AVON, Ohio – The fourth-seeded Western Michigan baseball team dropped an 11-0 decision to No. 4 seed Northern Illinois in its first game of the 2026 Mid-American Conference Championship on Wednesday evening.
FINAL SCORE: No. 4 Northern Illinois 11, No. 5 Western Michigan 0
LOCATION: ForeFront Field (Avon, Ohio)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (26-24) | NIU (32-17)
W: Max Vaisvila (8-0) |
L: Zach Vriesenga (2-6)
After a scoreless first inning on both sides, Northern Illinois pushed across three in the second to grab the early advantage.
The Huskies then tacked on four in the third and two each in the fourth and fifth frames to stretch the margin to 11-0.
The WMU offense was limited to three baserunners, with national batting average leader
Tanner Mally picking up one hit and also reaching on a hit by pitch.
Next up for Western Michigan is an elimination game on Thursday against No. 6 seed Ball State. First pitch is scheduled for 10 am on
ESPN+.
