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Western Michigan University Athletics

WMU . vs . UMass Game 1 of the weekend series
Ashley Blanchard, WMU Photographer
2
UMASS UMASS 5-12, 1-9 MAC
6
Winner Western Michigan WMU 11-12, 7-3 MAC
UMASS UMASS
5-12, 1-9 MAC
2
Final
6
Western Michigan WMU
11-12, 7-3 MAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
UMASS UMASS 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 1
Western Michigan WMU 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 X 6 8 0

W: Vriesenga, Zach (2-1) L: Callen Powers (1-3) S: Doran, Turner (5)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Mennecke, Vriesenga Lead Western Michigan to Series-Opening Win Over UMass

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Mark Mennecke drove in three runs and Zach Vriesenga dealt 6.0 strong innings to lead Western Michigan to a 6-2 series-opening victory over UMass on Friday.   
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 6, UMass 2
LOCATION: Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (11-12, 7-3 MAC) | UMass (5-12, 1-9)
W: Zach Vriesenga (2-1) | L: Callen Powers (1-3) | Save: Turner Doran (5)
 
The contest was scoreless until the fourth, when UMass tallied its lone run against Vriesenga. The Minutemen then had the bases loaded with one out, and the right-hander struck out the next two batters to keep the visitors from adding any more.
 
Those back-to-back strikeouts got Vriesenga back into a groove, and he retired six in a row and eight of the final nine he faced. He limited the Minutemen to the one run on two hits and struck out four, tying his career high with 6.0 innings of work for the second straight start to pick up his second consecutive win.
 
Still trailing 1-0, Mennecke led off the fifth inning with an infield single. The Broncos loaded the bases later in the frame and Mason Pilarski brought Mennecke in with a sacrifice fly to tie it up.
 
Western Michigan then took the lead in the sixth, as Mennecke doubled in a pair to make it 3-1.
 
UMass pulled one back in the eighth, trimming WMU's edge to one. Turner Doran came in with the tying run at third base and got Western Michigan out of the jam with its lead intact.
 
Mennecke helped the Broncos get some breathing room in the home half, collecting an RBI single to bring Tanner Mally around. Later in the frame, Connor Ostrander drew a base-loaded walk to plate a run and Pilarski laid down a run-scoring, bunt single to extend the margin to four.
 
Doran returned to the hill for the ninth and set UMass down in order to seal the victory and collect his fifth save of the season.
 
Western Michigan and UMass continue their series on Saturday afternoon from Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. First pitch has been moved from its original start time of 1:05 pm to 2:05 pm. For tickets to any WMU baseball home game, visit wmubroncos.com/tickets.   

 
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