KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team held a 3-1 edge heading into the seventh inning, but a two-out, three-run homer gave Northern Illinois a lead it did not relinquish in a 4-3 victory over the Broncos on Saturday afternoon.  
 
FINAL SCORE: Northern Illinois 4, Western Michigan 3
LOCATION: Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (26-20, 16-10 MAC) | NIU (18-32, 11-15)
W: Adam Brouwer (7-5) | L: Nolan Vlcek (4-3) | Save: Sam Pederson (2)
 
Dylan Nevar got the home team started with a solo home run in the bottom of the first, his team-leading 12th of the season. The roundtripper was the 25th of Nevar's WMU career, making him the seventh player in program history to hit at least 25 career home runs.
 
The Broncos loaded the bases with one out in the second, but Northern Illinois got out of it unscathed to keep the margin at 1-0.
 
The Huskies then evened the score with a two-out run in the top of the third.
 
Western Michigan broke the tie in the fourth, as Greg Budig homered for the second consecutive day to put his team back in front, 2-1.
 
After yielding the third-inning tally, WMU starter Nolan Vlcek found his groove in the middle innings, retiring eight Huskies in a row at one point. The senior worked 7.0 innings and struck out 10, one shy of his career high.
 
Jackson Kitchen gave the Broncos an insurance run in the fifth, launching his third home run of the series to make it a 3-1 cushion for Western Michigan.
 
A three-run homer with two outs in the top of the seventh inning gave Northern Illinois its first lead of the weekend, 4-3.
 
Brendan Harrity led off the home half of the frame with a double, but the Broncos stranded him at third base.
 
Hayden Berg worked scoreless eighth and ninth innings to keep Western Michigan within one. The senior picked up four strikeouts to give the Broncos a season-high tying 14 for the day. The Brown and Gold have racked up 371 strikeouts this season, the fourth-most in a single-season in program history. The single-season team record stands at 395, compiled during the 2001 campaign.
 
The Broncos and Huskies wrap up their three-game series on Sunday afternoon from Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. Sunday is Senior Day for Western Michigan, with the pregame ceremony scheduled to begin at roughly 12:45 pm. First pitch will follow at 1:05 pm. For tickets, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.