KALAMAZOO, Mich.– The Western Michigan softball team will host visiting Ball State in their final regular-season three-game Mid-American Conference set this weekend. Play begins with a single game Friday, scheduled to start at 3 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. at Fran Ebert Field and admission is free.
Saturday's doubleheader against the Cardinals will be Senior Day honoring
Erin Binkowski,
Kelsea Cichocki,
Ivy Schaaf and
Abby Stoner. Game two will follow as the Broncos host their annual Alumni Game.
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The Broncos enter the final stretch at 21-26 overall and 9-12 in the MAC after winning five of their last seven games. Last weekend Western Michigan defeated Toledo on the road in the series finale 9-4 to win the weekend's three-game MAC series two games to one before falling on the road to Michigan, the No. 19 ranked team in the nation, on Tuesday, May 2.
The Cardinals are 29-24 overall and 13-8 in the MAC and currently sit in third place in the MAC West Division behind Central Michigan and Northern Illinois. Ball State looks to get back in the win column this weekend having lost their last four outings including three straight losses on the road at Central Michigan last weekend.
The Brown & Gold offense is hitting .294 as a team, good for first in the MAC, compared to the Cardinals who are hitting .264. Western Michigan has a 3.18 ERA while the Ball State staff has an ERA of 2.92.
Junior outfielder
Aspen Williams looks to remain hot this weekend after batting .750 (6-for-8) with two home runs, four RBIs, five runs scored, two walks, a HBP, and a sac hit, helping the Broncos take two games in Toledo. Williams had a 1.500 slugging percentage and a .750 on-base percentage and collected a hit every game in the series. The left hander did not strike out in 12 plate appearances and raised her batting average up from .255 to .289.
Third baseman Cichocki comes into the weekend ranked No. 43 in the nation with a .411 batting average, good for first in the MAC. The senior is second in the conference for RBIs (42/1.3 per game), total bases (99/2.15 per game) and on-base percentage (.471) and third in slugging percentage (.678). Three other players are also batting over .300 for the Broncos. Freshman
Mackenzie Swinehart is hitting .383, center fielder Schaaf is batting .327 and ranks sixth in the MAC in runs scored per game with a total of 37 runs in 47 games followed by redshirt junior
Marlee Wilson who is hitting .326 this season. WMU has 30 round-trippers as a team led by three Broncos including Cichocki (8), Stoner (8) and Williams (6).
Sophomore pitcher
Jordan Kurth has nine wins this season, making 27 appearances and 18 starts. The lefty leads the Broncos pitching staff with a 2.98 ERA over 119.2 innings. Junior
Anissa Sanchez has seven wins over 104.2 innings this season. Sanchez went 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA over two starts last weekend, helping the Broncos pick up the weekend series win. She fired a complete-game in game one of the series, allowing just one run which was unearned in a 5-1 victory. She struck out two and held the Rockets to a .241 batting average. Sanchez came back to earn the win in game three on Saturday, throwing five innings and striking out three. Junior transfer
Holly VanTilburg helps on the mound for the Broncos as well holding a 3.34 ERA and a 5-3 overall record.
Following the series with Ball State, Western Michigan concludes the regular season. If the Broncos qualify for the MAC tournament, play begins Wednesday, May 10 at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio. The top eight teams in the MAC earn spots in the conference tournament.
