KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team heads up to LMCU Ballpark in Comstock Park on Wednesday evening to take on in-state foe Michigan State. 
 

GAME INFO

Matchup: Western Michigan (17-15) vs Michigan State (12-21)

Date/Time: Wednesday, April 15 – 6:05 pm

Site: LMCU Ballpark (Comstock Park, Mich.)

Tickets: wmubroncos.com/tickets

Audio: Bronco All-Access

Live Stats: StatBroadcast

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Western Michigan steps outside of conference play on Wednesday evening to take on Michigan State
• The contest is taking place at LMCU Ballpark, the home of the West Michigan Whitecaps (High-A Detroit)
• Western Michigan owns a 99-86 advantage in the all-time series against Michigan State
• The two teams played four times last year, with WMU taking the final meeting in walk-off fashion
• The contest will be Western Michigan's sixth of the season against a Power Conference opponent
• The Broncos and Spartans are slated to meet again in East Lansing on May 6
• WMU took two out of three over the weekend against Toledo to move into a tie for second in the MAC
• Western Michigan starting pitchers owned a 3.32 ERA for the weekend
• Sam Carlisle limited the Rockets to two runs in 7.0 innings and struck out eight to earn his third win
• Ricky Kidd went a career-high 8.0 innings, surrendering three runs to pick up his fourth victory
• Turner Doran picked up his league-leading eighth save of the season in Saturday's win
• Doran's eight saves are the fourth-most in a season and his 12 career are tied for fourth all-time at WMU
• Tanner Mally enters the week still atop NCAA DI in batting average (.483) and OBP (.589)
• He has also been the nation's toughest hitter to strike out, fanning just three times in 116 at-bats

IN-STATE CLASH ON DECK
Western Michigan meets in-state foe Michigan State for the first of two encounters this season on Wednesday night at LMCU Ballpark in Comstock Park. LMCU Ballpark is the home of the West Michigan Whitecaps, the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. LMCU Ballpark is the third different Minor League ballpark the Broncos and Spartans have met at recently, having played twice at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., and at Jackson Field in Lansing back in 2024. 

SERIES HISTORY
The Broncos come into Wednesday night's meeting with a 99-86 advantage in the all-time series against Michigan State. The two teams met four times last season, with Western Michigan taking the final meeting in Kalamazoo on a Dylan Nevar walk-off single in the bottom of the 12th inning. The two in-state foes are set to meet again on May 6 in East Lansing.

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan took two out of three from Toledo over the weekend to climb into a five-way tie for second place in the MAC standings, one game behind Kent State. After the Rockets took Friday's series opener, 3-2, the Brown and Gold bounced back to win the final two games, 8-6 and 6-3. WMU starting pitching was outstanding once again, with the starting trio of Zach Vriesenga, Sam Carlisle and Ricky Kidd all pitching at least into the seventh inning and combining for a 3.32 ERA against one of the league's top offenses. Michael Maloney went 5-for-12 (.417) for the series and knocked in four runs for the Brown and Gold, while Avery Thielman reached base in seven of his 10 trips to the plate. 

ALL-AMERICAN LEADOFF MAN
Leadoff hitter Tanner Mally comes into the week still atop NCAA Division I in both batting average (.483) and on-base percentage (.589). The junior also leads the Mid-American Conference in hits (56) and hit by pitches (17), and has been one of the nation's toughest hitters to strike out, having fanned just three times in 116 at-bats. He ranks inside the MAC's top-10 in numerous other offensive categories as well, including OPS (1.149, 3rd), runs (40, 4th) and stolen bases (15, T-6). Earlier this month, the Lisle, Ill., native was named a Midseason All-American by both D1Baseball (Second Team) and Perfect Game (Third Team). 

ONE-TWO PUNCH
Along with Mally, second baseman Drew Howard has given the Broncos a great one-two punch at the top of their order. The senior owns a .375 batting average and .486 on-base percentage, which are both the sixth-best marks in the conference. Howard leads Western Michigan in walks (19), is tied for the team lead in doubles (6) and triples (2), ranks second in hits (45), RBIs (23) and stolen bases (6), and is third in runs scored (29).

TERRIFIC TRIO
Western Michigan's weekend starting pitching trio of Zach Vriesenga, Sam Carlisle and Ricky Kidd has continued to shine for the Broncos in MAC play, with the three leading the Broncos to the best team ERA in conference play at 4.11, more than a full run lower than the second-best ERA (Toledo, 5.26). Overall, WMU owns a 5.69 ERA, the second-lowest in the conference, with Carlisle's 3.19 mark ranked fourth in the league.

STARTING TO THIEL IT
First baseman Avery Thielman had a big weekend for the Broncos against Toledo, going 4-for-7 (.571) at the dish with a pair of extra-base hits. He also drew three walks and reached base in seven of his 10 plate appearances. Thielman's back-to-back, multi-hit games against the Rockets boosted his season batting average 28 points to .245.

DIGGING IN DEFENSIVELY
Western Michigan's defense has been one of the best in the nation so far this season, leading the MAC and ranking 27th in NCAA Division I with a .979 fielding percentage. The Bronco defense has turned 24 double plays, the third-most in the conference.  

BUNTING BRONCOS 
The Broncos have been effective at playing small ball and lead the league with 25 sacrifice bunts, which ranks WMU 25th in the nation. Western Michigan has three of the MAC's top bunters, with Drew Howard and Nolan Zajac tied for third in the conference with five sacrifices and Michael Maloney right behind with four.