KENT, Ohio -- One of the most prolific two-way players in Western Michigan softball history capped her career with a complete-game victory in the circle and RBI at the plate.
Sydney Stefanick went the distance, holding Kent State to three earned runs with four strikeouts and no walks as the Broncos beat the Golden Flashes, 6-3, to conclude the 2021 campaign.
Sophia Ehlers and
Jordyn Swinehart homered for WMU, while Ehlers and
Kaylen Glenfield each added a double. Ehlers drove in a pair of runs, while Swinehart, Stefanick and
Alyssa Kramer each added an RBI.
Kaitlyn Miller was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI for Kent State. Megan Turner and Alexis Taube each drove in a run, as well. Jessica LeBeau took the loss, matching Stefanick by going the distance, but allowing five earned runs and nine hits with five strikeouts and a walk.
Western Michigan struck first when Ehlers doubled home Kramer to make it 1-0 in the second. The Broncos added three runs in the third thanks to Swinehart's solo home run, a successful suicide squeeze by Stefanick to score
Mackenzie Swinehart and an RBI single by Kramer.
Kent State scored a pair in the fourth. Turner singled in a run to get the Golden Flashes on the scoreboard before Taube's sacrifice fly cut the WMU lead to 4-2. Western Michigan re-established a four-run lead in the sixth. Ehlers homered and
Jordyn Swinehart scored on an error following a bunt single by
Mackenzie Swinehart to make it 6-2.
Kent State scored the final run of the game in the seventh on a RBI single by Miller.
The contest concluded the 2021 season for both teams. There is no Mid-American Conference tournament in 2021 and regular-season champion Miami has secured the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
