PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The Western Michigan baseball team dropped the rubber match of its three-game Opening Weekend series against Pittsburgh, 17-7, on Sunday.
 
FINAL SCORE: Pittsburgh 17, Western Michigan 7 (F/8)
LOCATION: Centennial Park (Port Charlotte, Fla.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (1-2) | Pittsburgh (2-1)
W: Drew Lafferty (1-0) | L: Ricky Kidd (0-1)
 
Western Michigan broke the ice in the top of the first for the second straight day. Tanner Mally was hit by a pitch to start the game, stole second, advanced on a ground ball and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Connor Ostrander.
 
A three-run homer in the second put Pittsburgh in front, 3-1.
 
The Broncos pulled one back in the third, when Lucas Rick poked an RBI double down the right field line to close the gap to one.
 
The Panthers answered with two in the bottom of the third and four in the fourth to extend their lead to 9-2.
 
Rick was at it again for the Brown and Gold in the fifth, delivering a two-run single with two outs. The redshirt senior collected three hits and tied his career high with three RBIs in the contest.
 
Western Michigan then got its first two long balls of the season in the seventh. Ostrander started things off with a two-run blast, and Michael Maloney followed later in the frame with a solo shot, his first career homer for the Brown and Gold, to trim the deficit to 9-7.
 
Pittsburgh answered again, pushing across two in its half of the seventh and then six in the eighth to put the game away.
 
The Broncos return to action next weekend at the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament out in San Diego, Calif. Western Michigan opens the tournament against Omaha on Friday afternoon at 4 pm.