AKRON, Ohio (Interstat) — Sam Carlisle delivered a dominant six-inning start and the Western Michigan bullpen completed a one-hit shutout over the final eight frames as the Broncos defeated Akron 4-1 in a Mid-American Conference baseball game Saturday at InfoCision Stadium.

The game, played before an announced crowd of 103, was a stark pitching duel for eight innings before Western Michigan broke it open with a three-run ninth.

Carlisle, the top star for Western Michigan, was the story through the middle innings. After the Zips scored their lone run in the first inning, the right-hander was nearly untouchable. He allowed just one hit — a first-inning single to Gabe Mathison — and one earned run over six innings of work, walking one and striking out four. He retired the final 11 batters he faced, handing a 4-1 lead to the bullpen.

Adam Lehmann and Turner Doran preserved the slim margin with perfect relief. Lehmann struck out two over two hitless innings and Doran worked a scoreless ninth, inducing a game-ending double play.

Their work was necessary because Akron starter Elijah Griffith was equally effective for seven innings. Griffith held the Broncos scoreless on five hits, striking out four and walking one. The only run he allowed was unearned, coming home on a passed ball in the sixth inning.

That run gave Western Michigan a 2-1 lead. The Broncos had struck first in the opening inning, manufacturing a run without a hit. They loaded the bases and scored on a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice fly from Nolan Zajac for an early 1-0 advantage.

Akron answered immediately in the bottom of the first. Mathison singled, stole second, advanced to third on a flyout and scored on Brennan Morgan’s RBI single to right field. That would be the Zips’ final hit of the game.

The contest remained a tense 2-1 affair until the top of the ninth, when Western Michigan finally broke through against the Akron bullpen. Facing reliever Taylor Bednar, the Broncos loaded the bases with one out. Zajac then drove an RBI single through the middle to score one run. Tanner Mally was hit by a pitch to force in another, and Drew Howard followed with an RBI single through the right side to cap the three-run rally and provide the final margin.

Mally was a catalyst for Western Michigan all afternoon, going a perfect 4 for 4 at the plate with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Zajac finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs.

The most important part of the game was Carlisle’s response after the first inning. Following Morgan’s tying RBI single, Carlisle shut down the Zips’ offense completely, allowing his team to cling to a narrow lead until the late insurance runs arrived.

With the win, Western Michigan improved to 6-7 overall and secured the series victory after winning the opener 4-3 on Friday. Akron fell to 6-9. The teams conclude the three-game series Sunday afternoon.

The result defied the pregame projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had predicted a 6-4 Akron victory, though the organization’s ELO system had given Western Michigan a 63.30 percent probability to win.