KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan senior right-hander Jayden Dentler fired six strong innings and the WMU offense tallied four runs in the sixth in a 9-3 series-opening victory over Kent State on Thursday.  
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 9, Kent State 3
LOCATION: Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (11-12, 4-3 MAC) | Kent State (11-13, 4-3)
W: Jayden Dentler (2-2) | L: Ciaran Caughey (0-1)
 
Dentler limited the Golden Flashes to three runs on just four hits over his season-high 6.0 innings of work to earn his second win of the season. The righty notched a season-high seven strikeouts in the contest.
 
Kent State picked up a run in the top of the first inning, but Western Michigan answered with three in the bottom of the second to move ahead. Jackson Kitchen drew a walk with the bases loaded to tie the game at 1-1. Michael Maloney followed with an RBI single to put the Broncos in front, and CJ Richmond was hit by a pitch with the bags full to make it a three-run frame.
 
The Golden Flashes pulled a run back in the third to trim the margin to 3-2, and then Dentler settled in. The senior retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced, including the final six in a row.  
 
With the game knotted at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth, the Broncos put together a four-run frame to regain the lead. Grady Mee got the scoring started with a safety squeeze bunt to the first-base side of the mound which scored Josh Swinehart from third. Maloney added another run-scoring single, his career-high tying third knock of the day, and Richmond then capped the frame by scalding a two-run double to left center field.
 
Western Michigan tacked on a pair of insurance tallies in the seventh, with Swinehart scoring for the third time in the game on a KSU error. Later in the inning, Mee capped a three-hit day with a solo home run, his second long ball of the season.
 
Behind Dentler, the combination of Luke Thelen and Turner Doran held Kent State without a hit or a run over the final three innings. Thelen struck out a pair in a scoreless seventh, and Doran retired all six Golden Flashes he faced, fanning three. In total, WMU pitching collected 12 strikeouts, its seventh double-digit strikeout performance of the campaign.
 
Western Michigan and Kent State continue their three-game series on Friday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 3:05 pm from Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. For tickets to any WMU baseball home game, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.