WMU vs. Akron Game Stats

AKRON, Ohio - Western Michigan softball bounced back from Friday's series sweep at Ohio to defeat Akron, 5-4 at Lee R. Jackson Field on Saturday.  The win gives the Broncos their first road win of the 2010 season and snaps a five-game skid.  Gracie Barstad and Meghan Thomas each had multi-hit and multi-RBI days with Thomas bashing her first home run of the season in the top of the fourth.

Western Michigan's bats woke up against the Zips as the Broncos scored five runs in the first five innings to take a 5-0 lead.  WMU's breakout inning came in the fifth when the team brought three runs across home plate.  Courtney Rousseau led off the inning by reaching on an error.  Michelle Bendewald sacrificed her over to second on a bunt.  Rousseau advanced to third on a Sarah Thomas base hit and scored on Barstad's sacrifice fly.

Starting pitcher Meredith Whitney also reached on an error as did Meghan Thomas, which allowed both Whitney and sister Sarah to score on the play.  Meghan also hit her first home run of the season and fifth of her career to lead off the top of the fourth.  It was the first home run for Western Michigan since Barstad's two-run home run against Notre Dame on March 18.

Meghan finished the game with three RBIs, going 1-for-3 at the plate with a run scored, while Barstad had her second-straight multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Akron mounted a comeback in the bottom of the sixth, scoring three runs to pull to within two of the Broncos.  The Zips sandwiched a double and base hit around a batter getting hit by a pitch for their first run of the game.  The next batter reached on a throwing error to score the second run of the inning and the third and final tally crossed the plate on a wild pitch.  Akron loaded the bases on another hit batter but Whitney managed to get the last two outs, forcing a ground out and ending the frame on her seventh strikeout of the game.

Diana Patterson came into the game in relief of Whitney, looking for the first save of her young career and the first save of the season for Western Michigan.  After forcing the lead off batter to ground out, she gave up a double to right center field and a single to right field sandwiched around a strikeout.  The two-out base hit scored Akron's fourth run of the game.  She earned the save and the Broncos' second league win one batter later.

Western Michigan and Akron will conclude its two-game series on Sunday with first pitch at Lee R. Jackson Field scheduled for 1 p.m.