KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team hits the road this weekend for a three-game road series at rival Central Michigan.

SERIES INFO: WMU (13-12, 9-3 MAC) at CMU (9-15, 3-9)
Game One: Thursday, April 2 | 3 pm | VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Game Two: Friday, April 3 | 3 pm | VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Game Three: Saturday, April 4 | 1 pm | VIDEO | LIVE STATS

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Western Michigan hits the road this weekend for a three-game series at rival Central Michigan
• The Broncos enter the series tied for second in the MAC standings, one game back of first-place Ball State
• WMU has won each of its first two road MAC series and is 8-6 overall on the road this season
• Western Michigan holds a 99-97-1 edge in the all-time series between the two rivals
• WMU has won the series each of the last three seasons, including sweeping the Chippewas last year
• In 2024, the Broncos won two out of three to clinch the No. 2 seed and a bye in the MAC Tournament
• Western Michigan is coming off of a three-game sweep of UMass last weekend
• WMU starting pitching allowed just two runs in 19.0 innings in the series (0.95 ERA) 
• Each starter went at least 6.0 innings and allowed four or fewer hits against the Minutemen
• Sam Carlisle shut UMass out on one hit in his career-high 7.0 innings on Saturday
• He also piled up a career-high 13 strikeouts, WMU's first double-digit strikeout performance since 2024
• Tanner Mally enters the weekend still atop NCAA DI in batting average (.558) and OBP (.661)
• He has also been the nation's toughest hitter to strike out, fanning just twice in 86 at-bats
• On Wednesday, Mally was named a Midseason All-American by both D1Baseball and Perfect Game

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Western Michigan hits the road this week for a three-game series at rival Central Michigan. The Broncos have won each of their first two MAC road series, taking two out of three at Akron and sweeping Ohio. Overall, WMU is 8-6 in true road games so far in 2026.

SERIES HISTORY
The Broncos enter the weekend with a 99-97-1 edge in the all-time series against Central Michigan. Western Michigan has had the upperhand lately, winning the series each of the last three seasons. In 2025, WMU swept the Chippewas in Kalamazoo, its first sweep in the series since 2008. In their last trip to Mount Pleasant in 2024, the Brown and Gold won two out of three, sealing the series victory on the final day of the regular season to clinch the number two seed and a bye in the MAC Tournament. 

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan is coming off of a three-game sweep over UMass last weekend at Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. WMU starting pitching was outstanding once again, with the trio of Zach Vriesenga, Sam Carlisle and Ricky Kidd combining to yield just two runs over 19.0 innings of work (0.95 ERA) and limiting the Minutemen to a .111 batting average for the series. Offensively, Drew Howard and Mark Mennecke each drove in five for the Brown and Gold, while Tanner Mally had four RBIs and also scored four times.

MR. 200
Sunday's win over UMass was the 200th MAC victory for head coach Billy Gernon. Gernon is just the second coach in the history of Western Michigan baseball to reach that mark, with Fred Decker owning a school-record 401 MAC victories. Gernon has amassed 337 total wins in his 16 seasons at the helm of the Broncos, which ranks third in school history behind Decker (791) and Charlie Maher (437).

MIDSEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Leadoff hitter Tanner Mally continues to roll along at the top of the NCAA Division I leaderboards, coming into the weekend leading the nation in both batting average (.558) and on-base percentage (.661). The junior also leads the Mid-American Conference in hits (48), runs scored (33) and hit by pitches (15), and has been one of the nation's toughest hitters to strike out, having fanned just twice in 86 at-bats. On Wednesday, the Lisle, Ill., native was named a Midseason All-American by both D1Baseball (Second Team) and Perfect Game (Third Team). 

STARTERS SHINE
Western Michigan's starting pitching was dominant again last weekend against UMass, yielding just two runs over 19.0 innings (0.95 ERA) of work. Zach Vriesenga went a career-high tying 6.0 innings for the second straight start, yielding one run on just two hits to the Minutemen. On Saturday, Sam Carlisle was even more dominant, blanking the visitors on one hit over a career-high 7.0 innings with a career-high 13 strikeouts. It was WMU's first double-digit strikeout performance since Nolan Vlcek struck out 10 against Bowling Green in the semifinals of the 2024 MAC Tournament. Ricky Kidd completed the masterpiece for the starters on Sunday, allowing one run on four hits in six innings to collect his third win of the season. Anchored by their starting staff, the Broncos own a MAC-leading 4.02 ERA in conference play, more than a run lower than the next-closest challenger (Akron, 5.14).

SIZZLIN' SAM
Sam Carlisle is coming off of the best start of his WMU career, having piled up a career-high 13 strikeouts while shutting out UMass over 7.0 innings last weekend. The righty leads the MAC in opposing batting average (.170) and is fifth in the league in overall ERA (3.00). His 1.50 ERA is the second-best mark in conference play, and he is tied atop the league with 31 strikeouts in MAC games.

DIGGING IN DEFENSIVELY
Western Michigan's defense has been the best in the league so far this season, leading the MAC and ranking 25th in NCAA Division I with a .981 fielding percentage. The Broncos have been particularly adept at turning double plays, having turned 20, which is tied for the most in the conference. The Brown and Gold have turned the defense up a couple of notches in league play, owning a .984 fielding percentage through their first four conference series. 

BUNTING BRONCOS 
The Broncos have been effective at playing small ball and are leading the league with 18 sacrifice bunts, which ranks WMU 31st in the nation. Western Michigan has three of the MAC's top bunters, with Drew Howard ranking third in the conference with five sacrifices and Michael Maloney and Nolan Zajac right behind him with four apiece.