The Broncos let the Spartans know early they came to play with a six-run first inning, and after a see-saw offensive slugfest, it was the door-mat Broncos — not the first-place Spartans — who came away with the win.

Western Michigan right fielder Tim Cross hit a game-winning double in the bottom of the ninth to break a 10-10 tie, giving the Broncos a 11-10 win and MSU its first two-game losing of the season.

“It stings real bad,” junior first baseman Jeff Holm said.

“I don’t know what our thinking was coming in here. I guess we underestimated them and didn’t give our best effort.”

The runs came in early and often for both teams as MSU (22-7 overall, 4-2 Big Ten) scored two runs in the top of the first inning.

Western Michigan (7-24, 1-8 MAC) stormed back with six in the bottom half of the inning, as the Broncos batted through the order against MSU freshman pitcher Andrew Waszak.

“I don’t know if (Waszak) walked out there being over-confident or just not ready to pitch, but he just wasn’t very good today,” MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said.

Despite Western Michigan’s offensive burst in the first, Holm said he and the team had confidence they could come back.

Taking advantage of two crucial Western Michigan errors, the Spartans did just that, regaining the lead by scoring seven runs the next two innings to go up 9-7 heading into the fourth.

But Western Michigan’s Chris Lewis hit solo home runs in the second and fourth innings, as the Broncos regained the lead, 10-9, after five innings.

The Spartans manufactured the tying run in the top of the sixth on a double by Holm and three walks.

After the offensive fireworks seen throughout the first five-and-a-half innings, pitchers for both sides found a groove.

MSU sophomore left-hander Trey Popp entered the game in the sixth, retiring nine of the 11 batters he faced through three innings.

“You just got to come in and throw strikes,” Popp said. “When you come in and keep the ball down good things happen and you get ground balls.”

Likewise, a combined effort by Western Michigan sophomore pitchers Casey Hall and Troy Forton kept MSU from
scoring in the final three innings.

Lewis led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, and Boss brought in senior closer Kurtis Frymier.

Frymier induced a ground ball from Western Michigan’s Kyle Galbraith that got Lewis out at second, but Galbraith reached first on the fielder’s choice. Cross followed with his game-winning double to end the game.

Forton (1-3) earned the win for the Broncos, while Popp (2-1) took the loss.

At the plate, Holm and junior shortstop Jonathan Roof each recorded three hits, and Roof drove in three runs.

With a weekend series against defending Big Ten Champions Ohio State — and a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament — looking with his team, Boss said the Spartans needs
to win games like Wednesday’s.

“If we’re going to make some noise in our conference and have a chance to play for an
at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, that’s what you got to do,” Boss said.

“(Wednesday) our guys didn’t answer the bell.”