KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Following its shutout of Michigan on Tuesday, the Western Michigan baseball team returns to Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field this weekend for a three-game series against Akron. Due to the weekend's projected weather forecast, the series schedule has been altered and will now begin with a doubleheader on Friday. Game three is scheduled for Saturday at 1:05 pm. The schedule is subject to further changes based on weather/field conditions. 

SERIES INFO: Western Michigan (2-16, 1-5 MAC) vs Akron (6-14, 0-6)
Game One: Friday, March 21 | 12:05 pm (DH G1) | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
RHP Ty McKinstry vs RHP Jared Schaeffer
Game Two: Friday, March 21 | DH G2 | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
LHP Joey Wizceb vs RHP Landon Vandegrift
Game Three: Saturday, March 22 | 1:05 pm | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
RHP Zach Vriesenga vs RHP Elijah Griffith

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Western Michigan is back home this weekend for a three-game series against Akron
• The Broncos own a 35-26 lead in the all-time series with the Zips
• Akron took two out of three during last year's regular season series
• WMU won two out of three the last time the Zips came to Kalamazoo in 2023
• Entering the weekend, Western Michigan has the 20th-ranked strength of schedule in the nation
• The Broncos are coming off of a 6-0 shutout victory at Michigan on Tuesday
• Reese Gaber limited the Wolverines to one hit over 6.0 innings to pick up his first win
• Adam Lehmann and DJ Thompson kept Michigan scoreless over the final 3.0 frames to close it out
• Dylan Nevar had three hits and drove in four runs to lead the offensive attack
• Nevar's four RBIs put him one away from tying the program's all-time record
• Tanner Mally is atop the conference in on-base percentage (.532) and is fourth in batting average (.422)
• Grady Mee enters the weekend seventh in the league with a .500 on-base percentage
• The sophomore's 17-game on-base streak is the longest by a Bronco so far this season
• Mee's .364 batting average ranks 11th in the conference

HOME SWEET HOME
Western Michigan returns to Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field this weekend for a three-game series against Akron.  The Broncos are 23-11 at home over the last three seasons, including a 21-9 mark in MAC games. WMU has won eight of its last 10 home conference series.

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of their first road win of the season, as they blanked Michigan, 6-0, on two hits on Tuesday in Ann Arbor. Reese Gaber started on the hill for Western Michigan and yielded just one hit over his 6.0 scoreless frames to pick up his first win for the Brown and Gold. It marked the first time WMU had shut out a Big Ten opponent since blanking Minnesota, 2-0, on Feb. 23, 2013. Adam Lehmann worked the seventh, and DJ Thompson then finished it off for the Broncos, retiring all six batters he faced in the eighth and ninth innings to slam the door. Dylan Nevar led the offensive attack with three hits and a season high four RBIs. 

POWER SCHEDULING
As has been the case the past several years, Western Michigan loaded up its non-conference schedule again in 2025, and has played half of its 18 games against Power Conference foes Michigan State, Louisville, Georgia Tech and Michigan. The Broncos are set to play a total of 13 games against the ACC and Big Ten, and are currently ranked as having had the 20th-most difficult overall schedule and 14th-most difficult non-conference slate in the nation. 

SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan comes into this weekend's series holding a 35-26 lead in the all-time series with Akron. The home team has won the series each of the last two years, with the Zips taking two out of three on their home field last season, and the Broncos winning two out of three the last time Akron came to Kalamazoo in 2023.

SCOUTING THE ZIPS
Akron arrives in Kalamazoo in search of its first MAC victory of the season after suffering home sweeps against Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green during the first two conference weekends. The Zips have had a penchant for picking up free bases, leading the conference in both walks and hit by pitches so far this season. UA's Max Bowman and Blake Bowen are the top two in the conference in walks, having drawn 19 and 17, respectively.

CHASING HISTORY
After driving in four runs in Tuesday's win at Michigan, Dylan Nevar is just one RBI away from tying Western Michigan's all-time program record. The current record of 174 was set between 1987-90 by former Bronco and Major Leaguer Matt Mieske. 

TANNER AT THE TOP
After having limited at-bats as a true freshman last season, Tanner Mally has flourished at the top of Western Michigan's order in 2025. The sophomore enters this weekend's series with the top on-base percentage in the MAC (.532) and the fourth-best batting average in the league (.422). Mally is hitting .480 through the first two weekends of conference play.

LOOK AT MEE
Grady Mee reached base three more times on Tuesday at Michigan to extend his on-base streak to 17 games in a row and boost his on-base percentage to an even .500. He has been particularly hot through the first two weekends of conference play, posting a .476 batting average.

THE WIZ KID
Joey Wizceb is coming off of a complete game victory his last time out, going a career-high 8.0 innings to pick up his first win as a Bronco in the second game of last Friday's doubleheader against Eastern Michigan. The southpaw has logged 28.0 innings through his first five starts, tying him for the second-most in the league. 

TY'S QUALITY
Ty McKinstry comes into Friday's outing with back-to-back quality starts under his belt, most recently keeping EMU to two runs over 6.0 innings last weekend in the Home Opener. Three of his five outings so far this season have been quality starts.