MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team set a new single-season program record for strikeouts and ended the regular season with a 10-0 shutout win over Central Michigan on Saturday.
 
With WMU's victory and Ball State's loss at Kent State, the Broncos earned the No. 2 seed in next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament. It is the highest seed for Western Michigan since 1983, when it was the number one seed in the West Division and number two overall seed.
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 10, Central Michigan 0 (F/7)
LOCATION: Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium (Mount Pleasant, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (29-21, 19-11 MAC) | Central Michigan (17-38, 8-22)
W: Joe Shapiro (4-0) | L: Keegan Batka (3-6)
 
DJ Thompson (3.0 IP), Joe Shapiro (2.0), Turner Doran (1.0) and Luke Thelen (1.0) combined to collect Western Michigan's league-leading fifth shutout of the season. All five shutouts for the Broncos have come in conference play, with no other team having recorded more than one against MAC competition.
 
The quartet also combined for six strikeouts on the afternoon to bring WMU's total to 400, surpassing the 2001 team's mark of 395 for the single-season school record.
 
Western Michigan grabbed the first run just three batters into the game. Jackson Kitchen started the contest with a triple into the right field corner and then scored on a Cade Sullivan sacrifice fly.
 
The score remained 1-0 until the Broncos erupted for nine runs in the fourth. WMU's first two runs of the frame came on bases-loaded walks issued to Brendan Harrity and Kitchen. Dylan Nevar plated a pair with a single and CJ Richmond brought in two more with a double to make it 7-0. Western Michigan reloaded the bases for Michael Maloney, who drew a free pass to pick up an RBI. Harrity then capped the outburst with a two-run single.
 
During the nine-run eurption, Sullivan scored for the 63rd time in 2024 to set a new single-season program record.
 
Nevar's pair of RBIs brought his season total to 63, tying him with Frank Alfieri's 1999 campaign for second-most in program history. The left fielder also moved into sole possession of fourth in career runs batted in with 152.
 
Richmond became the second Bronco this season to reach the 60-RBI mark, giving the junior the fourth-most in a single season in WMU history.
 
With the regular season complete, Western Michigan turns its attention to the 2024 Mid-American Conference Tournament, which begins on Wednesday, May 22, at Crushers Stadium in Avon, Ohio. The Broncos earned the No. 2 seed and a bye to the second day of the tournament. WMU's first game will be at 6 pm on Thursday against a to-be-determined opponent. All games of the 2024 MAC Tournament will be streamed on ESPN+. For tickets to the 2024 MAC Tournament, visit www.getsomemaction.com. 

The full schedule for the 2024 MAC Baseball Tournament is as follows: 

2024 MAC Baseball Tournament | May 22-25, 2024
Crushers Stadium | Avon, Ohio

Wednesday, May 22nd
Game 1 - No. 3 Ball State vs. No. 6 Toledo, 12:30 pm ET
Game 2 - No. 4 Miami vs. No. 5 Kent State, 6 pm ET
 
Thursday, May 23rd
Game 3 - G1 Loser vs. G2 Loser, 10 am ET
Game 4 - G1 Winner vs. No. 1 Bowling Green, 2 pm ET
Game 5 - G2 Winner vs. No. 2 Western Michigan, 6 pm ET
 
Friday, May 24th
Game 6 - G3 Winner vs. G4 Loser, 10 am ET
Game 7 - G6 Winner vs. G5 Loser, 2 pm ET
Game 8 - G4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 6 pm ET
 
Saturday, May 25th
Game 9 - G7 Winner vs. G8 Loser, 12:30 pm ET
Game 10 - G8 Winner vs. G9 Winner, 6 pm ET
 
Sunday, May 26th
Game 11 (if necessary) -  Replay of G10, Noon ET