Softball | April 12, 2018

KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Western Michigan softball team heads to Muncie, Ind., for a three-game Mid-American Conference series against West Division opponent Ball State this weekend. The Broncos and Cardinals will play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 1 p.m. and conclude the series on Saturday with a single game at 1 p.m.

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BRONCOS SPLIT MIDWEEK DH AT CMU
Western Michigan split a doubleheader at Central Michigan on Wednesday, dropping game one 6-2 and bouncing back with a 4-1 victory in game two. Freshman Reily Galloway allowed just one run over 10 innings pitched over the two games, throwing 3.0 shutout inning of relief in a no decision in game one and earning a complete-game victory in game two, striking out four. Junior Brooke Wyman hit her fourth home run of the season in game two and freshman Samantha Coffel went 2-for-4 with an RBI double and an RBI single.

AT THE PLATE
The Broncos enter the weekend with a 20-17 overall, 7-5 MAC record. WMU is batting .297 in all games combined this season and .311 in MAC play. Freshman Samantha Coffel leads the Broncos with a .375 batting average and is hitting .475 in MAC games. Three other players are hitting .350 or better in conference contests. Coffel also leads the team with 26 RBIs and 12 doubles on the season. Senior Aspen Williams has a team-best nine home runs and is one shy of 20 career home runs.

IN THE CIRCLE
The Broncos pitching staff has a 3.75 ERA for the year and a 3.11 ERA against conference opponents. Freshman Reily Galloway has a 3-1 record with a 1.40 ERA over 25 innings pitched. Junior Jordan Kurth has a 7-3 record with a 3.80 ERA and leads the team with 66 strikeouts and 70.0 IP. Three other Broncos, freshman Sydney Stefanick, senior Holly VanTilburg and senior Anissa Sanchez have all made at least 13 appearances each in the pitcher's circle.

SCOUTING BALL STATE
Ball State has a 26-12 overall record and is in second place in the MAC West with a 8-3 record.The Cardinals are batting .300 as a team with a total of 228 runs scored off 305 hits. Dominique Haley has the highest batting average for the Cardinals with a .403 average. Haley also leads the team in runs scored (38) and hits (50). Ball State has a team ERA of 2.65 with Aeshia Miles leading the pitching staff with a 13-6 record with 115 strikeouts through 123.2 innings of work.

LOOKING AHEAD
WMU is on the road at Notre Dame on Tuesday, April 17 for a 5 p.m. matchup. The Broncos return to Kalamazoo April 20 & 21 for a three-game MAC series against Toledo. The annual StrikeOut Cancer games will be held on April 21 vs. Toledo, with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. WMU Softball will collect donations during the doubleheader and special uniforms will be auctioned off to raise money in an effort to support Bronson Children's Hospital. All proceeds will be go to Bronson Children's Hospital.