FORT MYERS, FLORIDA- Ryan Lane threw eight and a third shutout innings and Kevin Dobos laced a pair of doubles leading the Flashes to a 4-0 victory over Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday.  

Lane was absolutely brilliant in the series finale. The right-hander allowed just three hits, walked nobody and struck out 10. After a first inning double, Lane retired 16 in a row before a two-out double snapped the streak in the sixth. Lane minimized the damage off the two doubles, no Eagle got to third base on Sunday. Fort Myers native Max Rippl came on to get the final two outs, including a fitting game-ending strikeout.

Kent State got on the board in the third inning. Kevin Dobos hit a one-out double to left field. He didn't stay on second long as Eric Wentz kept his hot bat going, ripping a 1-0 pitch to left for a double of his own, scoring Dobos. After Wentz stole third, the outfielder was cut down at the plate after he broke for home on a Ben Carew grounder to first, ending the threat.

The Flashes added to their lead in the fifth and again in the seventh. In the fifth, Dobos struck for his second double of the day, scoring Collin Mathews, who had singled to start the inning. In the seventh, Dobos walked, Eric Wentz struck out, but reached first on a wild pitch that had kicked up the first base line. That extended the inning for Ben Carew, who laced a single to center field, bringing home Dobos. Kent State kept their foot on the gas pedal, inducing a throwing error on a double steal, Wentz would come into score, making it 4-0. That proved more than enough for the dominant Lane and Rippl. 

The victory secured the series win for the Flashes who close their Florida trip at 4-3. Kent State heads back south next weekend, traveling to Rock Hill, South Carolina to take on the Winthrop Eagles. First pitch on Friday is set for 4 p.m.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Scoring 21 runs on 14 hits, the Western Michigan baseball team clinched a four-game series sweep of Alabama A&M with a 21-9 victory on Sunday afternoon at Bulldog Field.

The Broncos have now won four straight games and improved their overall record to 5-2. WMU is off to its best start to a season under head coach Billy Gernon, and the best start through the first seven games since going 6-1 back in 2008. For the second straight game WMU eclipsed 20 or more runs, marking the fifth time since 2008 the Broncos have done so.

In the series finale eight Broncos recorded a hit with four players earning multi-hit games.  WMU had seven players earn on RBI on Sunday with five different players registering multi-RBI games. Of WMU's 14 hits, two were for extra bases with junior Blake Dunn and senior Ethan Hajdukvoic each earning a double.

The duo of Dunn and Hajdukovic combined for eight RBIs in the series finale as Hajdukovic was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with four RBIs, a double and two runs scored. Dunn was 1-for-5 with four RBIs and one run scored.

In the leadoff spot, junior Connor Charping continued to swing a hot bat going 2-for-3 with two walks, two RBIs and four runs scored. Charping also recorded two stolen bases as WMU totaled six stolen bases for the game. Junior Justin McIntyre also had two stolen bases to go along with a 2-for-2 performance at the plate with one RBI and three runs scored.

Junior Sean O'Keefe ranked second on the team with three RBIs as the Saline, Mich., native went 1-for-3 with four runs scored. Hitting in the eight spot sophomore Gavin Doyle registered a 2-for-6 day at the plate with two RBIs and one run scored. Doyle added to the WMU stolen base total, earning two in the series finale.

On the mound the Broncos used five different pitchers on Sunday totaling seven strikeouts. Junior RHP Jack Huisman earned his first win of the season pitching three innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits with two strikeouts.

It was an offensive explosion for the Broncos in the four-game series sweep, totaling 77 runs on 53 hits with 18 extra-base hits. WMU posted a .519 slugging percentage and a .505 on-base percentage against Alabama A&M while registered a staggering 23 stolen bases. The Bronco pitching staff was dominant as well recording a 2.53 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 32 innings. WMU pitchers held Alabama A&M hitters to just a .238 batting average in the four games. Every Bronco that went to the plate over the weekend registered an RBI.

In the four-game series Gavin Doyle led the Broncos with nine RBIs while registering a .313 batting average with one double, one home run and seven runs scored. Senior Ethan Hajdukovic led the Broncos with a .474 batting average with eight RBIs, seven runs scored, three doubles, a triple and a home run.

Junior Connor Charping over the weekend scored 12 runs to lead the team while going 5-of-13 (.385) at the plate with five RBIs. Charping was also a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts against the Bulldogs.  Fellow junior Sean O'Keefe ranked second on the team with 10 runs scored while earning a .313 batting average and a .625 slugging percentage.

Golden Spikes Award watch list member Blake Dunn was stellar at the plate with a .385 batting average while securing eight RBIs and eight runs scored. Dunn was lethal on the base paths going a perfect 4-for-4 and now has six on the season. Sophomore RHP Easton Sikorski led WMU on the mound with 10 strikeouts in a 12-0 victory in game two on Saturday. Sikorski went a career-high eight innings, allowing no runs on two hits for his second win of the season.

Western Michigan hits the road next weekend for a match-up against nationall ranked Louisville Feb. 28 – March 1. It's the first time the two programs will square off since meeting in the NCAA Regional opener back in 2016. It will be the first three-game series between the Broncos and Cardinals since 2014 when WMU dropped the first two games of the series before earning a 4-2 win in the series finale.

For the fourth game in a row the Broncos got on the board first scoring 11 runs on six hits to gain a 11-0 advantage. All 11 of WMU's runs game with two outs as the Broncos batted around in the top of the first. The big-inning for the Broncos was aided by five singles and one double while drawing six walks.

Alabama A&M responded in the bottom half of the inning posting five runs on six hits to trim the Bronco lead down to 11-5. The Bulldog inning was highlighted by a two RBI single for its first two runs of the game followed by an RBI double to right field.
Western Michigan posted three more runs in the top of the second to widen its lead to 14-5. The Broncos had runners on first and second with two outs prior to an RBI single by redshirt junior Logan Hudson to extend the Bronco lead. A batter later, O'Keefe roped a two RBI single to propel WMU to a 14-5 advantage.

The Bulldogs responded with in the bottom of the third as Alabama A&M registered back-to-back RBI single to cut the Bronco lead down to 14-7. It didn't take long for WMU to gain a run back as O'Keefe scored on a passed ball to give the Brown & Gold a 15-7 advantage. Blake Dunn recorded a sacrifice fly to score sophomore Will Morrison from third in the top of the fifth to give WMU at 16-7 lead.

Alabama A&M answered back in the bottom of the fifth scoring two runs on two hits to trim its deficit down to seven. With runners on second and third with one out the Bulldogs got a two RBI single from Sam Mickels for its eighth and nine runs of the ballgame.

Western Michigan extended its lead in the late innings scoring four runs in the sixth and one run in the seventh to secure the 21-9 victory.

OXFORD, Ohio - Sophomore catcher Cole Andrews set a new school record with eight RBIs to lead the Miami University baseball team to an 18-8 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday. After completing the series sweep, the RedHawks improve to 3-3 on the season. The Mastodons fall to 3-4.

Andrews went 3-for-6 with a triple and a home run to help drive in the record-setting eight RBIs. He broke the previous school record of seven, which had been set five times, most recently by Ross Haffey on April 13, 2018 against Ball State.

Senior second baseman Will Vogelgesang had an impressive day at the plate as well. He was 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBIs, two walks and five runs scored. Vogelgesang stole three bases on the day. Senior right fielder Landon Stephens also chipped in for Miami, finishing 1-for-2 with four walks, two RBIs and three runs scored.

The RedHawks fell behind 2-0, but quickly responded with five runs in the bottom of the first. Vogelgesang hit his third home run of the season, a two-run shot that also scored junior center fielder Cristian Tejada. Later in the inning, Andrews began his historic day with a three-run home run over the left field wall that also scored redshirt freshman designated hitter Stephen Krause and senior first baseman Charlie Harrigan to make it 5-2.

The Mastodons got two in the top of the second to pull within one, but Miami scored three runs in the bottom of the frame, buoyed by a two-run single off the bat of Andrews, which brought the score to 8-4 in favor of the RedHawks.

Miami added three more runs in the bottom of the third. A bases-loaded walk from Stephens forced home freshman third baseman Brian Zapp. Krause followed with a single through the left side to score Tejada and Vogelgesang to make it 11-4.

The Mastodons fought back, closing the gap to 11-6 until Miami added some insurance in the sixth. The RedHawks scored four runs in the inning, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of Vogelgesang, and run driving in doubles from Stephens and Harrigan that brought the Miami advantage to 15-6.

Purdue Fort Wayne got within seven at 15-8 until Andrews struck again in the bottom of the eighth. The RedHawks were able to load the bases with two outs for Andrews. He then cleared them with a shot to left center that went all the way to the wall, allowing Tejada, Vogelgesang and Stephens to come home and finish off the 18-8 win.

Junior pitcher Logan Schmitt picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Miami. The right-hander went three innings, giving up two runs, on three hits while striking out four. Junior pitcher Jay Wilson made his return to the mound after missing last season with an injury. He threw a scoreless ninth to complete the victory.

The RedHawks have their first midweek game of the season on Tuesday when they travel to Dayton. First pitch is at 3 p.m.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Freshman Zach Lechnir drove in the go-ahead run and Chippewa pitching was outstanding for the second-consecutive game as the CMU baseball team topped Jacksonville State, 2-1, in 11 innings on Sunday at the Gamecocks' JSU Stadium.
 
The Chippewas (5-2) won Saturday's game, 1-0, as Jordan Patty and Ian Leatherman combined on a three-hitter.
 
On Sunday, CMU's J.T. Rogoszewski, Grant Frazer and Cam Miller teamed up to limit JSU to six hits and the Chippewas backed them with error-free defense.
 
"J.T., Grant and Cam did a tremendous job of attacking the strike zone today and our defense responded with their best performance of the season thus far," CMU coach Jordan Bischel said.
 
The fourth and final game of the series is scheduled for Monday (3 p.m.).

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO – The Northern Illinois University baseball team wrapped up its series against the Southeast Missouri Redhawks with an 11-5 win at Capaha Field to win three out of four games this weekend.
 
"Today was a great character win," said head coach Mike Kunigonis. "To bounce back after a such a tough loss yesterday showed grit and mental toughness. Over the last two weekends, we have shown we can hit with anyone."
 
NIU (4-4) got off to a fast start Sunday as the first five batters reached base. Brendan Joyce (South Elgin, Ill./Parkland College) drew a lead-off walk, followed by a double from Matt Barnes (Bloomington, Ill./Heartland C.C.) that drove in Joyce to make the score 1-0. Brady Huebbe (Peru, Ill./Illinois Valley C.C.) then laced a double down the right field line to bring in Barnes for a 2-0 Huskies lead. Jake Dunham (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) and Jordan Larson (Dodgeville, Wis./College of DuPage) followed the back-to-back doubles with back-to-back walks to load the bases, prompting a SEMO pitching change. Bryan McNeely came in the game and got a double play, which scored Huebbe to give NIU a 3-0 lead.
 
SEMO (2-6) got a run back in the bottom of the first on a Justin Dirden solo home run. After a scoreless second, the Redhawks took the lead in the bottom of the third. Danny Wright started the rally with a double down the left field line. He then stole third and scored on a Tyler Wilber single that put the score at 3-2. Dirden put SEMO ahead with a two-run home run over the right field fence to give the Redhawks a 4-3 lead.
 
The Huskies took the lead right back in the top of the fourth. Tommy Szczasny (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) led off the inning with a single. Kam Smith (Colonial Beach, Va./The Steward School) then reached base after being hit by a pitch. Alex Rodriguez (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy) hit into a fielder's choice to give NIU runners at the corners with one out. With Joyce at the plate, an errant throw from SEMO catcher Wade Stauss allowed Szczasny to score to tie the game at four and Rodriguez to reach second base. Joyce then reached base on an error by third baseman Peyton Leeper, which Rodriguez scored on to give NIU a 5-4 lead.
 
NIU starting pitcher Erik Hedmark (Algonquin, Ill./Dundee-Crown) kept the Huskies in front, getting a double play with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth to get out of the inning. The Huskies tacked on to their lead in the top of the fifth. With the bases loaded and no outs, Szczasny reached on an error that scored Dunham and made the score 6-4. Smith followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to put NIU ahead 7-4.
 
Paul Turelli (Lake Forest, Ill./Heartland C.C.) came in from the bullpen and made that lead hold up. The junior allowed just one run on two hits in the final four innings with six strikeouts. Just as they had started the game, the Huskies put a crooked number on the scoreboard in the top of the ninth with four runs. Dunham put the exclamation point on NIU's series win with a two-run double to make the score 11-5.
 
NIU's top of the batting order, Joyce, Barnes, Huebbe, and Dunham were a combined 9-for-20 with seven RBI. Joyce and Huebbe each were 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBI. Hedmark earned the win on the mound to move to 2-0 on the year, scattering nine hits over five innings and allowing four runs.
 
"Hedmark battled and gave us a chance to win," Kunigonis said. "Paul was awesome behind him to lock up the victory."
 
The Huskies take on the Omaha Mavericks and Chicago State Cougars for four games next weekend at Rent One Park in Marion, Ill. NIU will take on Chicago State at 11 a.m. on Friday, February 28 followed by a 2:30 p.m. game that day against Omaha.