MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — The Western Michigan baseball team scored all three of its runs in the fifth inning and got strong outings from Brady Miller, Hayden Berg and Luke Thelen in a 3-2 series-opening victory at Central Michigan on Thursday.
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 3, Central Michigan 2
LOCATION: Keilitz Field at Theunissen Stadium (Mount Pleasant, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (28-20, 18-10 MAC) | Central Michigan (16-37, 7-21)
W: Brady Miller (5-5) | L: Ben Vitas (2-7) | Save: Luke Thelen (2)
Despite both teams putting together threats in the early innings, the game was scoreless heading into the fifth. Michael Maloney started the frame with a double to the opposite field. After moving over to third on a ground ball, the WMU shortstop scored the contest’s first run on a Grady Mee single.
Jackson Kitchen followed with a sacrifice bunt which got Mee all the way to third. Cade Sullivan then drew a free pass to put runners on the corners for Dylan Nevar. A passed ball allowed Mee to race home, and then Nevar brought Sullivan around with an RBI double to make it 3-0. The RBI was Nevar’s 60th of the season, the third-most in a single-season in Western Michigan history.
The three runs were enough for Miller and the WMU staff. After getting out of a jam in the first, Miller proceed to retire the next nine Chippewas in a row.
CMU got an unearned run back against the righty in the bottom of the fifth, and scratched across another in the sixth. Miller went 5.1 innings and struck out four to earn his team-leading fifth win of the season.
With the potential tying run at third base in the bottom of the sixth, Central Michigan attempted a squeeze bunt play, but WMU third baseman Brendan Harrity pounced on the bunt quickly and flipped it to catcher Greg Budig at the plate, who tagged the runner trying to score and hung onto the ball through a collision to keep Western Michigan’s lead intact.
Following Miller, the Broncos turned to Berg, who dealt 2.2 scoreless frames and picked up three strikeouts.
Thelen came on for the ninth and slammed the door to earn his second save of the season.
The combination of Miller, Berg and Thelen collected eight strikeouts for the Broncos to move their season total to 389 and pass the 2016 team for second-most in program history. Western Michigan’s all-time strikeout record is 395, which was set in 2001.
The Broncos take aim at a series victory over the Chippewas as the two teams continue their three-game series on Friday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1 pm.
