KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team closes out its West Coast trip this weekend with a three-game series at CSUN.

SERIES INFO
Game One: Friday, Feb. 27 | 8 pm | LIVE STATS
Game Two: Saturday, Feb. 28 | 7 pm | LIVE STATS
Game Three: Sunday, March 1 | 4 pm | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Western Michigan wraps up its West Coast trip this weekend with a three-game series at CSUN
• The Broncos are in the middle of a stretch of 11 straight away from home to open the 2026 season
• Western Michigan and CSUN are meeting for the first time ever on the diamond this weekend
• WMU dropped both of its midweek tilts at UNLV, 9-5 and 16-1
• Tanner Mally continued his hot start, going 4-for-5 and reaching base eight times against the Rebels
• Mally enters the weekend second in the MAC and seventh in NCAA Division I with a .556 batting average
• The junior's .684 on-base percentage is the third-highest in the conference and ranks fifth nationally
• Mally has reached base in 23 straight games going back to last season
• Drew Howard went 4-for-8 at the dish and knocked in three runs against the Rebels
• Howard's .469 batting average entering the weekend ranks fifth in the MAC
• Friday night starter Ty McKinstry gave up three runs over 5.0 innings last weekend against Omaha
• After starting on Tuesday, Joey Wizceb is slated to make his return to the weekend rotation on Saturday
• Sunday starter Ricky Kidd limited UC San Diego to two runs on two hits in his last start
• The righty tossed a career-high 5.0 innings to earn his first win as a Bronco

WESTWARD WRAPUP
Western Michigan wraps up its West Coast trip this weekend with a three-game series in Northridge, Calif., against CSUN. The Broncos and Matadors will be meeting for the first time ever this weekend.

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan had a pair of contests at UNLV on its midweek slate and lost both, 9-5 and 16-1. The Rebels got out to early leads in both contests, and held off a late rally by the Broncos in Tuesday's series opener. Tanner Mally and Drew Howard kept their hot starts to the season going in the series, with Mally going 4-for-5 and reaching a total of eight times, while Howard went 4-for-8 and knocked in three runs for the Brown and Gold.

SETTING THE TABLE
Leadoff hitter Tanner Mally continued his hot start to the season during the week at UNLV, grabbing four hits in five at-bats and reaching a total of eight times in the two games. The junior comes into this weekend's series hitting .556, the second-best mark in the MAC and seventh-highest in all of NCAA Division I. He also boasts a .684 on-base percentage, which ranks third in the league and fifth nationally. Mally has been one of the toughest players in the country to strike out as well, and comes into Friday as one of five players in Division I to have had at least 27 at-bats without striking out. 

THIS IS HOW WE DO IT
Like Mally, second baseman Drew Howard has had a sizzling start to his 2026 campaign as well. In the series against UNLV, the senior went 4-for-8 at the dish and knocked in three runs. At .469, he checks in with the fifth-best batting average in the conference. Last Friday against Omaha, he went a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate to set a new career high for hits and come within one knock of tying the single-game school record. He also became the first Bronco to have five hits in a game since Jackson Kitchen hit for the lone cycle in program history on May 10, 2024, against Northern Illinois.

BRONCO WORKHORSE
Ty McKinstry was a workhorse for the Broncos last season, pitching at least 5.0 innings in nine of his team-leading 14 starts. He got back to his 2025 form last Friday against Omaha, yielding three runs in 5.0 innings. Last season, McKinstry paced Western Michigan in innings pitched (71.2) and strikeouts (51), while tying for the team lead in wins. The righty exited the contest on track for his first victory of the young season before the Mavericks rallied. 

NEW KIDD IN TOWN
Ricky Kidd had the best start of the young season for the WMU pitching staff last Sunday at UC San Diego. A week after the Tritons had upset #1 UCLA, the right-hander limited them to two runs on two hits over a career-high 5.0 innings. The bullpen then blanked UCSD behind Kidd to help the graduate transfer collect his first win for the Brown and Gold.

WELCOME BACK WIZ
After making his first start of 2026 on Tuesday at UNLV, southpaw Joey Wizceb is slated to return to Western Michingan's weekend rotation and take the ball on Saturday. Last year, Wizceb tied with Ty McKinstry for the team lead with 14 starts, and tossed a pair of complete games, including WMU's first 9.0-inning, complete game shutout since 2016 in a victory over rival Central Michigan.

GO DJ, THAT'S MY DJ
Senior righty DJ Thompson has made two appearances out of the bullpen in each of Western Michigan's two weekend series and made the most of them. So far in his four outings, Thompson has kept opponents off of the scoreboard while limiting them to a .182 batting average in his 3.0 innings.