KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team picked up a 9-2 win on Sunday afternoon to claim a weekend series victory over Bowling Green.
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 9, Bowling Green 2
LOCATION: Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (10-22, 6-9 MAC) | Bowling Green (23-11, 12-6)
W: Reese Gaber (3-3) | L: Nic Good (2-3)
 
Bowling Green struck first for the second consecutive day, picking up a solo home run in the top of the first to grab the early edge.
 
The Broncos answered right back in the home half. Tanner Mally led off with a double, and one out later, scored on a wild pitch to tie the contest. Later in the frame, Western Michigan loaded the bases for Connor Ostrander, who drew a walk to give the Brown and Gold a 2-1 lead.
 
The Falcons had the bases full with two outs in the third, but WMU starter Reese Gaber got a ground ball right back to him to keep the edge intact. BGSU then scored in the fourth to level the game at 2-2.
 
Once again, Western Michigan answered in the next half inning. An error allowed Grady Mee to reach base, with the second baseman then advancing on back-to-back base hits and scoring on a ground ball to put the Broncos back on top, 3-2.
 
Gaber then came out and had a shutdown fifth inning, getting a double play and a strikeout to get the WMU offense right back out there. The southpaw yielded two runs and struck out four in his 5.0 innings to collect his third win of the campaign.
 
The Broncos tacked on some insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth. Two walks and a base hit loaded the bases once again for Ostrander, and this time the junior drove in a pair with a double. Brendan Harrity followed with a single which brought two more in to stretch the margin to 7-2.
 
The Brown and Gold continued to add on, with Lucas Rick hitting a solo home run to left center in the sixth, and Dylan Nevar delivering a two-out RBI single in the eighth to push the lead to seven.
 
The seven-run cushion was plenty for the WMU bullpen. Joe Shapiro relieved Gaber and faced the minimum over his 3.0 scoreless innings, erasing the one runner that reached against him with a double play. Turner Doran then came on for the ninth and slammed the door to seal the series victory.
 
Western Michigan hits the road for its next seven games, starting on Tuesday night as it visits Michigan State. First pitch from East Lansing is scheduled for 6:02 pm on B1G+.