KALAMAZOO, Mich.- No. 7 seed Western Michigan will face No. 2 seed and East Division champion Kent State Wednesday at 1 p.m., in the second game of the day in the 2015 Mid-American Conference Tournament. The tournament is being held at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio, and is double-elimination.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
No. 7 Western Michigan Broncos (21-28, 13-14 MAC)
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Mid-American Conference Tournament
May 20-24 • Avon, Ohio • All Pro Freight Stadium
Wednesday, May 20
Game 1 - No. 3 Ohio vs. No. 6 Bowling Green, 9:30 a.m.
Game 2 - No. 2 Kent State vs. No. 7 Western Michigan, 1:00 p.m.
Game 3 - No. 1 Central Michigan vs. No. 8 Akron, 4:30 p.m.
Game 4 - No. 4 Toledo vs. No. 5 Ball State, 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 21
Game 5 - Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 9:30 a.m.
Game 6 - Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser, 1:00 p.m.
Game 7 - Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 4:30 p.m.
Game 8 - Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 winner, 8:00 p.m.
Twitter: @WMUBaseball
PROJECTED WEDNESDAY STARTERS (WMU vs. KSU)
LHP Derek Schneider (3-4, 4.01 ERA, 55 K) vs. RHP Nick Jensen-Clagg (8-4, 2.92 ERA, 103 K)
Schneider has started 11 games and given five quality starts ... he has thrown 67.1 innings and is holding opponents to a .262 batting average. Last year he started the third game of the MAC Tournament for Western Michigan, a 4-1 elimination game win over No. 1 seed Ball State. Schneider held the Cardinals to three singles and struck out a then career high six batters, allowing one run in the no decision going 4.1 innings. Schneider has twice struck out seven batters this season ... his three wins came over Georgetown, Toledo and Buffalo.
MAC TOURNAMENT UNDER GERNON
Western Michigan is making its fourth trip to the MAC Tournament in five seasons under head coach Billy Gernon, narrowily missing out in 2013 ... the Broncos have won at least one game in each of the previous three trips (over a higher seed) and have a 4-6 record at the tournament under Gernon.
2011 - #7 Seed
W vs. #2 Central Michigan, 9-7
L vs. #3 Miami, 12-2
L vs. #2 Central Michigan, 13-12
2012 - #5 Seed
W vs. #4 Ohio, 4-2
L vs. #1 Kent State, 12-3
L vs. #8 Buffalo, 10-8
2014 - #8 Seed
L vs. #1 Ball State, 5-3
W vs. #5 Bowling Green, 7-4
W vs. #1 Ball State, 4-1
L vs. #4 Kent State, 12-2 (tournament winner)
LAST YEAR'S TOURNAMENT RUN
In the 2014 MAC Tournament, WMU eliminated the defending MAC Tournament Champion Bowling Green (W, 7-4) and the 2014 MAC regular season champion and No. 1 seed Ball State (W, 4-1). It was just the second time ever and first since 1998 Western Michigan posted two wins in the MAC postseason. WMU started the tournament with a 5-3 loss to Ball State before the two elimination game victories and were ultimately knocked out by No. 4 seeded and eventual tournament champion Kent State, a 12-2 loss.
BRONCO BASEBALL LOOKING FOR 15th TITLE
WMU has 14 MAC Championships in school history, its last coming in 1989. All were outside of the tournament format, as the Mid-American Conference did not hold a tournament from 1911-1980 & 1984-1991, during those years, the conference champion was decided based on regular season record. This will be the 13th season WMU has qualified for the MAC Tournament.
THIS YEAR'S NUMBERS
WMU enters the tournament with a .255 team batting average and 4.43 ERA ... during the MAC regular season, the Broncos hit .261 and had a 3.80 ERA. The Broncos finished fourth in the MAC West Division.
BIG BATS IN THE LINEUP
Western Michigan has been solid in the middle of its lineup ... junior second baseman Kurt Hoekstra has the eighth best batting average in the MAC and leads WMU hitting .332 ... he also ranks eighth in the conference in doubles (14) and slugging percentage (.505), second in triples (6) and fifth in total bases (102) ... junior catcher Brett Sunde is batting .280 on the season and leads the MAC with 17 doubles ... senior right fielder Jared Kujawa is hitting .243 and ranks sixth in the conference with 39 RBIs.
KUJAWA AMONG ALL-TIME STATISTICAL LEADERS
Jared Kujawa is WMU's career record holder for career triples with 17, breaking the previous 35-year old program record (15) earlier this season ... Kujawa ranks fourth in career hits (216), fourth in career RBIs (140) and eighth in total bases (308). He has 11 career home runs, including a team-best six this season.
