CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Western Michigan softball team had a combined 25 hits in the last two days as they split a pair of games falling to Seton Hall, 14-13, on Wednesday and defeating Quinnipiac, 8-0 on Thursday.
Against Seton Hall, the Broncos scored a season high 13 runs while collecting 16 hits in the loss. Sophomore Kelsea Cichocki blasted her first home run of the season as she went 3-for-5 with seven RBIs on the afternoon. WMU jumped out to an early 9-0 lead before Seton Hall struck back with six runs in the bottom of the second to cut the lead to 9-6.
Giving up seven runs in the next three innings, WMU headed to the top of the seventh down just two runs. However, the Broncos would fight back to tie the score at 13-13 heading into the bottom half of the inning. That is where Seton Hall's senior outfielder Sara Haefeli hit a sacrifice fly, scoring the runner from third and capping off a Pirate victory. The Broncos had five different players with multi hits.
In Thursday's contest against Quinnipiac, the Brown & Gold recorded its first shutout of the season behind the pitching performance of freshman RHP Annissa Sanchez who went five innings, allowing no runs on two hits while striking out six.
Again the Broncos got on the board quickly scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning as sophomore Ivy Schaaf led off the game with a double down the left field line. Senior Taylor Sanicki drove Schaaf home in the next at-bat, with an RBI double. The Broncos put four more runs on the board in the bottom of the third in large part to freshman Haley Thibeault who knocked a two RBI double to left field, scoring Cichocki and junior Mellisa Palmer.
Overall, WMU rattled off nine hits as seven different players recorded a hit. Sanicki went 2-for-3 with two runs scored to go along with two RBI's as well. Sanicki, Thibeault and senior Jenny Rohn and all had two RBIs on the day.
The Broncos will now head to the Michele Smith Spring Break Tournament in Clearwater, Fla. Tomorrow WMU will play in a doubleheader against Central Connecticut State starting at 9 a.m. followed by Canisius at 11:15 a.m.
