KENT, Ohio – The Western Michigan baseball team saw its six-game winning streak come to an end on Friday night with a 6-5 loss at league-leading Kent State.  
 
FINAL SCORE: Kent State 6, Western Michigan 5
LOCATION: Olga Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium (Kent, Ohio)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (18-28, 11-14 MAC) | Kent State (32-15, 19-6)
W: Benny Roebuck (2-3) | L: DJ Thompson (0-2) | Save: Peyton Cariaco (10)
 
Western Michigan opened the scoring in the third. A two-out error kept the inning alive for Michael Maloney, and the senior doubled down the right field line to get the Broncos on the board first.
 
Kent State answered in the bottom of the inning with a two-run homer to grab a 2-1 edge.
 
The first three Broncos all reached to start the fourth, bringing Chris Akers to the plate with the base loaded. The senior ripped a double down the left field line, scoring a pair and putting WMU back in front. Grady Mee followed with a successful squeeze bunt to bring Brendan Harrity around, and Tanner Mally then sent one back up the middle and past the drawn-in infield for an RBI single to make it 5-2.
 
The Golden Flashes drew a run closer with a single tally in the fifth, then pushed across three to regain the lead in the sixth, with the go-ahead run scoring on an error.
 
Western Michigan got a double with two outs in the seventh and another two-out knock in the eighth, but was turned away both times.
 
Joe Shapiro and Matt Hoover retired Kent State in order in the seventh and eight frames, respectively, to keep it a one-run contest heading into the ninth.
 
In the ninth frame, Mally beat out an infield single with one down, then advanced to second on a ground ball, once again putting the tying run in scoring position for the Brown and Gold. The rally ended there however, as the Golden Flashes closed it out to claim the series opener.
 
The Broncos and Golden Flashes continue their three-game weekend series on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 3 pm.