KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team hits the road this weekend and heads down to Athens for a three-game series at Ohio.

SERIES INFO: WMU (6-9, 2-1 MAC) at Ohio (3-15, 1-2)
Game One: Friday, March 13 | 3 pm | VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Game Two: Saturday, March 14 | 2 pm | VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Game Three: Sunday, March 15 | 1 pm | VIDEO | LIVE STATS

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Western Michigan resumes MAC play this weekend with a three-game set at Ohio
• The Broncos are in the midst of a stretch of 18 in a row away from home to start the 2026 season
• Western Michigan holds a 95-75 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs
• Ohio took two out of three in Kalamazoo last year in the final series of the regular season
• The Broncos swept a three-game series from the Bobcats the last time they went to Athens in 2024
• Western Michigan is coming off of a 3-2 loss at Michigan on Tuesday
• Tanner Mally collected a pair of hits and reached base three times against the Wolverines
• The junior enters the weekend as the DI leader in batting average (.547) and on-base percentage (.667)
• The Western Michigan pitching staff owns a 2.62 ERA over its last four games
• During that stretch, each starter has allowed two runs or fewer and worked at least into the fifth inning
• Zach Vriesenga (4.2 IP), Sam Carlisle (6.0) and Ricky Kidd (7.0) each allowed just one run at Akron
• Carlisle and Kidd's outings were both the longest of their collegiate careers
• The Broncos have turned a MAC-leading 16 double plays so far this season
• WMU is tied for the league lead in sacrifice bunts with 10, led by Drew Howard's four

ROAD WARRIORS
Western Michigan wraps up its stretch of 18 consecutive games away from home to start the 2026 season this weekend with a three-game series at Ohio. The Broncos have won each of their last two weekend road series, including opening up MAC play by taking two out of three at Akron last weekend.

SERIES HISTORY
The Broncos come into this weekend's series with a 95-75 advantage in the all-time series with Ohio. The road team has claimed the season series each of the last two years. Last year, the Bobcats came to Kalamazoo and took two out of three in the final regular season series to keep WMU out of the MAC Tournament, while the Brown and Gold picked up a three-game sweep in their last visit to Athens in 2024. 

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan is coming off of a 3-2 loss at Michigan on Tuesday. The Broncos and Wolverines were tied 2-2 after two innings and it stayed that way until the sixth, when U-M scratched across the go-ahead run. WMU had its opportunities throughout the contest, tying its season high with 13 runners left on base. Tanner Mally, Josh Polubinski and Avery Thielman each had a pair of hits to lead the Brown and Gold. 

NATIONAL LEADER
Leadoff hitter Tanner Mally continued his hot start to the season on Tuesday at Michigan, picking up a pair of hits and reaching base three times. It was the ninth multi-hit performance of the season for the junior, who comes into the weekend as the NCAA Division I leader in both batting average (.547) and on-base percentage (.667). He has been the toughest player in the country to strike out, having fanned just once in 53 at-bats. Mally has been a magnet for the ball so far this season, getting hit by a pitch 13 times, one shy of the national lead. The center fielder paces WMU in several other offensive categories as well, including runs scored (18), doubles (4) and stolen bases (7).

STAFF FINDING ITS GROOVE
After a bumpy start to the season, the Western Michigan pitching staff has started to settle in, having allowed three or fewer runs in each of the last four games for a 2.62 ERA over that span. The starting pitching in particular has improved over that timeframe, with each starter giving up two or fewer runs and working at least into the fifth inning. All three starters last weekend yielded just one run apiece and four hits or fewer in their respective outings to help the Broncos take two out of three at Akron. As a staff, WMU owned a 2.39 team ERA and limited the Zips to a .163 batting average in the three-game set.

FRIDAY FILL-IN
Filling in for usual Friday starter Ty McKinstry last weekend, Zach Vriesenga made his first start of the season for the Broncos. After allowing three of the first six batters he faced to reach base, he settled in and retired the next 11 in a row. In all, the right-hander tossed 4.2 innings of one-run ball and limited the Zips to just two hits while striking out a career-high six. Vriesenga is slated to get the ball on Friday for WMU once again this weekend.

SIZZLIN' SAM
Sam Carlisle made his return to the weekend rotation last Saturday and turned in his best outing to date for the Brown and Gold, yielding one run on four hits and striking out four over a career-high 6.0 innings. Akron's lone run against the redshirt junior came in the opening frame, and he proceeded to retire nine in a row and 14 of 15 at one point.

NEW KIDD IN TOWN
Ricky Kidd capped off the weekend with a similar performance to his two predecessors in the weekend rotation, firing a career-high 7.0 innings while holding Akron to one run on three hits. The lone tally against the Michigan transfer came in the second, and he then went on set down nine in a row and 12 of the final 13 batters he faced. 

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Western Michigan's defense enters the weekend leading the MAC and tied for 17th in the nation with 16 double plays. Overall, WMU is third in the league and 59th in the country with a .978 fielding percentage.

BUNTING BRONCOS 
The Broncos have been one of the top bunting teams so far in 2026, and are tied for the league lead and 42nd in DI with 10 sacrifice bunts. Drew Howard has led the way in sacrifices with four, which is tied for the most in the MAC and 10th nationally.