AVON, OH – The pitcher’s mound dogpile kicked off the party in style with jeers and cheers.
But the full-on celebration after a memorably dominant weekend culminating in a trophy?
That, in totality, will be timeless.
After storming through this week’s Mid-American Conference Tournament, Western Michigan baseball reached its pinnacle with a 10-3 triumph over Ball State in the championship game – which sealed the Broncos’ second-ever conference title, and the first since 2016.
As tournament champs, WMU (32-21) earns an automatic berth into the 2024 NCAA Division-I Tournament, with the schedule slated to drop on Monday at noon on ESPN2.
Saturday’s commanding victory put the finishing touches on a downright dominant WMU weekend, one in which the Broncos’ pitching staff tossed a pair of shutouts, limited its opponents to just three total runs and a measly .179 batting average, while also amassing 30 strikeouts to just three walks across three games.
The Broncos’ impressive pitching staff was firing on all cylinders once again on Saturday, as the combination of DJ Thompson, Joe Shapiro, Turner Doran and Luke Thelen danced around 10 Ball State hits and allowed just three runs – highlighted by Shapiro’s four strikeouts and three scoreless frames to earn the victory in relief.
That allowed the offense to stack runs early, including a pair of three-run innings in the first and fourth, while Mattawan native Josh Swinehart’s solo home run down the left field line was an exclamation point in the fourth inning.
Swinehart finished with three hits and two RBI, and Michael Maloney, Greg Budig, Brendan Harrity and Grady Mee notched RBI hits –– all summing to 15 WMU hits on the evening.
Western Michigan outscored its opponents 29-3 over their three games in the tournament, including two victories over third-seeded Ball State (8-0, 10-3) and a shutout win over No. 1 seed Bowling Green (11-0).
WMU outfielder Dylan Nevar was honored as the MAC Tournament MVP, as the junior hit a sweltering .462 (6-for-13) with an on-base percentage of .588, driving in five runs and adding four runs scored.
Nevar was just one of five Broncos named to the All-Tournament team, which also included Sullivan, Swinehart, Brady Miller and Nolan Vlcek. Sullivan and Swinehart drove in four runs each, while Miller and Vlcek each spun stellar seven-inning shutouts in WMU’s first two victories of the tournament.
The Broncos’ title-clinching and 32nd win of the season is the most since the program’s 1993 team won 35 games –– and marks the 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in Broncos history.