KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team has altered the schedule for its first home series of the 2026 campaign, with Friday's series opener relocated to Grand Valley State's baseball field due to field conditions at Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. The final two games of the series against the Cardinals will remain as scheduled, with first pitch slated for 1:05 pm on both Saturday and Sunday from Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. Anyone who has purchased tickets for Friday's game can call the WMU ticket office at 1-888-496-8849 to exchange them for any of Western Michigan's remaining 2026 home games.

SERIES INFO: Western Michigan (9-9, 5-1 MAC) vs Ball State (10-9, 5-1)
Game One: Friday, March 20 (at GVSU) | 3:05 pm | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS
Game Two: Saturday, March 21 | 1:05 pm | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Game Three: Sunday, March 22 | 1:05 pm | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Western Michigan opens up its 2026 home slate this weekend with a three-game set against Ball State
• The Broncos are 35-16 at home over the last three years and have won 11 of their last 14 home MAC series
• Western Michigan enters the weekend with a 105-93 lead in the all-time series between the two programs
• The Cardinals swept a three-game set in Muncie last season and took out of three in Kalamazoo in 2024
• The Broncos are looking for their first series win over Ball State since 2015
• Western Michigan is coming off of a three-game sweep at Ohio last weekend
• The Broncos scored 42 runs in the series, their most in a conference series since 2021
• WMU tallied 20 runs in the series opener, its most in a MAC game since April 25, 2009, at Ball State
• Tanner Mally went 8-for-15 (.533) in the Ohio series with seven runs scored
• The junior enters the weekend as the DI leader in batting average (.544) and on-base percentage (.656)
• He has also been the nation's toughest hitter to strike out, fanning just once in 68 at-bats
• Michael Maloney went 8-for-10 (.800) against the Bobcats with seven runs scored and seven RBIs
• Mark Mennecke picked up seven hits in 11 at-bats (.636) and had a five-hit game in Sunday's finale 
• Sam Carlisle set a new career high with seven strikeouts on Saturday on the way to his first victory

HOME SWEET HOME
After playing its first 18 games away from home, Western Michigan finally returns to the friendly confines of Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field this weekend for a three-game set against Ball State. The Broncos are 35-16 at home over the last three seasons and have won 11 of their last 14 home conference series. 

SERIES HISTORY
The Broncos come into this weekend with a 105-93 advantage in the all-time series with the Cardinals. Ball State has had the upperhand lately, including sweeping WMU last season in Muncie and taking two out of three in its last visit to Kalamazoo back in 2024. Western Michigan's last series victory over BSU came back in 2015.

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan is coming off of a three-game sweep of Ohio last weekend down in Athens. The Broncos racked up 42 runs in the series, their most in a conference series since piling up 50 in a four-game set at Toledo back in 2021. WMU opened the weekend with a 20-run outburst in Friday's series-opening victory over the Bobcats, its most runs scored in a MAC game since putting up 20 at Ball State back on April 25, 2009. Avery Thielman (8) and Michael Maloney (7) led the charge for the Brown and Gold driving in runs, while Maloney and Tanner Mally each scored a team-leading seven times for the weekend. 

NATIONAL LEADER
Leadoff hitter Tanner Mally continued his hot start to the season in the series at Ohio, going 8-for-15 (.533) with seven runs scored. Coming into the weekend, the junior remains on top of NCAA Division I in both batting average (.544) and on-base percentage (.656). He has been the toughest player in the country to strike out, having fanned just once in 68 at-bats. Mally has been a magnet for the ball so far this season, getting hit by a pitch 13 times, which ranks inside the national top-10. The center fielder also paces the conference in runs scored (25) and hits (37), and leads the Broncos in doubles (5) and steals (9).

MASHING MALONEY
Michael Maloney had a huge weekend series at Ohio, going 8-for-10 at the dish with seven runs scored and seven RBIs. The graduate student opened the series by going 4-for-4 and reaching base seven times on Friday. He drove in a career-high six runs in that contest and launched his second grand slam of the season to help the Brown and Gold tally 20 runs for the first time since 2020. WMU's home run leader with five, Maloney is fourth in the league with 25 RBIs this season. Earlier this month, he was one of 100 shortstops named to the Brooks Wallace Award watch list, which is presented by the College Baseball Foundation to the nation's top shortstop. 

SIZZLIN' SAM
Sam Carlisle turned in his second straight quality start for the Broncos last weekend, tossing a career-high tying 6.0 innings and yielding just two runs on four hits to Ohio. The right-hander also fanned a career-high seven on the way to picking up his first victory for the Brown and Gold. 

NEW BATS COMING TO LIFE
A pair of newcomers to the Western Michigan lineup had breakout performances last weekend at Ohio. Mark Mennecke went 7-for-11 (.636) against the Bobcats with four extra-base hits and four RBIs. On Sunday, the junior went 5-for-6 and was a home run shy of the cycle. With his five-hit performance, Mennecke joined fellow newcomer Drew Howard as the two Broncos to have five-hit games in 2026. Josh Polubinski also had a good weekend at the dish in Athens, going 5-for-12 (.417) with five RBIs, four of which came in Sunday's sweep-clinching victory. 

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Western Michigan's defense has been the best in the league so far this season, leading the MAC and ranking 44th in NCAA Division I with a .978 fielding percentage. The Broncos have been particularly adept at turning double plays, having turned a league-leading 18 twin killings, which also ranks inside of the nation's top-50.

BUNTING BRONCOS 
The Broncos have been effective at playing small ball so far in 2026, having laid down a league-high 13 sacrifice bunts. The 13 sacrifices rank WMU 39th in the nation. Western Michigan has two of the MAC's top bunters, with Drew Howard ranking second in the conference with four sacrifices and Nolan Zajac right behind him with three.