MUNCIE, Ind. – The Western Michigan baseball team got a strong performance from starting pitcher Ty McKinstry, but three early runs sank the Broncos in a 3-1 loss at Ball State in the Mid-American Conference opener on Friday.
 
FINAL SCORE: Ball State 3, Western Michigan 1
LOCATION: Shebek Stadium (Muncie, Ind.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (0-12, 0-1 MAC) | Ball State (9-5, 1-0)
W: Keegan Johnson (3-0) | L: Ty McKinstry (0-4) | Save: Garrett Harker (5)
 
After Western Michigan threatened but was turned away in the top of the first, Ball State tallied three in the home half to grab the early advantage.
 
From there, both starting pitchers settled in. McKinstry faced the minimum in six consecutive innings, and retired 15 Cardinals in a row at one point. The junior logged a career-high 7.0 innings, limiting Ball State to three hits and two earned runs. He also collected seven strikeouts, one shy of his career high.
 
The WMU offense was limited after the first as well, as it did not get another runner into scoring position until the sixth, when Tanner Mally singled with one out and advanced to second on a passed ball before he was left on base.
 
After stranding a leadoff double by Dylan Nevar in the seventh, Western Michigan got on the board in the eighth. Connor Ostrander drew a one-out walk, stole second and then scored on an RBI single by Grady Mee to trim the deficit to 3-1.
 
Ball State got a leadoff double of its own in the home half, but Adam Lehmann was able to work around it to keep the Broncos within two.
 
Brendan Harrity coaxed a walk with two outs in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate for Western Michigan, but the Cardinals were able to close the door.
 
The Broncos and Cardinals continue their three-game series on Saturday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 1 pm.