TEMPE, Ariz. – The Western Michigan softball team opened the 2020 season Friday in Tempe, Ariz., at the Kajikawa Classic. The Broncos went up against Portland State and Utah at the Tempe Sports Complex, dropping game one to the Vikings by a 13-2 margin in five innings and falling to the Utes 12-2 in five frames.
Leading the way for the Broncos offensively was senior
Cari Padula and junior
Sydney Stefanick, who each picked up two hits. Padula finished with all four of the Broncos' RBI on the day with a two-run home run in the opener and two-run double against Utah. Stefanick had a pair of hits on the day, while senior
Kaylen Glenfield hit a double in the first game.
The Portland State contest ended after the fifth inning, when Portland State exploded for eight runs to enforce the run rule. The Vikings hopped out to a 4-0 advantage after two innings as freshman Emily Johansen drove in a run with a single in the first and scored later in the frame on a Rachel Menlove groundout. Portland State got two more in the second with a Marissa Bruno RBI triple and Darian Lindsey double that plated Bruno.
The Broncos scored their two runs in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to 4-2 as Padula drove in Glenfield with the blast.
Portland State went up 5-2 in the fourth on a Lindsey RBI groundout that delivered Bruno and then broke the game open with eight in the fifth.
After a scoreless first inning, Western Michigan found itself down 11-0 against Utah heading into the fourth. The Utes got three runs in the second on a trio of bases-loaded walks and pushed across eight in the third, backed a trio of RBI singles, a two-run single and a three-run home run by Ellessa Bonstrom.
The Broncos got on the board thanks to a two-run double from Padula that brought in
Maggie Kehoe and Sydney Swinehart.
The Utes scored the final runs of the contest in the bottom of the fourth, and Western Michigan came up scoreless in the fifth to finalize the day's second game.
Stefanick took the loss against Portland State, allowing five runs over 4.2 innings with two strikeouts. Junior
Reily Galloway started against Utah and threw for 2.1 innings, letting in nine runs. Godwin threw for the final 1.2 innings, surrendering four runs.
Western Michigan continues the Kajikawa Classic tomorrow, taking on a pair of PAC-12 opponents in No. 5 Arizona at 1:30 p.m. ET and host team No. 22 Arizona State at 6:30 p.m. ET, both broadcast on the PAC-12 Network.
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