PHOENIX – Western Michigan senior first baseman Cade Sullivan became the program's career home runs leader on Saturday as he launched a two-run shot in the 10th inning to lift the Broncos to an 11-9 victory over Michigan in the first game of a doubleheader. The Wolverines took the second game of the day, 9-4, in seven innings.
 
FINAL SCORE (G1): Western Michigan 11, Michigan 9 (F/10)
LOCATION: Camelback Ranch Stadium (Phoenix, Ariz.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (2-0) | Michigan (0-2)
W: Turner Doran (1-0) | L: Greg Pace Jr. (0-1)
 
FINAL SCORE (G2): Michigan 9, Western Michigan 4 (F/7)
LOCATION: Camelback Ranch Stadium (Phoenix, Ariz.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (2-1) | Michigan (1-2)
W: Jacob Denner (1-0) | L: Luke Thelen (0-1)
 
With the Broncos trailing 9-8 in game one, Sullivan led off the ninth with a single. After moving up on a Dylan Nevar single and advancing to third on a Greg Budig sacrifice bunt, Josh Swinehart brought Sullivan in with a sacrifice fly. Turner Doran retired Michigan in order in the bottom of the ninth to send the two teams into extra innings for the second consecutive day.
 
In the 10th, Brendan Harrity drew a lead-off walk, but was still at first with two down when Sullivan stepped to the plate. The senior launched a two-run shot to left, his first of the season and 29th of his WMU career, to put the Brown and Gold on top, 11-9.
 
Sullivan's 29th career blast capped a 4-for-4 game one at the plate for the first baseman and broke a four-way tie with former Broncos John Toner (1998-01), Frank Alfieri (1996-1999) and Kris Gundrum (1996-1999) for Western Michigan's career home run record.
 
Doran returned to the hill for WMU in the bottom of the inning and again set Michigan down in order to seal Western Michigan's second consecutive win over the Wolverines. In his first game as a Bronco, Doran fired four scoreless innings, allowed just one baserunner and fanned seven to pick up the victory.
 
Western Michigan jumped on Michigan early in game one, tallying four runs in the top of the first. After a pair of walks to start the game, Sullivan opened the scoring with an RBI double. Nevar and CJ Richmond followed with back-to-back run-scoring singles, and Michael Maloney then delivered his first hit as a Bronco, an RBI triple, to cap the four-run outburst.
 
WMU then tacked on three more in the second as Nevar launched a three-run homer to right, extending the margin to 7-0.
 
The Wolverines answered with one in the third and five in the fourth to trim the gap to 7-6. In the fifth, Maloney drew a bases-loaded walk to make it an 8-6 WMU advantage, but two in the bottom of the fifth and one in the sixth put Michigan in front, 9-8, setting the stage for Western Michigan's rally.
 
The Broncos scored in the first inning of game two as well. Sullivan picked up right where he left off in game one, singling home WMU's first run of the contest to begin what ended up as another 4-for-4 contest at the plate for the senior. The Naperville, Ill., native reached in all 10 of his plate appearances for the day, going 8-for-8 with two walks, six runs scored and four RBIs. Nevar followed with a sacrifice fly, his fifth RBI of the day, to put Western Michigan on top 2-0.
 
After Michigan pulled two runs back in the home half of the first, Grady Mee plated Josh Swinehart with a ground ball to put the Broncos ahead 3-2 after two innings.
 
The Wolverines pushed across four in the third to grab a 6-3 edge. Richmond got one back for WMU with a fifth-inning, RBI single, but another three in the sixth sealed the contest for Michigan.
 
The Broncos and Wolverines wrap up their four-game Opening Weekend set on Sunday. First pitch for the series finale is slated for 1 pm.