KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team wraps up its regular season road schedule this weekend with a three-game series at Bowling Green. 

SERIES INFO: WMU (22-21, 16-11 MAC) at BGSU (17-30, 10-17)
Game One: Friday, May 8 | 6 pm | VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Game Two: Saturday, May 9 | 3 pm | VIDEO | LIVE STATS
Game Three: Sunday, May 10 | 1 pm | VIDEO | LIVE STATS

FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball

LEADING OFF

• Western Michigan heads to Bowling Green this weekend for its last road series of the regular season
• WMU enters the weekend with a 101-71 all-time record against BGSU
• The Broncos have won the series each of the last three seasons
• Western Michigan is coming off of an 8-3 loss at Michigan State on Wednesday evening
• The contest was WMU's sixth against a Power Conference opponent in 2026
• Lucas Rick went 3-for-3 against the Spartans and blasted his second homer of the season
• Over the last week, Rick is 6-for-9 and has reached base in 11 of 14 plate appearances (.786 OBP)
• Michael Maloney extended his hitting streak to 16 in a row, the longest active run by a Bronco
• Maloney leads Western Michigan and is tied for third in the conference with 51 RBIs
• Tanner Mally enters the weekend still atop NCAA DI in batting average (.468) and OBP (.580)
• Avery Thielman is hitting .434 with a .508 OBP and is slugging .736 in his last 13 games
• Ricky Kidd enters the weekend tied for third in the league with 67.1 innings pitched
• Sam Carlisle ranks fifth in the conference with 62 strikeouts
• As a team, Western Michigan has the third-best ERA in MAC play at 4.98

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Western Michigan wraps up its regular season road schedule this weekend with a three-game series at Bowling Green. The Broncos are 12-10 in true road games this season and have won three of their four conference road series so far in 2026, taking two out of three at Akron and Eastern Michigan and sweeping a three-game set at Ohio.

SERIES HISTORY
The Broncos come into the weekend with a 101-71 advantage in the all-time series against Bowling Green. Western Michigan has taken the season series from BGSU each of the last three years, including taking two out of three in its last visit in 2024. That season, the Falcons won the MAC regular season at 24-6 and went 15-3 at home, with WMU accounting for two of their three home losses. 

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan is coming off of an 8-3 loss at Michigan State on Wednesday evening in its final midweek non-conference game of the season. The Broncos took the early lead on an RBI single by Lucas Rick in the second inning, but an MSU push in the middle innings put the game beyond reach. Rick went 3-for-3 and launched a home run for the Brown and Gold while reaching base in all four of his trips to the plate. 

ALL-AMERICAN LEADOFF MAN
Leadoff hitter Tanner Mally comes into the weekend still atop NCAA Division I in both batting average (.468) and on-base percentage (.580). The junior also leads the Mid-American Conference in total hits (74) and ranks inside the league's top-10 in numerous other offensive categories as well, including hit by pitches (21, T-2), OPS (1.131, 5th), runs scored (52, T-5) and stolen bases (19, 10th). 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.

ONE-TWO PUNCH
Along with Mally, second baseman Drew Howard has given the Broncos a great one-two punch at the top of their order. The senior is coming off of his 17th multi-hit game of the season on Wednesday at Michigan State and checks in tied for the ninth-most hits (60) and with the 10th-best average in the conference (.353). He leads Western Michigan in both walks (24) and triples (3), and is tied for the team lead with nine doubles. He also ranks second on the team in RBIs (33) and third in on-base percentage (.451), runs scored (39) and stolen bases (7).

MASHING MALONEY
Michael Maloney rolls into the weekend with a 16-game hitting streak, the longest current run by a Bronco. During his streak, he is hitting .406 and reaching base at a .493 clip with 21 RBIs. Maloney's run has brought his season average to .352, the 11th-best mark in the MAC. His team-leading 51 RBIs are tied for third-most in the conference.

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 eight of his nine MAC starts and his team-leading 67.1 innings pitched are tied for third-most in the conference. Kidd has picked up five wins in league play, and Western Michigan has won six of his nine MAC outings, including four in a row. His 3.60 ERA in conference play is the sixth-best among qualified pitchers and has WMU third in league action with a 4.98 team ERA.

STARTING TO THIEL IT
Avery Thielman has been hot over his last 13 games, hitting .434, reaching base at a .508 clip and slugging .736 with seven doubles, three home runs and 14 RBIs. During this stretch, he's raised his batting average 80 points, from .217 to .297.

SAMMY STRIKEOUTS
Sam Carlisle has been racking up the strikeouts all season long for the Broncos, picking up four or more in nine of his 12 starts and seven or more five times. The righty ranks fifth in the conference with a team-leading 62 strikeouts this season. 

DIGGING IN DEFENSIVELY
WMU's defense continues to rank among the nation's best, coming into the weekend ranked second in the MAC and 33rd nationally with a .978 fielding percentage. 

BUNTING BRONCOS 
The Broncos lead the league with 31 sacrifice bunts, which ranks WMU 34th 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 sixth with five.