May 12, 2000
KALAMAZOO -- The WMU baseball team won for the fourth time in six tries against a Big 10 foe with an 11-5 victory over Michigan State on Thursday (May 11) at Hyames Field.
Western Michigan improved to 25-24 with the victory. WMU is 9-15 in Mid-American Conference play and hosts Toledo (6-18 MAC) on Saturday (May 13) and Sunday (May 14) in a crucial four-game series. The Broncos trail Northern Illinois by one game in the race for the final playoff spot in the MAC West Division. NIU (9-13 MAC) plays a four-game set at MAC West leader Central Michigan (16-6 MAC) this weekend.
Mike Scott and Ryan Kochen both knocked in three runs on the day. Scott slugged a bases-loaded double in the sixth inning to score three and cap off WMU's four-run inning. Kochen's double in the first inning scored Tim Bellestri with the Broncos' first run of the day. Kochen scored twice and had two hits in four trips to the plate. Scott was 2-5 and scored once in addition to his three RBI.
Western Michigan trailed 3-2 after one inning but erased that deficit by scoring four times in the fourth. Andy Cosentino drew a bases-loaded walk, Bellestri added a sacrifice fly, and Kochen singled in a pair of runs to fuel the rally. Bellestri finished the day 2-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Joe Seestadt blasted his sixth home run of the year in the fifth, a solo shot that landed on Stadium Drive. Jason Richards was 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI. The junior narrowly missed extending his home run streak to four games with a fifth-inning shot that missed clearing the fence in left by a few inches.
Four pitchers combined to hold MSU to seven hits. Senior Andy Spencer earned the win. He pitched 4-1/3 innings, allowing three hits and five runs. Spencer fanned one batter. Shawn Morrison, Dan Skryd, and Matt Vriesenga also saw action on the hill. Vriesenga pitched the final inning, fanning two batters.
The Broncos swept two games from Michigan this season and posted a 1-1 mark against Illinois. WMU fell to Ohio State duringn its spring trip.
Media contact: Geoff Brown; 616 387-4138; geoffrey.brown@wmich.edu
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