KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Having swept each of its last two MAC series, the Western Michigan baseball team returns home this weekend for a three-game conference set against Ball State. 

SERIES INFO: Western Michigan (20-14, 11-4 MAC) vs Ball State (23-14, 10-8)
Game One: Friday, April 19 | 3:05 pm | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO |  | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS
RHP Brady Miller vs LHP Merritt Beeker
Game Two: Saturday, April 20 | 1:05 pm | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
RHP Nolan Vlcek vs LHP Keegan Johnson
Game Three: Sunday, April 21 | 1:05 pm | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Western Michigan welcomes Ball State to town this weekend for a three-game series
• WMU owns a 102-88 mark in the all-time series against the Cardinals
• Last season, BSU took two out of three from the Broncos down in Muncie
• In 2022, WMU won the lone meeting in Kalamazoo, and dropped a pair in Muncie
• The Broncos have won four straight at home and are 8-2 overall at Hyames Field in 2024
• After sweeping Miami last weekend, Western Michigan has won seven straight MAC home series
• The Broncos had NCAA Division I's longest active winning streak (8) snapped on Wednesday against MSU
• It was Western Michigan's longest winning streak since a nine-game run in 2005
• As a team, the Broncos are atop the MAC in both batting average (.319) and on-base percentage (.426)
• The team batting average ranks 17th in NCAA DI, while the OBP is 19th nationally
• Cade Sullivan enters the weekend leading the MAC in both batting average (.420) and OBP (.512)
• Dylan Nevar is atop the conference with 42 RBIs and is fifth in batting average at .368
• Western Michigan has had a shutout during each of the last two MAC weekends
• The Broncos are the only team in the conference to have multiple shutouts in 2024

HOME SWEET HOME
Western Michigan returns to Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field for a three-game weekend series against Ball State. The Broncos have won four straight at home entering the weekend and are 8-2 overall this season on their own field. Going back to last season, the Brown and Gold have won seven consecutive home MAC series. 

RETURN TO THE MAC
After splitting its midweek non-conference contests, the Broncos return to MAC play this weekend against Ball State. Western Michigan enters the weekend having won six straight conference games after sweeping at Ohio and at home against Miami the last two weekends. WMU has won seven straight league contests in two of the last three seasons (2021, 2023) and is looking for its first run of three straight three-game sweeps over MAC foes since 2005.

MIDWEEK RECAP
Western Michigan split its two non-conference midweek tilts, starting with a 12-2 victory at home against Goshen on Tuesday. That victory was WMU's eighth in a row, its longest winning streak since 2005, when it won nine straight. The Broncos headed into Wednesday's Capital Clash against Michigan State in Lansing with the nation's longest active winning streak, but fell to the Spartans, 12-2. 

SHUTTING DOWN THE MAC
The Broncos have had a shutout during each of the last two MAC weekends, and are the only team in the conference to have multiple shutouts in 2024. Last weekend's blanking was a combined effort between Brady Miller (7.0 IP) and Hayden Berg (2.0). Before Miami scored in the sixth inning in game two of last Saturday's doubleheader, the Broncos had rattled off 27 consecutive scoreless frames against league competition. Western Michigan owns the second-best overall ERA in the MAC (6.07), and boasts the top mark in conference play (4.37) by more than a run. 

WESTERN WORKHORSE
Brady Miller worked 7.0 innings for the third consecutive start last Saturday as he limited Miami to four hits while collecting four strikeouts on the way to a shutout victory. The redshirt senior was rewarded on Monday by being named MAC Co-Pitcher of the Week, making him the second Bronco pitcher (Turner Doran) to earn the award this season. Following Saturday's outing, Miller ranks fifth in Western Michigan program history in both career innings pitched (269.0) and career strikeouts (227).

OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT
The Western Michigan offense enters the weekend atop the MAC in batting average (.319) and on-base percentage (.426), with the batting average ranking 17th in NCAA DI and the OBP ranked 19th nationally. The Broncos also pace the league in hits (373) and sacrifice bunts (27), while ranking second in total runs (267) and runs/game (7.9).

SWINGIN' SULLIVAN
Cade Sullivan enters the weekend leading the conference in hits (58), runs (45), batting average (.420), on-base percentage (.512) and OPS (1.179). The senior is also among the league leaders in RBIs (39, 5th), doubles (10, T-5), walks (25, T-5) and slugging percentage (.667, 6th).

TERRIFIC TRIFECTA
The middle of the order trio of Cade Sullivan, CJ Richmond and Dylan Nevar has been a huge part of Western Michigan's offensive success thus far. Nevar is atop the league in RBIs with 42, Richmond is fourth with 40 and Sullivan is fifth with 39. All three are in the top-10 in the conference in batting average is well, with Sullivan leading the way at .420, Nevar fifth at .368 and Richmond seventh at .362.