Saturday’s Baseball Results
Western Michigan 8, Pepperdine 2
Western Michigan 11, Pepperdine 4
Eastern Michigan 7, Southern Indiana 4
Toledo 2, Winthrop 1
Winthrop 7, Toledo 2
Cincinnati 6, Ball State 5
LSU 5, Northern Illinois 2
Coastal Carolina 12, Ball State 2
Campbell 14, Ohio 12
Middle Tennessee 8, Miami 3
Louisiana Tech 10, Kent State 2
Memphis 14, Bowling Green 13
Dallas Baptist 16, Central Michigan 7
The Citadel 12, Akron 11
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
Western Michigan 8, Pepperdine 2 -- Boxscore
Western Michigan 11, Pepperdine 4 – Boxscore
MALIBU, Calif. – The Western Michigan baseball team took both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday against Pepperdine, 8-2 and 11-4, to secure a weekend series victory over the Waves.
Cade Sullivan had multiple hits in both contests for the Broncos, totaling five for the day and scoring five times. Michael Maloney also scored five times across the two contests after picking up a pair of hits and drawing three walks. Grady Mee and Josh Swinehart both had two hits in each game, while Swinehart and Dylan Nevar recorded a team-high four RBIs apiece for the day. With his three RBIs in game two, Nevar surpassed 100 RBIs in his WMU career.
The first game of the day was scoreless until Western Michigan pushed across four in the third. Sullivan and Nevar got the Broncos going with back-to-back RBI singles, Greg Budig knocked in a run with a ground ball and Swinehart capped the frame with a two-out, run-scoring base hit.
Pepperdine pulled one back in the bottom of the fourth, but the Brown and Gold answered in the fifth as Jackson Kitchen plated Budig on a fielder's choice.
The Broncos then tallied three more in the sixth to put the game beyond reach. CJ Richmond brought in a run with a single, with Budig and Swinehart collecting sacrifice flies to stretch the margin to 8-1.
After WMU game one starter Luke Thelen yielded one run and struck out five in three innings, he turned things over to DJ Thompson. Thompson retired 10 of the first 11 batters he faced, with the one reaching on an error. The sophomore limited the Waves to one run on one hit over the final four innings to earn his first win of 2024.
The second game started in similar fashion, with Western Michigan again breaking a scoreless deadlock in the third. Nevar brought home the contest's first run with a double, and Ben Campos then delivered a two-run single to make it 3-0.
Matt Hoover took the ball for the Broncos in game two for his first career start. After Pepperdine pushed a run across in the third, the right-hander proceeded to retire the next seven batters in a row. The sophomore ended up going a career-high 6.0 innings and picking up three strikeouts to earn his first collegiate win.
Western Michigan was still leading 3-1 in the sixth inning when it erupted for five runs. Kitchen brought Campos around on a fielder's choice, and Maloney then doubled to bring Mee in to score. After a Nevar sacrifice fly, Swinehart delivered another two-out hit, this time scoring two with a single to stretch the lead to 8-1.
The Waves tallied two in the seventh and one in the eighth, but WMU responded with three of its own in the ninth on a Sullivan RBI single, a wild pitch which scored Maloney and another Nevar sac fly.
The Broncos take aim at a sweep of their four-game series against the Waves on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 3 pm on ESPN+.
Eastern Michigan 7, Southern Indiana 4
Boxscore
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team was triumphant in the second game of the series at the University of Southern Indiana Saturday, Feb. 25, topping the Screaming Eagles 7-4 as all EMU starters contributed a single hit or more in the non-conference victory.
Junior Drew Beckner (Westerville, Ohio Big Walnut Charleston) (1-1) got the win for Eastern Michigan (2-4, 0-0 MAC). The southpaw went 5.2 innings, giving up two runs, both of them earned, on six hits, allowing three walks and striking out five.
Offensively, the Eagles were led by sophomore Cooper Vance (New Waterford, Ohio/Mohawk), who went 2-for-5 on the day with a double, a home run, and three RBI. Senior Blake McRae (Armada, Mich./Romeo/Lansing C.C.) furnished a noteworthy day at the dish as well, going 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Freshman Nathan Ball (Bay City, Mich. Bay City John Glenn) also chipped in for Eastern Michigan, putting together two hits in four trips to the plate while adding a double.
The Eagles put runs on the scoreboard first, starting the scoring in the second inning. Eastern Michigan plated two runs when McRae left the yard with junior Giano Zuccaro (Middleburg Heights, Ohio/Berea Midpark/Charleston) aboard.
The Eagles then held the Screaming Eagles scoreless before getting back on the board the very next inning. EMU scored three runs in the frame, buoyed by a two-run homer from Vance, which brought the score to 5-0 in favor of the Eagles.
Southern Indiana narrowed Eastern Michigan's lead to 5-2 before the Eagles stretched the advantage to 6-2 in the fourth inning. The Green and White scored a run on Vance's two-out RBI double.
Southern Indiana gained ground, closing the gap to 6-3 until Eastern Michigan added some insurance in the eighth. The Eagles scored once on an RBI single off the bat of junior Brendan Kleiman (Olney, Md./Sherwood/Frederick C.C.), bringing the Eastern Michigan advantage to 7-3. Southern Indiana put one run on the scoreboard before the game was over, but the Eagles still held on for the 7-4 win.
Toledo 2, Winthrop 1
Boxscore
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Toledo baseball team opened Saturday's doubleheader at Winthrop with a 2-1 victory but dropped a 7-2 decision to the Eagles in the nightcap.
Virginia Tech transfer Grant Umberger (1-1) secured his first victory as a Rocket in the opener by allowing just three hits and one unearned run in six innings. Camryn Szynski closed out the contest by fanning two batters in a scoreless seventh for his second save of the season.
Junior Logan Danzeisen (0-1) took the loss in Game Two after allowing four runs and four hits in 3.1 innings. He was hurt by his control as three of the runs he allowed reached base via a walk or hit-by-pitch.
Sophomore Wes Parker and junior Garret Pike paced Toledo offensively today with three hits apiece.
The Rockets (2-4) and Eagles (2-5) will wrap up their four-game series on Sunday. First pitch from the Winthrop Ballpark is set for 1:00 p.m.
