KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team continues its four-game homestand from Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field with a three-game MAC series against Toledo. 

SERIES INFO: Western Michigan (15-14, 10-5 MAC) vs Toledo (15-17, 11-4)
Game One: Friday, April 10 | 3:05 pm | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Game Two: Saturday, April 11 | 1:05 pm | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Game Three: Sunday, April 12 | 1:05 pm | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Western Michigan continues its four-game homestand with a three-game set against Toledo
• The Broncos come into the weekend one game back of the second-place Rockets in the MAC standings
• Western Michigan owns a 112-71 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs
• The home team has won the series each of the last two years
• WMU won two out of three in Kalamazoo in 2024 and has not lost a home series to Toledo since 2018
• The Broncos are coming off of a 5-4 victory over Valparaiso to begin the homestand on Tuesday
• Mason Pilarski knocked in a pair for the Brown and Gold and Mark Mennecke scored twice in the win
• Turner Doran picked up his league-leading seventh save of the season in the victory
• Doran's seven saves are tied for the fourth-most in a season in program history
• His 11 career saves are tied for fifth-most in a career for a Bronco pitcher
• Drew Howard had his fourth multi-hit game in the last five contests to boost his average to .382
• The senior ranks fourth in the conference in batting average (.382) and fifth in on-base percentage (.493)
• Tanner Mally enters the weekend still atop NCAA DI in batting average (.495) and OBP (.609)
• He has also been the nation's toughest hitter to strike out, fanning just twice in 103 at-bats

HOME SWEET HOME
Western Michigan continues its four-game homestand from Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field this weekend with a three-game set against Toledo. The Broncos are 4-2 at home so far this season, including sweeping three games from UMass in their last home conference weekend. Since the start of the 2023 season, WMU is 39-18 at home and has won 12 of its last 16 home conference series. 

SERIES HISTORY
The Broncos come into this weekend's series with a 112-71 all-time record against Toledo. The home team has won the series each of the last two years, with the Rockets sweeping WMU in Toledo last season, and Western Michigan taking two out of three during UT's last visit to Kalamazoo in 2024. The Brown and Gold have not lost a home series to Toledo since 2018.

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan is coming off of a 5-4 victory over Valparaiso on Tuesday to open up its four-game homestand. The Broncos grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first and it held up, with Mason Pilarski driving in a pair and Mark Mennecke scoring twice for the Brown and Gold. Joey Wizceb worked 3.0 innings in relief to earn his first win of the campaign, and Turner Doran closed it down for his league-leading seventh save of the season. 

ALL-AMERICAN LEADOFF MAN
Leadoff hitter Tanner Mally enters the weekend still leading the nation in both batting average (.495) and on-base percentage (.609). The junior also leads the Mid-American Conference in hits (51) and hit by pitches (17), and has been one of the nation's toughest hitters to strike out, having fanned just twice in 103 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 (1.192, 4th), runs (36, 5th) and stolen bases (14, T-6). 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 picked up two more hits in Tuesday's victory over Valparaiso, his fourth multi-hit game in WMU's last five contests. For the season, Howard has elevated his batting average to .382, the fourth-highest in the conference, and on-base percentage to .493, the fifth-highest mark in the league. 

TERRIFIC TRIO
Western Michigan's weekend starting pitching trio of Zach Vriesenga, Sam Carlisle and Ricky Kidd has shined for the Broncos in MAC play, with the three leading the Broncos to the best team ERA in conference play at 4.13. All three are among the league leaders in ERA in MAC play, with Carlisle third (2.15), Kidd fifth (2.40) and Vriesenga 16th (4.74). 

SIZZLIN' SAM
Saturday starter Sam Carlisle comes into the weekend with the fifth-best overall ERA in the league at 3.31. The righty has pitched at least 5.0 innings in all five of his MAC starts, ranking him fifth in conference play at 29.1 innings of work. He has also racked up seven or more strikeouts in each of his last four outings, and is up to 38 against MAC foes, second-most in the league. MAC teams are hitting just .163 against Carlisle, the second-lowest mark in the conference.

NEW KIDD IN TOWN
Like Carlisle, Ricky Kidd has been a workhorse for the Brown and Gold, especially in conference action, going at least 5.0 frames in all five league starts and ranking fourth with 30.0 innings pitched in MAC games. The graduate transfer has thrown a total of 42.1 innings to lead Western Michigan. 

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 40th in NCAA Division I with a .978 fielding percentage. The Bronco defense has turned 23 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 24 sacrifice bunts, which ranks WMU 21st 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.