KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team begins a stretch of six straight games against ACC foes this weekend as it heads down to Louisville for a three-game series.

SERIES INFO: WMU (0-4) at Louisville (2-1)
Game One: Saturday, Feb. 22 | 1 pm | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Game Two: Sunday, Feb. 23 | 1 pm | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Game Three: Monday, Feb. 24 | 3 pm | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Western Michigan continues non-conference play this weekend with a three-game set at Louisville
• It is the first of back-to-back weekends against ACC foes for the Broncos, who visit Georgia Tech next week
• WMU is 22-8 in the all-time series against Louisville
• This weekend's series is the first between the two teams since 2020
• Western Michigan's last win over Louisville came on Feb. 23, 2014
• The last win for the Broncos over an ACC opponent was a 12-2 victory at Notre Dame on April 10, 2019
• Western Michigan lost its Opening Weekend games to Michigan State and Dayton by a total of 10 runs
• In his WMU debut, Ty McKinstry worked a 6.0-inning complete game on Opening Day against MSU
• The righty limited the Spartans to one hit and a pair of unearned runs
• McKinstry's 0.17 WHIP was tied for the national lead after the Opening Weekend of the season
• In the nightcap, fellow debutant Joey Wizceb blanked MSU over 5.0 innings
• Tanner Mally went 7-for-12 (.583) and posted a .706 on-base percentage out of the leadoff spot
• The sophomore also scored a team-high four runs for the weekend
• Dylan Nevar drove in a team-high three runs, and needs 11 to tie WMU's all-time record of 174 career RBIs

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Western Michigan continues its stretch of 14 consecutive games away from home to start the 2025 campaign this weekend with a three-game series at Louisville. Due to weather, the series has been pushed back a day to Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of an 0-4 weekend at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. All four losses were close, with WMU dropping both ends of a doubleheader against Michigan State on Friday, 2-0 and 6-3, and both contests of a twin bill against Dayton, 7-6 and 8-4, on Saturday.

POWER SCHEDULING
After playing 12 games against Power Conference foes in 2024, the Broncos loaded up their non-conference slate with 13 more contests against Power Conference teams this year, including seven against members of the ACC. In addition to this weekend's series at Louisville, Western Michigan is slated to play a total of four games against Michigan State, a three-game set at Georgia Tech, and single games against Michigan, Northwestern and Notre Dame during its non-conference schedule. 

SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan owns a 22-8 all-time record against Louisville. This weekend's series marks the first time the Broncos and Cardinals have played since a three-game set early in the 2020 season. The last victory for the Brown and Gold over the Cardinals was on Feb. 23, 2014, while their last win over an ACC opponent was a 12-2 victory at Notre Dame on April 10, 2019. Prior to last season's trip to the Lexington Regional, WMU's most recent NCAA Tournament appearance was at the 2016 regional in Louisville. 

NEW STARTERS SHINE AGAINST SPARTANS
For the Opening Day doubleheader against Michigan State, Western Michigan sent a pair of transfers to the mound in righty Ty McKinstry (Davenport) and southpaw Joey Wizceb (McHenry County College). McKinstry took the ball for game one and limited MSU to one hit, an infield single in the fifth. The junior yielded two unearned runs in a 6.0-inning complete game and was saddled with the tough-luck loss. McKinstry's 0.17 WHIP after the first weekend is tied for the national lead. In the nightcap, Wizceb danced around trouble in the first couple of innings but faced the minimum over his final three frames. In total, the lefty blanked the Spartans on four hits in 5.0 innings of work in a no-decision.

TANNER AT THE TOP
With the graduation of Jackson Kitchen, a fixture in the leadoff spot during his time in Kalamazoo, Western Michigan needed to find a new leadoff hitter coming into the season. Tanner Mally started all four games in the leadoff spot last weekend and excelled, going 7-for-12 (.583) while reaching base at a .706 clip. The sophomore had a career-high four hits in game two of Friday's doubleheader against Michigan State and followed that up with a three-hit game against Dayton on Saturday. Mally also scored a team-high four runs over the weekend. 

DYLAN'S DAMAGE
After setting a single-season school record by driving in 71 runs in 2024, Dylan Nevar picked up right where he left, collecting a team-high three RBIs against MSU and Dayton. With 163 career RBIs, he is 11 away from tying former Bronco and Major Leaguer Matt Mieske's record of 174, amassed between 1987-90. Nevar is also closing in on 200 career hits, as he enters the weekend with 193 career knocks. 

BRAND NEW BRONCOS
In addition to Ty McKinstry and Joey Wizceb, eight more players made their first appearances for the Brown and Gold during Opening Weekend. Southpaw transfer Reese Gaber (Sioux Falls) took the ball for the weekend finale and tossed 4.0 innings against Dayton. Transfers Aiden Hinds (Kent State) and Matt Maloney (Evansville) saw their first action out of the WMU bullpen. On the position player side, transfer catchers Chris Akers (Towson) and Diego Pena (Kellogg CC) split the duties behind the plate. Freshman Marwynn Matthews Jr. started both of Saturday's games at second base, and in his first career start collected his first collegiate hit, walked twice, drove in a pair and scored a run. Rounding out the Western Michigan debuts were true freshmen Jackson Isaacs and Nolan Zajac, who came in off of the bench as pinch hitters.

DORAN NAMED TO STOPPER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Coming into the year, senior right-hander Turner Doran was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason Stopper of the Year Award Watch List. Doran made a pair of appearances during Opening Weekend and threw 2.1 scoreless innings while piling up four strikeouts.

PROSPECTING FOR BRONCOS
As a part of its Mid-American Conference preview, D1Baseball ranked the league's top-10 prospects for the 2025 MLB Draft. Western Michigan redshirt senior outfielder Dylan Nevar made the cut as the sixth-best prospect for this year's draft. The Broncos have had players taken in three of the last four MLB Drafts, with right-hander Luke Thelen getting picked by the Colorado Rockies in the 15th round last year, righty Easton Sikorski selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 17th round in 2022 and outfielder Blake Dunn taken by Cincinnati in the 15th round in 2021.