runs (11) and RBIs (39) during conference play, and concluded the season by going 4-for-7 in two games at the Mid-American Conference Tournament to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Fueled by this quartet, the Broncos made the Mid-American Conference Tournament as the No. 4 seed, giving WMU seven appearances in the last 11 tournaments. Despite playing fewer games than in 2022 and playing the 30th-most difficult non-conference schedule in the country, Western Michigan saw a three-win improvement over last season. WMU also grabbed 18 MAC wins, its second-highest conference win total since 1999.
Anchored by Sullivan's play at first base, Western Michigan owned a .974 fielding percentage, the second-highest fielding percentage in the conference and the third-best mark in a single season in program history. The WMU defense was particularly adept at turning double plays, leading the MAC and ranking 19th nationally with 49 double plays.
