KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Western Michigan baseball team ended the regular season with a 12-1 loss to Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon. The setback locks in WMU as the number four seed for next week’s MAC Tournament.
Saturday was Senior Day for Western Michigan, with Jimmy Allen, Dane Armbrustmacher, Bobby Dearing, Gavin Doyle, Will Morrison and Drew Szczepaniak honored on the field during a pregame ceremony.
Central Michigan got on the board early, plating a pair of runs in the top of the first.
Allen opened the second inning with a double for the Broncos, but was left stranded.
The CMU offense tacked on a pair in the third to extend the margin to 4-0.
The visitors continued to add to their lead in the middle innings, as they picked up four in the fourth and two each in the fifth and sixth frames.
The Broncos loaded the bases in the fifth, but could not cut into the Central Michigan lead.
Western Michigan collected its lone run of the afternoon in the bottom of the sixth, as in his last home at-bat as a Bronco, Doyle blasted an opposite field home run.
Dearing also notched a hit in his final at-bat at Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field, as he ripped a pinch-hit single up the middle in the bottom of the seventh inning.
With the regular season complete, the Broncos turn their attention toward the Mid-American Conference Tournament, which begins on Wednesday, May 24, on the campus of regular season champion Kent State. Western Michigan is set to face the top-seeded Golden Flashes to begin tournament play at noon on Wednesday afternoon. The other opening round game on Wednesday will see second-seeded Central Michigan face three-seeded Ball State. That contest is slated for a 6 pm first pitch. The entirety of the four-team, double-elimination tournament will be streamed on ESPN+.