KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan baseball team looks to embark on the 2015 season with high hopes and goals after much success a season ago. Last year marked the third time in the four years the Broncos have competed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
Heading into the 2015 season, the Broncos are projected to finish third in the MAC West Division by Collegiate Baseball, the highest preseason placing under fifth-year head coach Billy Gernon.
Western Michigan finished with a 24-31 record and 11-16 in MAC play, earning the eighth seed in the MAC Tournament a year ago. In the tournament, the Broncos eliminated previous year's tournament champion, Bowling Green, along with the 2014 regular season champion Ball State. It was the first time since 1998 Western Michigan posted two wins in the tournament.
“The way our guys finished and the way we fought and beat the teams that we did, there is no question there is great momentum and determination right now,” said Gernon.
It was a strong season for the WMU pitching staff, posting a 3.89 staff ERA, the lowest for the program since 1993. In MAC play, the Broncos had the second lowest ERA at 3.87. The Brown & Gold led the MAC with a .970 season fielding percentage, ranking second best in program history.
One of the biggest moments last year was the Broncos knocking off No.7 ranked Louisville, 4-2, on the road. It was the first home loss of the season for the Cardinals, who were coming off a College World Series appearance, and was WMU's first win over a top-10 ranked opponent since 2001.
“Each game we play is going to require our day-to-day mental orientated process of being ready to play,” said Gernon. “Everything we are doing prior to MAC play builds confidence and strength to enter the conference because the ultimate goal is to win the league.”
The 2015 Bronco squad features a healthy mix of veteran leadership and youthfulness, returning 16 upperclassmen from a season ago. Of those returning is senior RHP Chad Mayle who was a Second Team All-MAC selection. Mayle (6-5, 2.59 ERA) ended the year with the fifth best ERA in the conference and his 2.12 ERA during conference play was third best in the league, as was his .216 opponent batting average.
“Mayle is devastating to face,” said Gernon. “He is very determined and competitive.”
Another solid piece in the Bronco rotation is sophomore LHP Keegan Akin who is coming off a stellar freshman season in which he went 6-4 with a 3.46 ERA and totaled 62 strikeouts, the most in a single-season by a Bronco freshman since Ethan Hollingsworth struck out 66 in 2006. Akin struck out a team-high 12 batters against Ohio on March 30.
Shoring up the Bronco bullpen is junior RHP Gabe Berman, whose nine saves last year was the third most in a single season at WMU and second most in the MAC. Going into the 2015 season Berman has totaled 14 career saves; third most for a career at WMU, the school record is 16. The trio of Mayle, Akin and Berman were picked as “Top Players to Watch” by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
"Our bullpen has more depth and options this year and Berman is no doubt one of the better closers in the country," said Gernon.
The Brown & Gold will once again have a strong lineup as opposing MAC pitchers will have to deal with three key bats in senior outfielder Jared Kujawa, junior second baseman Kurt Hoekstra and junior catcher Brett Sunde. The three players were also pegged as “Top Players to Watch” by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
Hoekstra finished 2014 with a .297 batting average with 21 RBIs and was tied for the team-lead with sixth round draft pick Andrew Sohn in runs scored with 34. The 6-2 second baseman from Grand Rapids, Mich., registered a 17-game hitting streak in 2014, the sixth longest in WMU history. Sunde was a dual threat catcher hitting .283 at the plate with 35 RBIs along with being one of the best behind the plate, throwing out 18 runners attempting to steal, the most by a Bronco catcher since 2007.
Potentially the most dangerous extra-base hitter in the Western Michigan lineup is Kujawa, who led the MAC with seven triples last season. The seven triples was the third most in a WMU single season and currently ranks second in school history with 13 career triples, needing three triples to break the record.
“Our offense has got a chance to be very good and diverse with speed, average and power,” said Gernon. “I would not be surprised at all to see our team in the top three in hitting.”
WMU will look to add youth to an already veteran squad as the Broncos have 14 underclassmen. Gernon brings in a group of 11 for the 2015 season and it was the second year in a row that WMU's recruiting effort was recognized by Collegiate Baseball, tabbing the class 58th in the country. The ranking was higher than notable programs such as rival Central Michigan, Wake Forest, Ohio State, Creighton and Illinois.
“At the end of the day, we have to go out and perform with competitive maturity as we have a good team but only one team can win this league,” said Gernon. “Our focus is to play Western Michigan baseball and see if we can't grind our way to a championship.”
The 2015 season for the Broncos opens up in Birmingham, Ala., against UAB for a three-game series on Feb. 13-15. Western Michigan plays 18 non-conference games over the first month including for the fourth consecutive year, playing the Detroit Tigers' top prospects team at Joker Marchant Stadium as part of the annual Florida trip. The Broncos host five MAC series with the first beginning against Miami, March 20-22.
