Game Stats vs. Villanova
Game Stats vs. St. Bonaventure
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Western Michigan softball fell to Villanova, 7-2, in the last game of
pool play at the Under Armour Invitational hosted by South Florida on
Saturday morning. The Broncos bounced back with a 5-0 shut out win
over St. Bonaventure of Meredith Whitney's one-hitter.
Western Michigan collected seven hits for five runs to claim its second win of the invitational thanks to two-hit performances from Lexi Jager and Gracie Barstad. Each also collected an RBI each. The Broncos scored a pair of runs by stealing home as Jager added to more stolen bases to her season total.
Whitney worked her fifth complete game of the season and recorded her third shut out of her rookie campaign, allowing just one hit, while fanning nine batters to bring her season total to 57.
The Broncos were helped in the morning in a rematch against Villanova by a home run from Jager, the seventh of her young career, and a 3-for-4 peformance at the plate by Whitney, but WMU could not hold off the Wildcats' offense in a five-run loss. Villanova opened the game with a three-run first inning on the strength of back-to-back hits. The first was an RBI single from Meghan Morese followed by a two-run home run off the bat of Eryn Teague.
Jager's second blast of the 2009 season came in the bottom of the first to lead off the game for the Broncos. Whitney doubled, her second of the season, and Gracie Barstad drew a walk two batters later but WMU could not plate either run to head into the second inning, down 3-1.
Western Michigan cut the Villanova lead to one run in the bottom of the third inning when Amanda McBride led off the frame with a ground-rule double. Whitney followed with an RBI single. Lauren Fuller earned a base on balls but again the Broncos left two stranded. In all, WMU left nine runners on base.
The Wildcats plated two more runs in the fourth and again in the top of the sixth to give Villanova it's margin of victory and drop WMU to 1-2 heading into Saturday afternoon's bracket play where the Broncos took the field against St. Bonaventure. The Broncos face Virginia Tech 10 a.m. on Sunday.
