KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team takes its four-game winning streak on the road on Tuesday as it takes on Northwestern.
GAME INFO
Matchup: Western Michigan (5-16) at Northwestern (10-11)
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 25 – 4 pm
Site: Rocky and Berenice Miller Park (Evanston, Ill.)
Video: B1G+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball
LEADING OFF
- Western Michigan steps outside of conference play on Tuesday as it visits Northwestern
- The Broncos own a 28-17-2 lead in the all-time series against the Wildcats
- WMU won the most recent meeting between the two, 26-15, back on May 2, 2018
- These two teams last met in Evanston in 2017, with the Wildcats claiming an 11-4 victory
- Western Michigan has had the 11th-most challenging non-conference schedule in the nation in 2025
- Northwestern is the third different Big Ten team the Broncos have faced this season (Michigan, MSU)
- WMU's most recent game against a Big Ten foe was last Tuesday's 6-0 win at Michigan
- Reese Gaber tossed 6.0 one-hit, shutout frames against the Wolverines to earn MAC Pitcher of the Week
- Over the weekend, the Broncos swept a three-game series at home against Akron
- Ty McKinstry got WMU started with 6.0 scoreless innings in game one of Friday's doubleheader
- In game two on Friday, Dylan Nevar broke Western Michigan's all-time RBI record
- Tanner Mally is second in the MAC and just outside of the top-50 nationally with a .416 batting average
- Mally's .511 on-base percentage is the third-highest mark in the conference
- Grady Mee's 20-game on-base streak is the longest by a Bronco so far this season
THE ROAD AHEAD
Winners of four in a row, Western Michigan hits the road for its next five games, starting on Tuesday as it heads to Evanston, Ill., to take on Northwestern.
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of a three-game sweep of Akron over the weekend at Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. Western Michigan opened up the weekend by sweeping a doubleheader from the Zips on Friday, with
Ty McKinstry's 6.0 shutout frames setting the tone in a 6-1 victory in the opener and
Grady Mee's four RBIs leading the charge in game two's 14-8 win. The Brown and Gold then scored seven in the fourth inning on Saturday on the way to an 11-5 sweep-clinching victory.
NEVAR MAKES HISTORY
Dylan Nevar made history over the weekend, passing former Bronco and Major Leaguer Matt Mieske (1987-90) for the program's all-time RBI record. The record-breaker was a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth in game two of Friday's twin bill, which pushed Nevar past Mieske's career total of 174. Following the weekend, the redshirt senior sits on 177 career RBIs for the Brown and Gold.
POWER SCHEDULING
As has been the case the past several years, Western Michigan loaded up its non-conference schedule in 2025, and has already played nine games against Power Conference foes. Northwestern is the third different Big Ten opponent (Michigan, Michigan State) and fifth overall Power Conference foe (Louisville, Georgia Tech) for the Broncos this season. WMU enters the week having had the 11th-toughest non-conference slate in the nation. The Brown and Gold won their most recent encounter with a Big Ten opponent, shutting out Michigan in Ann Arbor last Tuesday, 6-0.
SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan comes into Tuesday's matchup with a 28-17-2 record in the all-time series against Northwestern. The two teams have not met since the Broncos scored 15 runs in the fourth inning on the way to a 26-15 win on May 2, 2018, at Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. The last meeting in Evanston came back on April 11, 2017, with the Wildcats claiming an 11-4 victory that day.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Northwestern took two out of three over the weekend against Illinois to even its Big Ten record at 3-3. Trent Liolios leads NU's offense in numerous categories, including batting average (.379, 12th Big Ten), runs scored (18), home runs (9) and RBIs (21). His .864 slugging percentage leads the conference and ranks 12th nationally.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Reese Gaber was named MAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after his dominant performance in last Tuesday's win at Michigan. The left-hander blanked the Wolverines on one hit over 6.0 innings and did not allow a single baserunner to get past second base. It was the first shutout of the season for the Brown and Gold, who tied for second nationally with seven shutouts in 2024.
TANNER AT THE TOP
After last weekend's sweep of Akron, Western Michigan leadoff hitter
Tanner Mally ranks second in the MAC and just outside of the top-50 nationally with a .416 batting average. The sophomore is third in the conference in batting average with a .511 mark. In addition to leading WMU in both categories, he's also pacing the Broncos in hits (32), runs (22) and triples (2).
LOOK AT MEE
Grady Mee scored a career-high four times and tied his career high with four RBIs in Friday's twin bill opener against Akron. The sophomore also added two more stolen bases to his ledger to climb into a tie for the league lead with 11 steals.
ON-BASE MACHINE
Michael Maloney hit an even .500 (3-for-6) against Akron over the weekend and added six walks and a pair of hit by pitches to reach base at a .786 for the series against the Zips. The weekend boosted Maloney's season on-base percentage to .433, the third-highest on the team.
