KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan baseball head coach Billy Gernon announced the 2019 schedule on Friday with 15 home games at Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field along with a match-up against Michigan State at Comerica Park on Tuesday, April 2.
The Broncos will once again have a full slate of games at home with Mid-American Conference series against Ball State, Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan and Ohio. WMU also welcomes Chicago State, Grace and Valparaiso in mid-week match-ups. The home opener against Chicago State is set for March 12.
Western Michigan begins the season with a three-game series at Southeast Missouri State, Feb. 15-17. The RedHawks last season went 20-10 in the Ohio Valley Conference and claimed the No.2 seed in the conference tournament.
The second weekend of the season takes the Broncos to the Music City for the Mule Mix Classic in Nashville, Tenn. The Brown & Gold will play four games in four days beginning on Thursday, Feb. 21 with contests against Belmont, Austin Peay, Middle Tennessee State and Lipscomb.
WMU will take its annual trip down to Florida, March 1-9 beginning with a three-game series against NCAA Tournament participant South Florida, March 1-3. The Bulls last season went 36-22 and earned the No.2 seed in the DeLand Regional of the NCAA Tournament. In the tournament, USF defeated Hartford before falling to Oklahoma State.
The Broncos will continue their stay in the sunshine state by participating in the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. against Saint Bonaventure, Villanova and Georgetown. WMU closes out the trip with a three-game series at North Florida, March 8-9.
Returning from Florida, the Broncos will host Chicago State in its home opener March 12 before traveling to Indianapolis, Ind. for a series against Butler. WMU stays on the road for a match-up with Big Ten Conference foe Michigan on March 19 before opening MAC play at home, March 22-24 versus Ball State.
Along with Michigan, WMU will square off with Michigan State twice in mid-week action. The two teams will meet in East Lansing on March 27 before heading to Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers to square off on April 2. WMU and MSU last played at Comerica Park in 2017.
WMU’s mid-week schedule also consists of games against ACC opponents Notre Dame (April 10) and Pittsburgh (May 7). WMU will entertain Valparaiso in a home-and-home series with the Broncos traveling to Valpo on April 16 before hosting the Crusaders on May 1.
The Broncos will play five conference series on the road starting with Toledo (Mar. 29-31) and defending MAC Tournament champion Kent State (April 5-7). After opening up MAC play at home against Ball State, WMU hosts Northern Illinois in its second MAC weekend, April 12-13.
In the final month of the season the Broncos have seven homes including two MAC series against Eastern Michigan (May 3-5) and Ohio (May 16-18). The MAC Tournament is set for May 22-26 in Avon, Ohio at Sprenger Stadium. Gernon has led his squad to the tournament in six of his eight seasons and won the school’s only tournament title back in 2016.
The top six teams make the tournament with the top two seeds earning a first-round bye.
Last season the Broncos finished with an overall record of 23-25 and 12-13 in conference play. It was the fifth straight season WMU has recorded at least 20 wins and fifth straight year registering double-digit conference wins. At the plate the Brown & Gold will be led by senior Nate Grys who was named Second Team All-MAC in 2017. Grys led the Broncos in doubles (14), triples (2), home runs (10), RBIs (48), total bases (96) and slugging percentage (.611).
