KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Behind 6.0 scoreless innings from
Ricky Kidd and a balanced offensive attack, the Western Michigan baseball team rolled to a 12-2 series-clinching victory over Northern Illinois on Friday afternoon.
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 12, Northern Illinois 2 (F/8)
LOCATION: Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (25-23, 19-13 MAC) | NIU (31-16, 21-11)
W: Ricky Kidd (8-1) |
L: Carter Cox (6-5)
Kidd turned in another gem on the mound for the Broncos, limiting NIU to two hits over his 6.0 shutout frames. He also fanned a career-high six on the way to earning his team-leading eighth win of the season. It was the second straight scoreless outing for the right-hander, who is 7-0 in his 11 MAC starts. Western Michigan has won each of his last six outings.
Offensively, WMU collected 16 hits, with five different Broncos driving in two runs apiece.
Drew Howard and
Avery Thielman each picked up three knocks and two RBIs, while
Mason Pilarski,
Lucas Rick and
Nolan Zajac also drove in two runs apiece.
The Broncos broke a scoreless deadlock with a five-run fourth. The first three batters in the inning reached to load the bases, with Thielman becoming the first to touch home on a passed ball. One out later, Zajac laid down a bunt to score Rick, with
Mark Mennecke also coming in on the play due to an error. The Brown and Gold re-loaded the bases for Howard, who capped the five-run outburst with a two-run double.
Western Michigan picked up two more in the fifth, with Pilarski laying down a bunt to collect an RBI this time, and Zajac stretching the lead to 7-0 with an RBI single.
Thielman launched a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth, tying for the team lead with his sixth blast of the year.
NIU picked up its only two runs of the contest in the top of the seventh.
In the eighth, Rick doubled to deep left to score a pair, and Pilarski then ended the game with a single which scored
Cooper Hums.
Western Michigan closes out its regular season on Saturday afternoon with Senior Day against NIU. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 pm from Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field. For tickets, visit
wmubroncos.com/tickets.
