KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team steps outside of MAC play this week for a pair of non-conference tilts. The Broncos visit Valparaiso on Tuesday before returning home to face Michigan State on Wednesday.
 

TUESDAY GAME INFO

Matchup: Western Michigan (16-27) at Valparaiso (8-34)

Date/Time: Tuesday, May 6 – 4 pm

Site: Emory G. Bauer Field (Valparaiso, Ind.)

Video: ESPN+

Live Stats: StatBroadcast

WEDNESDAY GAME INFO

Matchup: Western Michigan (16-27) vs Michigan State (24-21)

Date/Time: Wednesday, May 7 – 4:05 pm

Site: Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field (Kalamazoo, Mich.)

Tickets: wmubroncos.com/tickets

Video: YouTube

Live Stats: StatBroadcast

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Western Michigan steps outside of MAC play to visit Valparaiso on Tuesday and host MSU on Wednesday
• The Broncos beat Valpo 6-5 last week at Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field
• The meeting with Michigan State is the fourth and final of the season 
• The Spartans have won each of the first three meetings, two in Cary, N.C., and one in East Lansing
• The Broncos are coming off of a three-game sweep of rival Central Michigan over the weekend
• The sweep moved Western Michigan up into the sixth and final MAC Tournament spot with six games left
• Joey Wizceb tossed a 9.0-inning complete game shutout in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader
• The lefty's outing earned him MAC Pitcher of the Week
• Grady Mee leads the conference in stolen bases with 22 in 24 attempts

MIDWEEK MATCHUPS
Western Michigan takes a break from Mid-American Conference play this week for a pair of non-conference contests, at Valparaiso on Tuesday and at home against Michigan State on Wednesday. 

POWER SCHEDULING
As has been the case the past several years, WMU loaded up its non-conference schedule and has played 12 games against Power Conference foes. The Broncos have won three of those matchups with Power Conference opponents, including a 6-0 shutout at Michigan on March 18, followed by wins the next two weeks at Northwestern and at Notre Dame. Western Michigan has had the second-most difficult non-conference schedule in the MAC, and 64th-ranked non-conference slate in all of NCAA Division I this season.

SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan enter's Tuesday matchup against Valparaiso holding a 37-18 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams met last week in Kalamazoo, with the Broncos getting a late sacrifice fly from Dylan Nevar to break a 5-5 tie in the 6-5 victory. WMU owns a 98-86 advantage in the all-time series against Michigan State heading into Wednesday's matchup. It is the fourth and final meeting of the season between the Broncos and Spartans, with MSU having won each of the first three, two down in Cary, N.C., on Opening Day, and one in East Lansing back on April 15. It is the first meeting in Kalamazoo between these two in-state foes since 2023.

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of a three-game sweep of rival Central Michigan over the weekend to climb into the sixth and final spot in the MAC Tournament with two conference weekends remaining. Western Michigan came out swinging in Friday's series opener, notching 16 hits on the way to a 14-5 victory. Starting pitching was the story for the Brown and Gold in Saturday's doubleheader, as WMU got a combined 14.0 scoreless innings from its starters and  came away with 6-0 and 4-2 wins to complete the sweep. The shutout in the opening game of the twin bill was the third of the season for the Western Michigan staff, which is tied with Toledo for the most in the conference.

THE WIZ KID
Joey Wizceb got the ball for Western Michigan in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader and was dominant, shutting out Central Michigan on three hits. The lefty did not allow the visitors to have multiple baserunners in the same inning until the seventh, when he gave up a pair of singles. Wizceb was able to strand both of those runners to escape unscathed, and proceeded to retire the final seven Chippewas he faced to close out the ballgame. The junior's 9.0-inning gem was the first 9.0-inning complete game shutout by a WMU pitcher since Keegan Akin blanked Ohio over 9.0 innings on May 13, 2016. For his performance, Wizceb was named the MAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday, becoming the second Bronco to claim that weekly award in 2025 (Reese Gaber, twice).

TANNER AT THE TOP
After going 7-for-12 (.583) in the weekend sweep of Central Michigan, WMU leadoff hitter Tanner Mally comes into the week hitting .361, the sixth-highest mark in the MAC. The sophomore paces the Broncos in several other offensive categories as well, including hits (60), runs scored (39), doubles (10) and hit by pitches (18).

LOOK AT MEE
Grady Mee comes into the week leading the MAC with 22 stolen bases in 24 attempts this season. Tied for the team lead with 24 walks, the junior is also among the top-20 batters in the conference with a .435 on-base percentage.

NEVAR CONTINUES TO MAKE HISTORY
Dylan Nevar has broken a pair of WMU career records this season, breaking Matt Mieske's (1987-90) all-time RBI record on March 21 against Akron and Chris Lewis' (2007-10) all-time total bases record on April 26 at Northern Illinois. After hitting his seventh home run of the season on Saturday against CMU, Nevar is closing in on WMU's career home run record as well, which is held by former teammate Cade Sullivan (2021-24), who hit 38. Nevar enters this week with 36 career blasts.