2006 MAC Softball Tournament Central
MIDLAND, Mich. - Western Michigan enters the 2006 Mid-American Conference Tournament as the top seed for the first time since 1984. The Broncos are in search of their second tournament title under head coach Kathy Leitke.
Broncos in the MAC Tourney - This season marks the ninth time Western Michigan will participate in the season-ending Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Broncos are 17-12 in tournament action (.586), have made the championship game five times and walked away with the title on two occasions. WMU has entered the tournament as the regular season champion twice and has ended the tournament with the hardware once.
Path to a Championship - WMU's last tournament title came in 2003. The Broncos opened the MAC Tournament as the second seed. In the opening round, Western Michigan took care of sixth-seeded Miami, 2-1. In the second round, the Brown & Gold took care of top-seeded Marshall, 7-5. The Redhawks battled back from their first round loss to the Broncos and met up with Western Michigan in the championship game. WMU prevailed again, 4-0, to claim the title.
Bring On the Bobcats - Western Michigan will face a familiar foe in the first round of this year's tournament. WMU takes the field against eighth-seed Ohio at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening at Currie Stadium. The Bobcats and Broncos just played a two-game series in Athens, Ohio, to end the month of April. The Brown & Gold came awayt with two one-run victories, taking the opener, 1-0, and the night-cap, 5-4. Krysten Shumaker threw a one-hitter to allow WMU's lone run hold in game one. Kyla Sullivan earned the start in game two and Tricia VanDerSlik picked her fourth win of the year as the Broncos outlasted Ohio to earn the series sweep.
Records Were Made to Be ... - Shumaker and Kristi Strange are on the cusp of breaking a pair of very significant team and conference records, respectively. Shumaker is now only the second Bronco to notch 200 or more strike outs in a season (202) and is 35 K's from eclipsing Laura Stewart's mark of 236 set in 2004. Strange is tied for the MAC record for doubles in a season with Ohio's Margo Ruther (1995).
Strange has either led the nation or ranked second the entire season. Her best season for two-baggers heading into 2006 was her freshman campaign when she drove eight doubles in 2004 en route to being named MAC Freshman of the Year.
Let the Games Begin - The 2006 MAC Softball Tournament officially gets underway on May 10 with an opening round game between (3) Bowling Green) and (6) Akron at 11 a.m. MAC East Champion Kent State earned the second seed and drew (7) Northern Illinois at 1:30 p.m. Central Michigan, the 2002 tournament champion, is this year's fourth-seed and will face (5) Eastern Michigan at 5 p.m. The Broncos and Bobcats end day one with their showdown at 7:30 p.m.
We're Talkin' About Practice - Western Michigan will have its first practice at Currie Stadium on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Each team will have the opportunity to take the field the day before the tournament opens. The practice schedule for each team will be dependent on game times on each subsequent day of the tournament.
Tournament Changes - In the event that game times are changed due to weather, please click the 2006 MAC Softball Tournament Central link at the top of this page, check back to www.wmu.broncos.com or the official site of the Mid-American Conference, www.mac-sports.com. For more information, please contact Brett McWethy at 269-492-2434 or via e-mail at bmcwethy@mac-sports.com.
