KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team wraps up the regular season with a three-game series against Northern Illinois from Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. Saturday is Senior Day for the Broncos, with 14 seniors set to be honored in a pregame ceremony scheduled to begin at approximately 12:30 pm.

SERIES INFO: Western Michigan (23-23, 17-13 MAC) vs NIU (31-14, 21-9)
Game One: Thursday, May 14 | 3:05 pm | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Game Two: Friday, May 15 | 2:05 pm | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Game Three: Saturday, May 16 | 1:05 pm | TICKETS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Western Michigan wraps up the regular season with a three-game series against NIU
• On Saturday, WMU will honor 14 players in a pregame Senior Day ceremony
• The Broncos come into the series with a 55-45-1 advantage in the all-time series
• Western Michigan has taken two out of three from NIU each of the last two years
• WMU dropped two out of three last weekend at Bowling Green
• Lucas Rick went 5-for-12 (.417) in the series with a pair of home runs and seven RBIs
• On Monday, Rick became the second Bronco this season to be named MAC Player of the Week
• Ricky Kidd fired 6.0 scoreless innings to earn his team-leading seventh win on Saturday
• The win clinched a MAC Tournament berth for the Broncos
• Kidd ranks fifth in the conference with 73.1 innings pitched
• As a team, Western Michigan ranks third in league play with a 4.95 team ERA
• Tanner Mally enters the weekend still atop NCAA DI in batting average (.465) and OBP (.573)
• Avery Thielman is hitting .431 with 19 RBIs in his last 16 games to boost his season average to .306
• Western Michigan is atop the MAC and ranks 32nd in the nation with a .978 fielding percentage

HOME SWEET HOME
Western Michigan wraps up the regular season with a three-game series against Northern Illinois. The Broncos are 8-7 at home this season and 43-23 within the friendly confines of Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field since the start of the 2023 season. The Brown and Gold have won 13 of their last 19 home MAC series.

SEE YOU IN AVON
With Saturday night's win at Bowling Green, WMU officially clinched a berth in next week's MAC Tournament in Avon, Ohio. After missing out last season, the Broncos are back in the conference tournament for the first time since they were the two seed in the 2024 tournament and went 3-0 to capture the second MAC Tournament title in program history. Western Michigan's most likely outcome is to say at five heading into the tournament, but can go as high as four or down to the six seed. Head coach Billy Gernon has reached nine of the 14 MAC Tournaments held during his tenure at the helm of the program. 

SERIES HISTORY
The Broncos come into the weekend with a 55-45-1 advantage in the all-time series against NIU. Western Michigan has won the series each of the last two seasons, taking two out of three from the Huskies last year in DeKalb and doing the same in NIU's last trip to Kalamazoo in 2024. 

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan dropped two out of three at Bowling Green last weekend in its final road series of the regular season. The Broncos' lone victory in the series came on Saturday night, with Ricky Kidd firing 6.0 scoreless frames and the duo of Lucas Rick and Avery Thielman each driving in three runs to lead the Brown and Gold to the win which clinched their spot in next week's MAC Tournament.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Lucas Rick had a huge week at the plate for the Broncos, going 8-for-15 (.533) and slugging 1.267 with a pair of doubles, three homers and nine RBIs on the way being named MAC Player of the Week on Monday. Rick joined Avery Thielman (April 20) as the two WMU players to claim a Player of the Week honor in 2026. 

ALL-AMERICAN LEADOFF MAN
Leadoff hitter Tanner Mally comes into the weekend still atop NCAA Division I in both batting average (.465) and on-base percentage (.573). The junior also leads the Mid-American Conference in total hits (79) and ranks inside the league's top-10 in numerous other offensive categories as well, including hit by pitches (21, 4th), OPS (1.120, 5th), runs scored (55, T-5) and stolen bases (19, 9th). Last month, Mally was named a Midseason All-American by both D1Baseball (Second Team) and Perfect Game (Third Team). He was also recently named to the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award Midseason Watch List.

NEW KIDD IN TOWN
Ricky Kidd has been a workhorse in the weekend rotation for the Broncos. The Michigan transfer has logged at least 5.0 innings in nine of his 10 MAC starts and his team-leading 73.1 innings pitched are fifth-most in the conference. Kidd has picked up six wins in league play, and Western Michigan has won seven of his 10 MAC outings, including five in a row. His 3.25 ERA in conference play is the fifth-best among qualified pitchers and has WMU third in league action with a 4.95 team ERA.

MASHING MALONEY
Michael Maloney comes into the weekend having reached base in 33 straight games and with a .349 batting average, the 10th-best mark in the league. The shortstop has already established new career highs in several offensive categories, including hits, runs scored, home runs and RBIs. His 51 RBIs lead the Broncos and are tied for sixth-most in the conference. 

STARTING TO THIEL IT
Avery Thielman has been hot over the last month for Western Michigan, hitting .431 over his last 16 games with eight doubles, three home runs and 19 RBIs. During this stretch, he's boosted his season batting average from .217 all the way to .306. 

DIGGING IN DEFENSIVELY
WMU's defense continues to rank among the nation's best, coming into the weekend leading the MAC and ranked 32nd nationally with a .978 fielding percentage. In conference play, the Broncos own a league-best .982 fielding percentage. 

BUNTING BRONCOS 
The Broncos are atop the league with 31 sacrifice bunts, which ranks WMU 40th in the nation. Nolan Zajac leads the Brown and Gold with seven sac bunts, third-most in the conference, Mason Pilarski is tied for fourth with six and Drew Howard is tied for eighth with five.