KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team got 7.0 scoreless frames from Ty McKinstry and rolled to a 6-1 victory over Bowling Green in the opener of a three-game series on Friday.   
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 6, Bowling Green 1
LOCATION: Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (9-21, 5-8 MAC) | Bowling Green (22-10, 11-5)
W: Ty McKinstry (2-6) | L: Jacob Turner (2-2)
 
McKinstry got into a groove early, setting the Falcons down in order in the top of the first. Bowling Green's first threat of the contest came in the third, when it had the bases loaded with one out, but a ground ball to Michael Maloney at third base started an inning-ending 5-3 double play. It was the first of three consecutive frames that McKinstry induced ground ball double plays.
 
In McKinstry's seventh and final inning, BGSU had runners on the corners with one down, but a foul out and strikeout kept the visitors off of the scoreboard. In all, the junior fired 7.0 shutout frames and picked up three strikeouts to collect his second win as a Bronco.
 
Western Michigan grabbed the lead for McKinstry right away. Tanner Mally led off the home half of the first with a double, the first of his three hits in the contest. After a grounder moved the sophomore to third, Maloney brought him in with a sacrifice fly to break the ice.
 
The Broncos then added three more in the second. Connor Ostrander started the rally with a one-out double, advanced on a Brendan Harrity single and then scored on a Chris Akers sacrifice fly. With two outs, a passed ball allowed Harrity to race home, and moments later, Mally came around on a wild pitch to extend the margin to 4-0.
 
Heads-up baserunning by Dylan Nevar helped WMU tack on another in the fifth. The redshirt senior hit a fly ball to shallow right field, but after the Bowling Green right fielder lost it in the sun, it fell in and Nevar ended up on second with a hustle double. Avery Thielman followed with a slow chopper to third for an infield single, and the third baseman's throw was errant, allowing Nevar to come in and make it 5-0.
The margin expanded to six in the eighth, when Thielman scored after another BGSU error.
 
Western Michigan just missed out on its second consecutive shutout, as a bad-hop single with one out in the ninth took away what could have turned into a game-ending double play. The next batter for the Falcons hit a sacrifice fly for the visitors' lone run of the contest.
 
The Broncos and Falcons continue their three-game weekend series on Saturday afternoon from Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 pm. For tickets to any WMU baseball home game, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.