DeKALB, Ill. - Allyson Kus earned her second win in as many starts this weekend as WMU defeated BGSU, 1-0, to open Sunday's doubleheader. The Falcons salvaged a split in the series with a 7-4 win in game two as the Broncos went 2-2 to open the 2014 Mid-American Conference season.
Kus earned her second shutout of the season, working her 15th complete game of 2014, as she shut down Bowling Green's offense in WMU's 1-0 victory on Sunday morning. The sophomore allowed just four hits against the Falcons and did not issue one free pass against four strikeouts. Kus opened the weekend by giving up just one earned run against Toledo. In two starts, 14.0 innings of work, she had an ERA of 0.50 and a WHIP of 1.14.
Offensively, Western Michigan needed just an RBI on a Kelsea Cichocki fielder's choice in the top of the third inning to post its second conference win of the year. Melissa Palmer led of the inning with a base hit to center field, advancing to second base on an illegal pitch. Ivy Schaaf sacrificed her over to third and even though BGSU opted to for Palmer who was heading home on Cichocki's hit, the sophomore crossed home plate ahead of the tag.
Kus made that run stand up, not allowing another base runner until the last of the seventh inning. The Falcons put the tying run aboard on a lead off infield single. That runner advanced all the way to third base and attempted to score on a base hit up the middle but Jenny Rohn bypassed the cut off and threw the ball on a line to Megan Stamm behind home plate to tag out the runner and preserve the victory.
Stamm had a weekend herself, ranking second on the team with a .385 batting average (5-for-13) with home runs in back-to-back games, her second and third of the season. The first home run for the junior was a grand slam against Toledo, which tied her career high for RBIs in a game. She ended the week with a team-best six RBIs as well as a team best .846 slugging percentage. Stamm had two multi-hit and multi-RBI games this weekend as well.
In game two, Western Michigan took a two-run lead after the top of the second when Stamm and Erin Binkowski led off the inning with back-to-back hits and later scored when Palmer reached on an error in right field. The Broncos were not able to make this lead hold as Bowling Green scored a run in the bottom of the second, three more in the third, another in the fourth and two more in the sixth to a take a 7-2 lead into the last frame.
With their backs against the wall, the Broncos attempted a comeback. Cichocki led off with a single to right field. Lesy Schalk reached on an error, BGSU's third of the game, and advanced to second. Cichocki scored on the play. Sabrina Gamboa, pinch running for Schalk advanced to third base on a ground out and scored on Loren Nagy's single to left field. The comeback threat ended when Christina Pigozzi, pinch running for Nagy, was picked off at first base.
Western Michigan will play at Valparaiso on Tuesday, April 1 at 4 p.m., a game originally scheduled for March 18, before heading back to DeKalb, Ill., for a true road series against Northern Illinois on April 5-6.
