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Western Michigan returns to the friendly confines of Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field this weekend for a three-game series against UMass. The Broncos are 35-18 at home over the last four seasons and have won 11 of their last 15 home conference series.

SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan and UMass are meeting for the first-time ever on the diamond this weekend. The Minutemen are in their first season as the 12th baseball-playing member of the Mid-American Conference. 

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan is coming off of a 14-3 loss to #23 Notre Dame on Tuesday. The Broncos tallied a run in the top of the first to grab the early edge, but the Fighting Irish responded with five in the home half and never looked back. 

POWER SCHEDULING
Western Michigan has made it a habit to schedule numerous Power Conference opponents in recent years, with Tuesday's contest against #23 Notre Dame the fifth against a Power Conference foe thus far. The Broncos opened up the season against a Power Conference opponent for the fourth consecutive year with a three-game series against Pittsburgh in Port Charlotte, Fla. The Brown and Gold won four games against Power Conference foes in 2025, and picked one up early this year, grabbing one of those contests against Pitt. WMU's non-conference schedule currently ranks as the 55th-toughest in all of NCAA Division I and second in the MAC behind only Bowling Green (21st).

NATIONAL LEADER
Leadoff hitter Tanner Mally enters the weekend still atop all of NCAA DI in both batting average (.573) and on-base percentage (.667). He has been the toughest player in the country to strike out, having fanned just once in 75 at-bats. Mally has been a magnet for the ball so far this season, getting hit by a pitch 14 times, which ranks inside the national top-10. He also paces the league in runs scored (29) and hits (43). In MAC play, the junior leads the league with a .677 batting average and .750 on-base percentage. Earlier this week, he checked in at #16 on D1Baseball's updated list of the nation's top-100 outfielders. 

STARTERS SHINE
Western Michigan's starting pitching shined last weekend  against Ball State, combining to yield just four runs over the course of 18.0 innings (2.00 ERA). Zach Vriesenga got the Brown and Gold started, limiting BSU to one run in his career-high tying 6.0 innings to pick up his first victory of the campaign. On Saturday, Sam Carlisle yielded one run on three hits over 5.0 innings and tied his career high with seven strikeouts, and exited in line for the win. In Sunday's rubber match, Ricky Kidd tied his career high with 7.0 innings on the mound, surrendering two runs on five hits while piling up a career-high five strikeouts. The graduate student was also in line to grab the victory for the Broncos when he left the ballgame. Going into the weekend, WMU is second in ERA in league play at 4.59.

A GROUP EFFORT
The WMU offense has been one of the top units in the conference as well, boasting the third-best team batting average in the MAC at .287, which is inside the top-100 in the nation. The Broncos have turned things up a notch in conference play, hitting .313, the second-highest in the league, with a robust .415 on-base percentage. 

MASHING MALONEY
Michael Maloney continues to thrive in the middle of the Western Michigan lineup. The graduate student paces the Broncos in home runs (5) and RBIs (27), with his 27 RBIs ranked fourth in the conference. 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. 

DIGGING IN DEFENSIVELY
Western Michigan's defense has been the best in the league so far this season, leading the MAC and ranking 32nd in NCAA Division I with a .980 fielding percentage. The Broncos have been particularly adept at turning double plays, having turned 19, which is the second-most in the conference. The Brown and Gold have turned the defense up a couple of notches in league play, owning a .982 fielding percentage through their first three MAC series. 

BUNTING BRONCOS 
The Broncos have been effective at playing small ball and are tied for the league lead with 16 sacrifice bunts. The 16 sacrifices rank WMU 32nd in the nation. Western Michigan has two of the MAC's top bunters, with Drew Howard ranking third in the conference with five sacrifices and Nolan Zajac right behind him with four.