KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Western Michigan earned its fourth win in a row,
defeating non-conference opponent Oakland, 3-2, in 10 innings Wednesday.
Jared
Kujawa delivered his second game-winning walk-off hit this season, slapping
a two-out single through the left side. The freshman catcher also came through
with the game-tying RBI with two down in the bottom of the eighth.
Left-handed starter Mike
Moyer fanned a career high and team-season best seven batters in 5.1
innings, allowing one run and three hits. Late reliever Patrick
Borlik earned the win, his third of the season, throwing the final 1.2
innings.
WMU struck first in the game with a run in
the bottom of the first and then allowed the Golden Grizzlies to take a 2-1 lead in
the top of the sixth. WMU knotted the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth
and went on to win in the extra frame.
Leadoff man Vinnie Booker singled in the
first and stole second for his team-leading ninth swipe of the season. Booker
moved to third on a balk and scored on a sacrifice fly by Zach Thoma to put
WMU up, 1-0.
Moyer was untouchable for the first three
innings, retiring the first nine batters he faced, striking out five. Oakland
recorded its first hit in the fourth and went on to put two runners in scoring
position with one out. Moyer stranded both, ending the inning with a pair of
pop outs.
Moyer struck out two more batters in the
fifth and reached his pre-determined pitch count in the top of the sixth. Right-hander
reliever Chris Bossenbery inherited one on with one out. The runner, Jake Morton,
stole second and third and tied the game on an RBI double by Mike Carson. A
fielding error enabled Carson to score, unearned, giving OU a 2-1 lead.
WMU left runners on the corners in the bottom
of the sixth and both sides went down in order in the seventh. RHP Monty Porter
worked most of the eighth and got out of a bases-loaded jam.
Patrick Duncan singled with one out in the bottom
of the eighth and moved to second on a groundout. Kujawa hit a slow grounder to
the right of the second base bag and legged out the throw to first. With the
two outs, Duncan didn't slow up after rounding third and slid head first to
beat the tag at the plate.
Borlik recorded the final two outs of the
ninth and retired OU in order in the 10th. Kujawa was big defensively in
the ninth, gunning down a runner attempting to steal third for the third out
following a swinging strikeout.
Booker drew a leadoff walk in the 10th and
Thoma bunted (sac) Booker over to second. Duncan lined out to the shortstop, but
Booker was able to scramble back to the bag to avoid the double-up. Oakland
chose to intentionally walk Ryan McMillin after falling behind 3-0 in the
count, sending Kujawa to the plate. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch and
Kujawa drove the first pitch he saw through the left side of the infield for
the 3-2 win.
Both WMU and Oakland had seven hits in the
game. Kujawa was the only Bronco with multiple knocks, going 2-for-3 with the
two RBIs and a pair of walks.
The win improved Western Michigan's record to
11-10 on the year. The Broncos return to Mid-American Conference play this
weekend, heading to Buffalo for a three-game series, March 30 through April 1.
GAME NOTES: Three of WMU's last four wins
have been one-run victories, and Borlik has earned the win or the save in each
of those games ... as a staff, WMU totaled a team season-high 12 K's ... with a
single in the first, McMillin (1-for-4) extended his current hitting streak to
15 games ... Troy Forton (0-for-3) had an 11-game hitting streak come to an end.
