KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team returns to Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field this weekend to begin a six-game homestand with a three-game set against Kent State. Saturday and Sunday's contests are a part of Fan Appreciation Weekend, with $5 tickets and $5 concession deals available. For more details on Fan Appreciation Weekend, click here. 

Note: Due to forecasted weather, Friday's series opener has been moved up to an 11:05 am first pitch.

SERIES INFO: Western Michigan (20-16, 14-7 MAC) vs Kent State (29-10, 15-6)
Game One: Friday, April 24 | 11:05 am | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Game Two: Saturday, April 25 | 2:05 pm | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Game Three: Sunday, April 26 | 1:05 pm | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Western Michigan opens up a six-game homestand this weekend with a three-game against Kent State
• The Golden Flashes come into the weekend with a 90-86 edge in the all-time series
• The home team has won the series each of the last three seasons
• The Broncos are 6-3 at home this year and have won 13 of their last 17 home conference series
• Western Michigan won its third straight road game on Tuesday, knocking off Valpo 13-8
• It was the third straight game with double-digit runs for the Broncos
• Drew Howard went 4-for-4 and drove in a career-high seven runs to lead the WMU attack
• Howard's seven RBIs tied for the third-most in a single game in program history
• Avery Thielman was named MAC Player of the Week on Monday after hitting three homers against EMU
• During his six-game hitting streak, Thielman is hitting .571 with 11 RBIs
• Tanner Mally enters the weekend still atop NCAA DI in batting average (.485) and OBP (.599)
• Sam Carlisle and Ricky Kidd have each worked at least 5.0 innings in all seven of their MAC starts
• WMU's team ERA (5.76) ranks second in the league, while its MAC ERA (4.21) leads the conference
• The Broncos boast the top defense in the MAC and rank 21st in the nation with a .980 fielding percentage

HOME SWEET HOME
After winning the final three games of its road swing, Western Michigan returns to Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field this weekend to open up a six-game homestand with a series against Kent State. The Broncos are 6-3 at home so far this season, and have won their last two home conference series, sweeping UMass and taking two out of three from Toledo. Since the start of the 2023 season, WMU is 41-19 at home and has won 13 of its last 17 home conference series. 

SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Flashes come into this weekend with a 90-86 edge in the all-time series between the two programs. The home team has won the series between WMU and Kent State each of the last three seasons.

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan picked up its third straight road victory on Tuesday, winning a 13-8 weather-shortened contest at Valparaiso. Each of the top five hitters in WMU's order had multiple hits, led by Drew Howard, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with a career-high seven RBIs. Mark Mennecke collected three hits, and the trio of Tanner Mally, Cooper Hums and Michael Maloney tallied two knocks apiece, with Mally also scoring a career-high four times. 

ALL-AMERICAN LEADOFF MAN
Leadoff hitter Tanner Mally comes into the weekend still atop NCAA Division I in both batting average (.485) and on-base percentage (.599). The junior also leads the Mid-American Conference in hits (63) and hit by pitches (19), and ranks inside the league's top-10 in numerous other offensive categories as well, including OPS (1.176, 2nd), runs (47, 2nd) and stolen bases (18, 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), and this week was named to the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award Midseason Watch List.

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 went a perfect 4-for-4 with a career-high seven RBIs on Tuesday at Valpo, with the seven RBIs tying for the third-most in a single game in program history. Howard enters the weekend with a .370 batting average, the fourth-best mark in the conference, and a .476 on-base percentage which ranks sixth. The Evansville transfer leads Western Michigan in walks with 21 and triples with three. He also ranks among the team leaders in a litany of other offensive categories including on-base percentage hits (51, 2nd), doubles (6, T-2), runs scored (33, 3rd), RBIs (23, 3rd) and stolen bases (6, T-3).

STARTING TO THIEL IT
First baseman Avery Thielman was named WMU's first MAC Player of the Week of 2026 back on Monday after going 7-for-12 (.583) with three home runs, eight RBIs, a .643 on-base percentage and a 1.417 slugging percentage against the Eastern Michigan. The senior's weekend included the first multi-homer game of his career in Sunday's rubber match to help secure the series victory. During his six-game hitting streak, Thielman is hitting .571 (12-for-21) and has elevated his season batting average 66 points to .283.

STRIKEOUT SAM
Sam Carlisle comes into the weekend fifth overall in the MAC with a team-high 56 strikeouts and second in league play with 50 strikeouts. The righty's 3.61 overall ERA ranks sixth in the league, while his 2.83 ERA in conference play ranks fourth. Carlisle has logged at least 5.0 innings in all seven of his MAC starts. 

NEW KIDD IN TOWN
Michigan transfer Ricky Kidd continues to be the Sunday workhorse for the Broncos. Last weekend against Eastern Michigan, the right-hander yielded three runs over 6.0 innings to collect his team-leading fifth win of the season, which is tied for fifth in the conference. Kidd has gone at least 5.0 innings in all seven of his MAC starts and ranks sixth in the league with a team-high 56.1 innings pitched. Anchored by Carlisle and Kidd, WMU ranks second in the MAC with a 5.73 ERA and owns a 4.21 ERA in conference play, more than a full run lower than second-place Kent State (5.30).

DIGGING IN DEFENSIVELY
Western Michigan enters the weekend with a .980 fielding percentage, the top mark in the MAC and 21st-best in the country.   

BUNTING BRONCOS 
The Broncos lead the league with 26 sacrifice bunts, which ranks WMU 34th in the nation. Drew Howard and Nolan Zajac are tied for third in the conference with a team-high five sacrifices apiece.