KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team dropped the opening game of its three-game weekend series against Ball State on Friday, 14-1. The loss snapped a six-game MAC winning streak for the Broncos.  
 
FINAL SCORE: Ball State 14, Western Michigan 1
LOCATION: Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (20-15, 11-5 MAC) | Ball State (24-14, 11-8)
W: Merritt Beeker (6-2) | L: Brady Miller (3-4) | Save: Will Jacobson (2)
 
Ball State opened the scoring in the top of the first with a two-out run.
 
Western Michigan loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the first, but was unable to score. The Broncos put a pair of runners on in the second before they were again turned away by BSU.
 
The Cardinals extended their lead with a nine-run fourth. The visitors then tacked on a pair in the sixth and single tallies in the seventh and ninth frames.
 
With two outs in the ninth, Brendan Harrity notched his second hit of the day, an RBI single, to bring home Connor Ostrander. Tanner Mally followed with a pinch-hit single to load the bases, but Ball State kept WMU from adding any more runs.
 
Western Michigan pitching racked up 11 strikeouts, its ninth double-digit strikeout game of the season. Brady Miller tied his season high with seven strikeouts, while Zach Vriesenga equaled his career high with three.
 
The Broncos and Cardinals continue their three-game weekend series on Saturday afternoon from Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 pm. For tickets to any WMU baseball home game, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.