AKRON, Ohio - Western Michigan softball opened Mid-American Conference play Friday afternoon with a doubleheader at the University of Akron, coming from behind to win game one 4-3 prior to recording a school record 22 hits in game two's 18-10 (9 inning) victory. 

WMU combined for a total of 28 hits, 21 runs batted in, and four home runs through 16 innings, outscoring the Zips 22-13 in the conference opening doubleheader. 

Western Michigan 4, Akron 3
Down 4-1 in the seventh inning, WMU came back with three runs to grab a 4-3 lead while Reilly Galloway shut the door in the bottom half to finish a complete game. An Erin Barg two-run homer followed by the game-winning RBI single from Kaylen Glenfield guided the Broncos to the one-run advantage. 

The Zips scored a pair in the second inning, which was answered with a win from the Broncos in the third to trim the lead to 2-1. Logan Carter led off with a single and came around to score. 

Akron limited WMU to four hits while the Broncos stranded several runners on base until the seventh inning. The Zips scored a run off two hits in the fifth to jump out to the 4-1 prior to the Bronco comeback. 

Galloway earned her first win of the season in pitcher's circle, going the distance for the second time this season while allowing five hits. Carter, Mackenzie Swinehart, Glenfield, and Sydney Stefanick each tallied two hits. 

Western Michigan 18, Akron 10 (9 inn.)
Leading 9-1 after four innings, the Broncos conceded three runs in the fifth and five in the sixth to allow Akron to come back and knot the game up at 9-9. WMU then went up 10-9 in the seventh but the Zips had another answer to force extra innings. An eight-run ninth inning for the Broncos sealed the win. 

The Brown & Gold accumulated 22 hits to break a school record held for 25 years. WMU previously record 21 hits twice, last versus Eastern Michigan in 1994. The 22 hits also ties for the third most in the game in the MAC. 

Seven Broncos totaled multi-hit peformances. Barg tallied her second homer of the day while going 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI. Glenfield went 5-6 (which ties a WMU single-game record) with a home run, three runs scored and three RBI. Stefanick went 3-5 with a double, homer, and three RBI. Swinehart also added three hits and three runs scored. 

Stefanick started the game in the pitcher's circle and lasted five innings, allowing six runs while notching five strikeouts. With WMU leading 9-4 in the sixth inning, Jordan Kurth took over and the Bronco defense struggled, surrendering five runs off five hits while committing two errors to allow the Zips to tie the game. 

Galloway pitched the final 3.1 innings, allowing just one run off two hits to earn her second win of the day and improve her record to 2-5 on the season. 

Up Next
Western Michigan, now 9-13 overall and 2-0 in the MAC, goes for the series sweep tomorrow. Game three was moved ahead to a 12 p.m. start.

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