KALAMAZOO, Mich. - For the second-straight day Western Michigan defeated Northern Illinois in its final at bat as Courtney Rousseau launched the first pitch she saw in the bottom of the ninth over the left field wall for the Broncos' 7-6 win at Fran Ebert Field on Sunday afternoon.
Both teams utilized the long ball on Sunday as WMU and NIU each had multiple home run games. Tara Buchanan struck first in the bottom the sixth inning to give the Broncos a 4-1 lead. Allie Carlson reached on a fielding error by Dani Parrish in center field and advanced to second on the play. Meredith Whitney tied the game with an RBI base hit to right field, advancing to second on the throw. NIU attempted to throw out pinch runner Courtney Burnett at the plate but she slid outside of the tag for the score.
Lexi Jager, who was 2-for-4 on the day, recorded her third triple of the season to score Whitney and give WMU a 2-1 lead. Buchanan homered for the second game in a row, giving her a team-best seven on the season and giving the Broncos a 4-1 lead.
WMU extended that lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth when pinch hitter Kayla Turner registered her first hit of the season to scored pinch runner Bri Russell from third base. The Huskies plated a run in the top of the sixth to cut WMU's lead to 5-2 and then placed two more runners on base, setting the table for Parrish's fourth home run of the season, tying the game at five runs apiece on a monstrous shot to right field.
The Broncos grabbed the lead back in the bottom of the sixth on back-to-back doubles. Carlson led off with a double to left field and Michelle Bendewald followed with a double to approximately the same location to plate Carlson. Zoe Sinner answered back with her fourth home run of the year in the top of the seventh, the only hit given up by Whitney in her relief appearance.
Western Michigan had an opportunity to end the game in regulation but pinch runner Christina Pigozzi was tagged out at home. Both teams went quietly in the eighth inning with Jager's base hit to left field serving as the only hit. WMU did have a pair of base runners in the eighth but Gracie Barstad, who was the only other Bronco to record a pair of hits on Sunday with a 2-for-3 performance, flied out to end the threat when Sinner dove for the catch in right field.
Whitney, now 10-11 on the season and 9-3 in Mid-American Conference games, sat down NIU in order in the top of the ninth, setting the stage for Rousseau in the home half of the inning.
WMU closes out its non-conference slate with a make up game at Michigan State at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 4, before heading to Ball State (May 6) and Miami (May 7-8) to close out the regular season.
Rousseau's Walk-Off HR
WMU vs. NIU Photo Gallery
