KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team fell victim to a late Kent State rally on Saturday as it fell to the Golden Flashes, 5-4, in the finale of the two teams' weekend series.
FINAL SCORE: Kent State 5, Western Michigan 4
LOCATION: Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (12-13, 5-4 MAC) | Kent State (12-14, 5-4)
W: Peyton Cariaco (1-0) |
L: Turner Doran (2-2)
Western Michigan got a quality start from its starting pitcher for the third consecutive game, as
Nolan Vlcek equaled his longest career outing with 6.1 innings. The senior yielded two runs and struck out six, one shy of his career high.
The Golden Flashes loaded the bases with no outs in the second, and opened the scoring on a double play. Vlcek then induced another ground ball to limit KSU to one run in the frame.
Western Michigan tied the contest in the fourth.
CJ Richmond got the Broncos going with a two-out double, and
Dylan Nevar then brought him home with a single.
The Brown and Gold plated a two-out run again in the fifth to take the lead, as
Jackson Kitchen knocked a base hit into right field to bring
Josh Swinehart around and put WMU ahead, 2-1.
Kent State came right back in the next half inning, stringing together a pair of doubles to even the score at 2-2.
The first two Golden Flashes reached to start the seventh, but Vlcek got a pop up, and
Hayden Berg then came in to retire the next two KSU batters to keep the game tied.
Western Michigan regained the lead in its half of the seventh, as
Grady Mee came up with a two-out knock which scored
Greg Budig. Moments later, Mee took off for second and the throw was errant, which allowed
Brendan Harrity to race home from third and make it a 4-2 WMU advantage.
The Golden Flashes picked up an unearned run in the top of the eighth and put the tying run at third base, but
Turner Doran retired the next two batters to keep the one-run edge intact.
In the ninth, Kent State led off with a home run to even the contest at 4-4. With two on and two outs, a blooper down the left field line fell in to bring the go-ahead run home for the Golden Flashes.
Harrity doubled with two outs in WMU's half of the ninth inning, putting the potential tying run in scoring position, but the Broncos could not bring him home.
Western Michigan hits the road for its next six contests, starting on Tuesday afternoon as it visits Purdue Fort Wayne. First pitch between the Broncos and Mastodons is slated for 3 pm.
