Softball Begins MAC Tournament With Kent State

KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Western Michigan softball team (28-23, 14-10 MAC) enters the Mid-American Conference Tournament as the No. 5 seed and will play the No. 4 seed Kent State on Wednesday, May 9 at 10:30 A.M. in Akron, Ohio at Firestone Stadium.

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STRONG FINISH
The Broncos swept their final doubleheader of the regular season against Eastern Michigan this past weekend with scores of 3-2 and 2-0. In the first game, senior Aspen Williams delivered the game-winning hit in the sixth inning to score fellow senior Geordin Craun. In the second game, Craun singled to score senior Marlee Wilson and junior Erin Barg drove in junior Brooke Wyman to give the Broncos all the run support they needed.

SEASON LEADERS
Sophomore Mackenzie Swinehart finished with a team high 63 hits which is tied for fifth most in a single season in school history. Freshman Samantha Coffel led the team with a .364 batting average, 13 doubles (6^th most in school history) and 38 RBIs (2^nd most in school history). Williams has the most home runs on the team with 10, which is tied for second most home runs in a single season. Junior Jordan Kurth led the Bronco pitching staff with a 12-6 record. Kurth had a 2.84 ERA with 130.2 innings pitched and 110 strikeouts, all of which were team-highs. Kurth's seven wins are sixth most in the MAC. Opponents in conference hit .212 off Kurth which is the third lowest among pitchers in the MAC.

REGULAR SEASON SERIES WITH KENT
WMU opened MAC play this season with a three-game series at Kent State. The Brown & Gold fell in the first two games of the series but rebounded to win the final game of the series 12-1.

SCOUTING KENT STATE
The Golden Flashes finished their 2018 campaign with a 28-21 overall record and a 14-9 conference record. As a team, Kent State is hitting .315 and has a team ERA of 5.12. Holly Speers leads the Golden Flashes with a .500 batting average off 57 hits, 11 doubles, 17 home runs and 56 RBIs. Speers leads the MAC in batting average, home runs and RBIs. Madi Huck has the most wins in the circle for Kent State with a 17-7 record. Huck has a 2.73 ERA with 107 strikeouts, 18 complete games and seven shutouts through 161.1 innings of work this season.

RECENT MAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
WMU has won four of the last five games against Kent State in the tournament with the last coming in 2015. In the same year, the Broncos made it to the championship round against Ball State. Western Michigan made it to back to back championship round appearances in 2011 and 2012. The Broncos won the tournament in 2011 advancing to the NCAA tournament. Last season, the Broncos made it to the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament. WMU pulled off a big upset by defeating No. 1 seed Central Michigan in the opening round. After a second-round loss to Kent State, WMU beat Akron to advance to the quarterfinals where they fell to NIU.

ON DECK
The Broncos will play on Thursday, May 10 at 1:00 P.M. if they defeat Kent State on Wednesday. If the Broncos fall to Kent State then they will play at 10:30 A.M. on Thursday, May 10. The tournament is a double elimination format. All tournament games will be live streamed through the Mid-American Conference website.

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