SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Western Michigan baseball team took down Notre Dame, 5-4, on Tuesday evening, giving the Broncos a victory over a Power Conference opponent for the third consecutive week.
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 5, Notre Dame 4
LOCATION: Frank Eck Stadium (South Bend, Ind.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (7-19) | Notre Dame (14-12)
W: Aiden Hinds (1-0) | L: Chase Van Ameyde (2-2) | Save: Jake Gernon (1)
 
As had been the case in the victories over Michigan and Northwestern over the last two weeks, pitching was the story for Western Michigan on Tuesday evening. Zach Vriesenga got the ball rolling for the Broncos, yielding just one hit over 3.0 scoreless frames.
 
Adam Lehmann followed Vriesenga in the fourth, and DJ Thompson then tossed a scoreless fifth.
 
Aiden Hinds came on in the sixth, and held the Fighting Irish off of the scoreboard over his first three frames. The right-hander worked a career-high 3.1 innings and collected the first win of his collegiate career on the mound.
 
With the Broncos leading 5-1, Notre Dame put together a rally in the ninth. The Fighting Irish scored three to close the gap to one, and had the bases loaded with one out. Jake Gernon then induced a grounder right back to the mound and started a game-ending 1-2-3 double play to seal the victory and notch his first career save.
 
After a scoreless first three innings on both sides, Western Michigan broke the ice in the fourth. Grady Mee led off with a single, stole second and then came around on an RBI single by Dylan Nevar.
 
Notre Dame came right back in the home half, picking up a pair of doubles to even the score at 1-1.
 
The Broncos regained the lead with a pair in the fifth. Mee brought Brendan Harrity in to put WMU back in front, and Nevar then sent a base hit up the middle to score Tanner Mally and make it 3-1.
 
Mee then plated two more in the eighth with a two-out, two-run single which stretched the margin to 5-1.
 
Western Michigan returns to Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field this weekend to open up an eight-game homestand with a four-game set against The Citadel. First pitch for Friday's series opener is scheduled for 3:05 pm. For tickets to any WMU baseball home game, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.