Under Armour Invitational Information Page
WMU vs. UAB Game Stats
WMU vs. Quinnipiac Game Stats
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Western Michigan dropped a 5-3 decision to UAB in extra innings but bounced back to shut out Quinnipiac, 5-0, in the nightcap to improve to 3-1 in the tournament heading into the Broncos' final game of the event against Rutgers on Sunday at 11 a.m. Gracie Barstad went 4-for-7 at the plate on Saturday with three RBIs.
Diana Patterson earned her first career win and did so in a big way, working 7.0 innings and allowing just one hit, striking out eight batters on 80 pitches.
The Broncos scored their first run in the third inning when Barstad scored on a wild pitch after reaching base on a walk. WMU's next two runs came in the sixth. Lexi Jager scored the first on a Barstad single after reaching on a fielder's choice. The second came on a bases loaded walk for Meredith Whitney to score Courtney Rousseau who singled earlier in the inning.
Western Michigan added two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh when Barstad again scored Jager on a base hit and Kayla Turner drove in the first run of her career with a single to left field.
Despite the continued hot hitting of Barstad and Jager, Western Michigan was not able to hold a 3-0 against UAB earlier in the day. Barstad went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, while Jager was 3-for-4 at the plate with a triple, two runs scored and an RBI.
WMU opened the scoring in the home half of the first on Jager's triple, which turned into a round tripper as the junior scored on the throw from the outfield. In the third Jenn Tschetter drew a walk followe by Jager's single. Rousseau reached on a fielder's choice and both she and Jager scored on Barstad's double.
Whitney held the lead for Western Michigan until the top of the fifth when UAB scored on a bases loaded walk and a two-RBI single. Whitney struck out eight batters and allowed three earned runs in 139 pitches.
Neither team could decide the game in regulation and for the second time at the Under Armour Invitational, WMU played extra innings. This time it was the opponent that gained the upper hand, scoring two runs in the top of the eighth on a base hit up the middle.
Along with Barstad and Jager, Rousseau and Michelle Bendewald also had multi-hit games against UAB, each going 2-for-4 at the plate.
Western Michigan closes out the Under Armour Invitational, currently standing at 3-1, against Rutgers on Sunday at 11 a.m.
