KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team returns to Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field to begin a four-game homestand on Tuesday afternoon as it hosts Valparaiso.
 

GAME INFO

Matchup: Western Michigan (14-14) vs Valparaiso (8-19)

Date/Time: Tuesday, April 7 – 3:05 pm

Site: Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field (Kalamazoo, Mich.)

Tickets: wmubroncos.com/tickets

Video: YouTube

Live Stats: StatBroadcast

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Western Michigan begins a four-game homestand on Tuesday against Valparaiso
• The Broncos own a 38-18 advantage in the all-time series against the Beacons
• WMU won both games of last year's home-and-home and has taken three straight meetings overall
• The two teams are set to meet again in Valparaiso on April 21
• WMU owns the third-toughest, non-conference schedule in the MAC behind BGSU and Kent State
• Western Michigan dropped two out of three over the weekend at rival Central Michigan
• WMU took the second game of the series with a seven-run, ninth-inning rally
• Josh Polubinski tied the game with a grand slam during the comeback
• Turner Doran picked up his league-leading sixth save of the season in the victory
• Drew Howard paced WMU for the weekend with a .417 average (5-for-12) and a .563 OBP
• The senior ranks fifth in the conference in both batting average (.377) and on-base percentage (.492)
• Tanner Mally enters the week still atop NCAA DI in batting average (.510) and OBP (.625)
• He has also been the nation's toughest hitter to strike out, fanning just twice in 98 at-bats
• Last week, Mally was named a Midseason All-American by both D1Baseball and Perfect Game

HOME SWEET HOME
Western Michigan returns to the friendly confines of Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field on Tuesday to open up a four-game homestand against Valparaiso. The Broncos are 3-2 so far at home this season. Tuesday's contest will be WMU's only home non-conference tilt of the season, after Wednesday's game against Goshen was canceled. 

POWER SCHEDULING
WMU has made it a habit to schedule numerous Power Conference opponents in recent years and this year was no different, opening against a Power Conference foe for the fourth consecutive year with its Opening Weekend series against Pittsburgh. Having played five games against Power Conference foes has the Broncos ranked as having the 77th-most difficult, non-conference schedule in all of NCAA Division I and the third-most difficult in the MAC behind Bowling Green (13th) and Kent State (61st).

SERIES HISTORY
The Broncos come into Tuesday's matchup with a 38-18 lead in the all-time series against Valparaiso. Western Michigan won both ends of last season's home-and-home with the Beacons to make it three straight victories in the series for the Brown and Gold. WMU and Valpo are slated to meet again in Valpariaso on April 21. 

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan won one out of three in its weekend series at rival Central Michigan. In the middle game of the series, the Broncos used a seven-run ninth inning, which included a Josh Polubinski grand slam, to rally for the 9-8 victory. The other two contests were close as well, with CMU hanging on for 8-7 and 6-3 wins to claim the series.

MIDSEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Leadoff hitter Tanner Mally enters the week still leading the nation in both batting average (.510) and on-base percentage (.625). The junior also leads the Mid-American Conference in hits (50) and hit by pitches (17), and has been one of the nation's toughest hitters to strike out, having fanned just twice in 98 at-bats. In conference play, Mally owns a league-leading .519 batting average and .623 on-base percentage. He ranks inside the MAC's top-10 in numerous other offensive categories as well, including OPS (1.227, 2nd), runs (35, T-5), slugging percentage (.602, 9th) and stolen bases (12, T-9). Last week, the Lisle, Ill., native was named a Midseason All-American by both D1Baseball (Second Team) and Perfect Game (Third Team). 

ONE-TWO PUNCH
Hitting behind Mally in the two-spot has been second baseman Drew Howard. The senior went 5-for-12 (.417) and reached base at a .563 clip in the CMU series to boost his season batting average to .377 and on-base percentage to .492, both of which are the fifth-best marks in the conference. Behind the one-two punch of Mally and Howard, Western Michigan ranks fifth in the MAC in team batting average at .282, and owns a .293 mark with a .402 on-base percentage in conference games. 

STAFF SETTLING IN
Western Michigan's starting pitching continued to put up solid numbers in the weekend series, yielding a combined six earned runs in 14.1 innings (3.77 ERA). WMU's staff owns a cumulative ERA of 6.02 this season, the third-best mark in the league, but it has turned things up a notch in MAC play, owning a league-best 4.13 ERA in conference games. A pair of Broncos rank inside the top-5 in the MAC in ERA in league play with Sam Carlisle third at 2.15 and Ricky Kidd fifth at 2.40. Zach Vriesenga checks in at 16th with a 4.74 ERA in MAC outings.

DIGGING IN DEFENSIVELY
Western Michigan's defense has been one of the best in the nation so far this season, ranking second in the MAC and 35th in NCAA Division I with a .978 fielding percentage. The Bronco defense has turned 22 double plays, the second-most in the conference.  

BUNTING BRONCOS 
The Broncos have been effective at playing small ball and are tied for the league lead with 22 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.