KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Freshmen pitchers Peyton Gray and Jacob Piechota were impressive on the mound, combining to hold Valparaiso to just five hits in a 6-1 Western Michigan victory Tuesday.

Gray started on the hill and went four innings, scattering four hits and one run while striking out one. Piechota (2-1) shut out the Crusaders over the final five innings to earn the win, his second of the season.

Piechota at one point retired 11 straight batters and only allowed one hit over the five frames. He gave up a walk to the first batter he faced in the top of the fifth and did not surrender a hit - a single through the left side - until the top of the ninth. He struck out two in the outing.

Senior right fielder Jared Kujawa put the game away for the Broncos in the bottom of the eighth. WMU held a 3-1 lead and with two outs and two on, Kujawa blasted a three-run shot out over the fence in right field for his fifth home run of the season.

Valparaiso briefly led 1-0 after scoring a run in the top of the third, but WMU plated two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Jeff Edwards singled for the Crusaders and stole second. Edwards was initially called out on the slide into second for the third out of the inning, but the call was reversed. Nolan Lodden drove in the run with a double over the head of WMU's Tanner Allison in left field.

Allison and Mitchell Ho hit back-to-back singles to lead off the Bronco at bat in the third. Drew Farmer put down a sac bunt and pinch runner Beau Filkins scored on an RBI single by Grant Miller. Nick Vogelmeier scored Ho from third on a sacrifice squeeze.

WMU's third run of the game also came via a squeeze bunt. Farmer led off the eighth with a single and Miller drew a walk. Farmer moved to third on a flyout and scored as Kurt Hoekstra dropped a well-placed bunt for a single.

Kujawa and Hoekstra each finished with two hits in the game. Miller went 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch for the 17th time this season, setting a new school record. The previous single-season HBP record (16) was set by Andrew Sohn last season.

Drew Hasler (0-1) took the loss on the mound for Valpo, allowing two runs and five hits over five innings. The defeat snapped a three-game winning streak for the Crusaders (13-18).

Western Michigan (13-18) is on the road for its next five games. The Broncos play at Oakland tomorrow, a 3 p.m. first pitch to be aired on ESPN3. WMU heads to Bowling Green for a three-game Mid-American Conference series this weekend and plays Akron in a non-conference single game meeting April 21 in Avon, Ohio.