KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Western Michigan baseball team opened up its series against rival Central Michigan with an 11-6 win on Thursday. The victory clinched WMU’s spot in next week’s MAC Tournament, which will be hosted by regular season champion Kent State. It will be the first appearance for the Broncos in the tournament since 2017.
The win was also Western Michigan’s seventh consecutive home victory, marking WMU’s longest home winning streak since a seven-game run during the 2006 campaign. The Broncos are 9-3 at home in 2023, and 9-1 in conference play within the friendly confines of Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field.
Dylan Nevar picked up right where he left off last Sunday, driving in a team-high four for the day to give him 10 RBIs in his last two games. Josh Swinehart joined in with three RBIs, while Jimmy Allen went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a pair of runs batted in. Gavin Doyle equaled a pair of career highs with four walks and four runs scored.
Western Michigan got its offense rolling early as it plated four in the bottom of the first. Allen kicked things off with a two-run double into the right field corner, and Nevar then followed with a sacrifice fly. A CMU error helped WMU stretch its early advantage to 4-0.
A solo home run got the Chippewas their first run of the day in the top of the second.
WMU pushed its lead out to five, 6-1, in the third, as Nevar plated Cade Sullivan with a single, and Swinehart brought Doyle home with a sacrifice fly.
Central Michigan pushed across three in the fourth to trim the margin to 6-4. The Chippewas brought the tying run to the plate, but WMU starter Brady Miller escaped further damage with an inning-ending strikeout.
Nevar and Swinehart gave the Broncos some more breathing room in the fifth, as each drove in another run to increase the lead to 8-4.
The duo of Nevar and Swinehart were at it once again in the seventh, as Nevar picked up an RBI double and Swinehart notched a run-scoring base hit. Grady Mee then got in the act with an RBI single to bring home WMU’s finally tally of the contest.
Miller picked up the win on the mound for the Broncos, as he worked 5.2 innings and racked up eight strikeouts. The victory was his team-leading seventh of the season, which is one shy of the overall league lead. Miller leads the MAC with seven wins in conference play.
Behind Miller, Joe Shapiro got Western Michigan out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth with a strikeout. Hayden Berg then worked the final three frames to pick up his fourth save of the season.
Due to forecasted rain, the middle game of the series between the Broncos and Chippewas has been moved up to a 10:05 am first pitch on Friday morning.