No. 7 Western Michigan Broncos (18-31, 11-13 MAC)
vs. No. 2 Ball State Cardinals (32-24, 15-9 MAC)
Wednesday, May 25, 1 p.m.
Avon, Ohio (All-Pro Freight Stadium)
If WMU wins, they will play Thursday, May 26 at 4:30 p.m. vs. winner of Miami/Central Michigan. If WMU loses, they will play Thursday, May 27 at 9:30 a.m. vs. loser of Miami/Central Michigan.
FINISHING THE SEASON STRONG
The Broncos will enter the MAC Tournament at 18-31 overall and ended the MAC season at 11-13. WMU won four of its last five MAC series' to end the season, but dropped the final series of the season to Central Michigan, making it the first time in over a month the team has lost two games in a row. Since starting the MAC 1-7, the Broncos have gone 10-6 to close out the season in conference play.
ON THE MOUND
Junior Keegan Akin has been a beast on the mound for WMU, leading the team in innings (91.1), ERA (1.68), complete games (2), strikeouts (113), opposing batting average (.196) and is second in wins (5). He finished eighth in the nation in strikeouts and 13th in ERA. Sophomore relievers Jake Bartels and Jacob Piechota have been solid as of late, as Bartels leads the team with five saves and has allowed just one earned run in his last 10.2 innings while Piechota has allowed just two earned runs in his last 17.0 innings pitched and leads the team in wins (9).
AT THE PLATE
As a team, the Broncos are hitting .274 but jumped that average up to .292 in MAC play. Freshman Connor Smith, who leads the team in batting average at .335, finished second in MAC play in batting average at .441. Senior Hunter Prince finished fourth in the MAC in hitting at .396 and has had five multiple hit games in the middle of his current eight-game hitting streak. Junior Grant Miller finished the season batting .314 and led the team in RBI (31) while tying the team lead in triples (2) and finishing second in doubles (9).
RECORD BREAKERS
A number of records were broken by the 2016 version of the Broncos, including Keegan Akin breaking the single season strikeout record set by Pat Misch in 2001. Akin also moved into third place all-time in career strikeouts (250) and fifth place all-time in career innings pitched (260.2). Grant Miller had a 19-game hitting streak earlier this season, which was good for fourth best all-time. He also now holds the career hit by pitch record (41) while Hunter Prince is tied for 10th place in career doubles (38). Senior Derek Schneider has the fourth most appearances in a career (75) and is now tied for 14th in career strikeouts (168). Kyle Mallwitz set the single season appearance record (30) while Jacob Piechota tied for fifth for most wins in a season (9) and tied for the fifth most appearances in a season (25).
WMU IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT
The Broncos are 9-26 all-time in the MAC Tournament but have won at least one game in their last four trips (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015). Under head coach Billy Gernon, the Broncos have made the MAC Tournament field in five of his six years and only two other teams have made it more times in that span. In 2014, the Broncos knocked out No. 1 seeded Ball State in a 4-1 ball game. Senior Derek Schneider pitched the first complete-game shutout in WMU MAC Tournament history last season, defeating No. 2 Kent State 5-0 in the process.
Follow the Broncos on Twitter @WMUBaseball for all updates about the team!
