SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Western Michigan senior first baseman
Cade Sullivan hit a pair of home runs, but Western Michigan fell, 16-11, in a non-conference tilt at Notre Dame on Tuesday.
FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 16, Western Michigan 11
LOCATION: Frank Eck Stadium (South Bend, Ind.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (9-10) | Notre Dame (12-8)
W: Radek Birkholz (3-0) |
L: Jake Gernon (0-1)
Sullivan went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs and a career-high tying six RBIs in the contest. It was the fifth multi-homer game of his Western Michigan career. The senior has three round trippers in the last two games. s
CJ Richmond collected his third consecutive multi-hit game for WMU and homered for the second straight contest. The junior's knocks extended his hitting streak to 15 in a row, the longest by a Bronco this season.
Western Michigan opened the scoring three batters into the contest, as Sullivan drove in
Jackson Kitchen with a double.
Dylan Nevar followed with an RBI single, and then Richmond launched a towering two-run homer to right, his fifth of the season, to make it 4-0.
The Fighting Irish answered with four of their own in the home half to even the contest at 4-4.
The Brown and Gold responded in the next half inning, as Sullivan went to the opposite field for a three-run homer. WMU tacked on two more in the third, as a
Brendan Harrity sacrifice fly and
Grady Mee RBI single extended the margin to 9-4.
After a Notre Dame tally in the bottom of the third, Sullivan uncorked another home run to the opposite field in the top of the fourth, his team-leading sixth long ball of the season.
Two runs each in the fourth and fifth frames brought the Fighting Irish to within one, 10-9, and the hosts then moved ahead with five in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Sullivan capped his six-RBI performance with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.
Western Michigan hits the road again this weekend as it travels to Ypsilanti for a three-game set against Eastern Michigan. The Broncos and Eagles are slated to begin the series on Friday afternoon at 3 pm.
