KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The West Michigan baseball team continues to play in the Mid-American Conference this weekend as it takes on East Michigan. Due to the weather forecast in Kalamazoo this weekend, the Broncos and Eagles have agreed to move the three-game series to Bowling Green, Ky., with Western Kentucky’s Nick Denes Field hosting the series.
SERIES INFORMATION
Game One: Saturday March 18 | 1:00 p.m. | LIVE STATS
Game Two: Saturday, March 18 | DH Game 2 | LIVE STATS
Game Three: Sunday March 19 | 1:00 p.m. | LIVE STATS
FOLLOW ALONG: @WMUBaseball
AT THE OPENING
- Western Michigan continues to play MAC this weekend with a three-game series against Eastern Michigan
- The Broncos-Eagles series was moved to the Western Kentucky University campus in Bowling Green, Ky., due to weather forecast for this weekend in Kalamazoo
- WMU owns a 96-91 all-time record against Eastern Michigan
- The two teams split a four-game series at Ypsilanti in 2022
- The Broncos are coming off a three-game series in preseason league favorite Ball State.
- BSU won the first and third games of the series, with WMU picking up the interim meeting, 10-1
- will morrison enters the weekend leading the MAC in batting average (.453) and OBP (.516)
- cade sullivan ranks among league leaders in home runs (4, T-8) and RBIs (16, T-7)
- dane armbrustmacher enters weekend tied for the conference lead in innings pitched (23.2)
- The lefty has at least 6 strikeouts in each of his four outings and is sixth in the MAC with 26 strikeouts.
- Defensively, the Broncos are third in the MAC and 35th in the nation with a .980 fielding percentage.
- The WMU defense has converted a league-high 18 double plays, fifth-most in the country.
- Eastern Michigan won two of three in Akron last week to start conference play
- The Eagles rank second in the league in fielding percentage (.982) and fourth in ERA (5.48)
THE WEEKEND AHEAD
Western Michigan continues to play MAC this weekend with a three game series against Eastern Michigan. The Broncos were scheduled to play their first home games of 2023, but had to move the series to the Western Kentucky campus in Bowling Green Ky., due to weather. WMU’s home opener is now scheduled for March 22 against Michigan State.
UMM VS EMU
The Broncos enter this weekend with a 96-91 lead in the all-time series against Eastern Michigan. Last season, WMU and EMU split a four-game series in Ypsilanti.
EXPLORING THE EAGLES
Eastern Michigan is coming off a series win to start MAC play, as the Eagles won two of three last weekend in Akron. EMU enters the weekend second in MAC in fielding percentage (.982) and fourth in ERA (5.48). Taylor Corey ranks fifth in the MAC with a .400 batting average, while Matt Kirk ranks among the conference leaders in doubles (6, T-6), home runs (4, T-8), percentage slugging percentage (.735, 6th) and on-base percentage (.476, 8th).
LAST TIME
Western Michigan began conference play last weekend with a three-game series at preseason conference favorite Ball State. The Cardinals took Friday’s series opener, and the two teams then split a doubleheader on Saturday.
MORRISON MORRISON
will morrison He continued his recent hot streak, hitting an even .500 (8-for-16) last week with seven runs scored for the Broncos. The redshirt junior heads into the weekend with a season-leading .453 MAC average, which is the 27th-best average in the nation. Morrison also leads the conference with a .516 on-base percentage and ranks among the league leaders in hits (24, 4th) and runs (17, T-5).
ARMBRUSTMACHER ACCUMULATES K’S
dane armbrustmacher he recorded six more strikeouts in Saturday’s win over Ball State, giving him five or more strikeouts in 13 of his 21 career starts at Western Michigan. The lefty pitched 6.1 innings, allowing one run on five hits and striking out six. Armbrustmacher has recorded at least six strikeouts in his four starts this season, and his 26 strikeouts rank sixth in the MAC. He is also tied for the league lead in innings pitched at 23.2.
GAVIN IS BASE
Gavin Doyle he has continued to be an on-base machine for West Michigan, reaching base twice in six of the last seven games. During this stretch, Doyle has hit base at a .457 pace, bringing his OBP for the season to .424, second-highest on the team.
BRONCO PUMPS
WMU has hit 14 home runs in the first 14 games of the season, with dylan nevar launching the team’s first Grand Slam of the season this past weekend at Ball State. Four different Broncos already have multiple home runs, like cade sullivan has four, and the trio of Gavin Doyle, brendan harrity and josh swinehart have two each. West Michigan racked up 57 home runs a year ago, the most since 2008.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Western Michigan’s defense has been solid through the first month of the season, ranking third in the conference and 35th in the nation with a .980 fielding percentage. WMU has been particularly adept at converting double plays, having hit 18 double plays this season, the most in the MAC and fifth-most in the country. The Bronco defense also ranks third in the nation with 1.3 twin kills per game.
