CARY, N.C. – The Western Michigan baseball team wrapped up Opening Weekend 2025 by dropping both ends of a doubleheader against Dayton on Saturday, 7-6 and 8-4.
 
FINAL SCORE (G1): Dayton 7, Western Michigan 6
LOCATION: USA Baseball National Training Complex (Cary, N.C.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (0-3) | Dayton (1-2)
W: Peyton Malecha (1-0) | L: DJ Thompson (0-1) | Save: Ben Dean (1)
 
FINAL SCORE (G2): Dayton 8, Western Michigan 4 (F/7)
LOCATION: USA Baseball National Training Complex (Cary, N.C.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (0-4) | Dayton (2-2)
W: Carson Samuels (1-0) | L: Reese Gaber (0-1) | Save: Ayden Tran (1)
 
A couple of errors helped Dayton push across five runs in the first inning of game one.
 
Western Michigan answered with two in the next half inning, as Grady Mee collected an RBI bunt single and Marwynn Matthews Jr. walked with the bases loaded to plate another. In his first start as a Bronco, Matthews reached three times and drove in a pair in the opener.
 
The Flyers made it a four-run cushion, 6-2, with a single tally in the home half of the second.
 
The score remained the same until the fifth, when Dylan Nevar brought home a run with a sacrifice fly and Chris Akers scored on an error. Nevar delivered another sac fly in the sixth to close the gap to one, 6-5.
 
After Dayton scored one in the bottom of the seventh, Matthews delivered an RBI single in the next half inning to once again make it a one-run contest. WMU's comeback attempt was halted there, as the Flyers turned a double play to escape further damage and then kept the Broncos off of the basepaths in the ninth.
 
The Flyers struck first again in game two, plating a run in the top of the first. Tanner Mally led off the home half of the frame with a single, the first of his three hits in the nightcap. One batter later, Brendan Harrity plated Mally with a double, and Lucas Rick then followed with a two-run single to give Western Michigan a 3-1 edge.
 
Dayton evened it up with a pair in the second, then scored another two in the fourth to move in front, 5-3.
 
The Broncos pulled one back in the bottom of the fourth, as Cooper Hums raced home on a wild pitch. Western Michigan loaded the bases with two outs later in the frame, but could not take advantage.
 
The Flyers added an insurance tally in the sixth and two more in the seventh to put the game away.
 
Western Michigan is set to take on ACC opponents in each of its next two series, starting next weekend with a trip to Louisville. First pitch for the series opener against the Cardinals is slated for Friday, Feb. 21, at 3 pm on ACCNX.