YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team wrapped up a three-game MAC series at Eastern Michigan by splitting a doubleheader with the Eagles on Sunday. The Broncos took game one, 8-3, with EMU taking the second game of the day, 3-0.
 
FINAL SCORE (G1): Western Michigan 8, Eastern Michigan 3
LOCATION: Oestrike Stadium (Ypsilanti, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (10-11, 3-2 MAC) | Eastern Michigan (8-14, 3-2)
W: Nolan Vlcek (1-0) | L: Drew Beckner (2-3) | Save: Turner Doran (1)
 
FINAL SCORE (G2): Eastern Michigan 3, Western Michigan 0
LOCATION: Oestrike Stadium (Ypsilanti, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (10-12, 3-3 MAC) | Eastern Michigan (9-14, 4-2)
W: Nick Chittum (3-3) | L: Jayden Dentler (1-2)
 
Nolan Vlcek turned in one of the best outings by a WMU starter to date in the first game of the day, as he worked a new career-high 6.1 innings and collected four strikeouts while limiting the Eagles to two runs. The senior's efforts earned him his first win as a Bronco.
 
The Western Michigan offense got Vlcek the lead in the second, as Grady Mee executed a perfect bunt to bring CJ Richmond in from third base.
 
The Broncos added another in the third when Richmond brought Cade Sullivan home with a two-out, RBI single. Richmond had a pair of hits in the opener, his fifth consecutive multi-hit game, but saw his 17-game hitting streak come to an end in game two.
 
EMU dented the scoreboard for the first time in the fourth with a two-out run which trimmed the margin to 2-1.
 
Western Michigan came right back with a pair in the next half inning, as Sullivan plated Connor Ostrander with a single, and Dylan Nevar brought Jackson Kitchen around with a sacrifice fly. Sullivan reached in all five trips to the plate in game one (3-for-3 with two walks) and had a team-high four hits for the day. Ostrander had three hits and scored three times in game one, both of which were career highs.
 
In the seventh, Nevar picked up two more RBIs with a single which brought both Ostrander and Sullivan around.
 
Eastern Michigan notched a run in the bottom of the inning to close the gap to 6-2, but Turner Doran came on with two on and one out and retired the next two Eagles to prevent the home team from getting any closer. The right-hander worked the final 2.2 innings to earn his first career save for the Brown and Gold.
 
Western Michigan answered EMU's run with a pair of insurance tallies in the eighth, as Ostrander delivered a two-out, RBI double, and Kitchen followed with a run-scoring single.  
 
Game two was a pitchers' duel throughout. For Western Michigan, Jayden Dentler yielded just one run on two hits over his 4.0-plus innings of work. In total, the trio of Dentler, Luke Thelen and Hayden Berg limited the Eastern Michigan offense to four hits, the second-fewest allowed by the WMU staff in a game this season.
 
The Broncos had a couple of chances in the early going, as they had a pair of hits in the first and a Kitchen double in the third, but could not break the 0-0 deadlock.
 
Eastern Michigan broke the scoreless tie with a solo home run to start the fifth inning. The Eagles then added a pair of insurance tallies in the sixth to make it 3-0.
 
Berg came on and retired eight of the nine batters he faced while piling up a season-high four strikeouts, but WMU could not get its offense going, and did not get a runner past first base after the third inning.
 
Western Michigan returns to Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field for its next four games, starting on Tuesday afternoon as it takes on Purdue Fort Wayne. First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 pm. For tickets, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.