ATHENS, Ohio – Behind 6.2 scoreless innings from Jayden Dentler, the Western Michigan baseball team picked up its first shutout of the season on Sunday afternoon as it blanked Ohio, 7-0. The victory completed the first MAC series sweep of 2024 for the Broncos, who broomed the Bobcats for the second consecutive year.
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 7, Ohio 0
LOCATION: Bob Wren Stadium (Athens, Ohio)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (15-13, 8-4 MAC) | Ohio (8-19, 4-11)
W: Jayden Dentler (3-2) | L: Blake Gaskey (0-6)
 
Dentler did not allow a baserunner during his first trip through the Ohio lineup as he retired the first nine batters he faced. The senior's first trouble spot came with two on and one out in the fourth, but he got a pair of fly balls to get out of the inning and keep the contest scoreless.
 
In the next half inning, Western Michigan plated the first runs of the day on a CJ Richmond two-run homer down the right field line. Richmond's home run was his seventh of the season, tying him with Cade Sullivan for the team lead. Following the blast, Dylan Nevar was hit by a pitch. Back-to-back singles then brought WMU's right fielder in to score, with Brendan Harrity picking up the RBI to make it 3-0.
 
The final two outs of the fourth frame began a run of eight consecutive Bobcats retired by Dentler, who shutout Ohio on two hits over a season-high 6.2 innings. With two outs and two on in the bottom of the seventh, Dentler gave way to Luke Thelen, who got out of the frame unscathed to preserve WMU's three-run cushion.
 
Western Michigan pushed its advantage to four with a run in the eighth. Harrity led off the frame with a single, his career-high fourth knock of the afternoon, stole second, and then scored on a two-out base hit by Jackson Kitchen.
 
Ohio put together another threat in the home half of the eighth inning, but Turner Doran recorded the final out of the frame to again keep the Bobcats from denting the scoreboard.
 
WMU added three insurance tallies in the ninth. The first three Broncos in the frame all reached, with Nevar collecting an RBI single and Josh Swinehart plating a run with a perfectly executed squeeze bunt. With two outs, Grady Mee capped the three-run inning with a run-scoring base hit.
 
Doran returned to the hill for the bottom of the ninth and slammed the door on the Bobcats to secure Western Michigan's first shutout victory since April 1 of 2023 at Miami. The trio of Dentler, Thelen and Doran limited Ohio to four hits for the afternoon, tied for the second-fewest allowed by WMU this season.
 
The Broncos conclude their four-game road trip on Tuesday as they head to Ann Arbor to face Michigan. First pitch is scheduled for 4 pm on B1G+.