AKRON, Ohio– The No. 8 seeded Western Michigan softball team upset the No. 1 seeded Central Michigan Chippewas in the Mid-American Conference Tournament 3-1 Wednesday afternoon at Firestone Stadium. The Broncos were propelled by a two-run home run by senior
Abby Stoner in the top of the sixth.
The Broncos improved to 24-27 overall winning eight of their last 11 games and will face No. 4 Kent State on Thursday, May 11 at 1 p.m. in the winner's bracket.
This is the second time this season that a Western Michigan women's team has knocked off Central Michigan as the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. The WMU women's basketball team also pulled off the upset as the No. 8 seed, defeating the Chippewas, 67-63, in March.
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Central Michigan jumped on the board in the bottom of the first off a single through the middle. WMU starting pitcher
Anissa Sanchez delivered the final two outs of the inning with a pair of infield ground balls to stop the Chippewas from adding to their total.
The game was a pitcher's duel through the next three innings as Central Michigan's MAC Pitcher of the Year, Rachel Knapp struck out six Broncos and Sanchez gave up just one hit.
With a runner on first in the top of the fourth, WMU sophomore second baseman
Erin Barg made a great diving stop on the right side to stop the Central Michigan threat.
The Broncos broke through against Knapp in the bottom of the fifth when junior left fielder
Aspen Williams hit a shallow outfield single to left. With the bases loaded, Barg delivered offensively with a rip up the middle, driving in Williams for the game-tying run.
Stoner provided the eventual game-winning heroics in the sixth when she stepped to the plate and smashed a one-out, two-run home run over the center field wall. It was her ninth of the season and 17th career in just two years in a Bronco uniform.
The Chippewas placed a runner in scoring position in the sixth after a leadoff single, but Sanchez would continue her strong performance retiring three straight batters to get out of the inning. Sanchez retired the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh with a pop up to third and a strikeout, looking. A pair of two out-singles and an advancement on a throw put runners at second and third with the winning run at the plate for CMU. Sanchez was again cool under the pressure, getting pinch hitter Sydney Heath to hit into a ground ball. WMU shortstop
Brooke Wyman fielded it cleanly and flipped the ball over to third baseman
Kelsea Cichocki who applied the tag at the base for the game-ending out.
Sanchez fired a complete game for Western Michigan as her final line read five hits, one run and two strikeouts. With the win, the junior improved her record to 9-7 overall this season.
Barg, Stoner, Williams and Wyman each went 1-for-3 against Knapp, who also allowed two walks. WMU's victory over CMU was its first of the season after the Chippewas swept all three games of the regular-season meetings (9-0, 1-0, 10-2).
