KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Alyssa Kramer went 3-for-4 in the effort as the Western Michigan softball team dropped a wild series finale to Akron, 9-4, on Sunday afternoon at Ebert Field.
The contest took nearly three hours to play and saw WMU score its first three runs before getting a hit. The back-and-forth game saw the Zips pull away with two runs in the sixth and three in the seventh.
Rissa Bajusz started for WMU and allowed four earned runs in four innings, while
Autumn Godwin took the loss allowing three earned runs in three innings. Kramer was 3-for-4 with a run scored.
Logan Carter and Bajusz had RBI for Western Michigan on the day.
Sophia Ehlers walked twice and scored. Five Bronco batters were hit by a pitch in the game.
Akron got a three-run homer from Laurel DeVoe and a two-run bomb from Lauren Holdsworth. Holdsworth was 2-for-2 with three RBI. Shelby Fortune was 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Jessie Holzman went 2-for-3. Lexie Petrof got the win in relief allowing just one unearned run and four hits over 3.1 innings of work. Olivia Stefanoni both started and finished the game for the Zips, not allowing a hit but conceding an earned run in two innings of work.
The visitors struck for two in the first, with Madison Carter scoring on a fielding error before Holdsworth doubled home DeVoe. The Broncos responded in the bottom half when Stefanoni hit the first three batters of the game, then Bajusz scored
Mackenzie Swinehart on an RBI groundout.
WMU took the lead with a two-run third.
Sophia Ehlers scored on a throwing error before Kramer scored on a wild pitch, making it a 3-2 Bronco advantage. Holdsworth answered for Akron in the fourth with a two-run homer to put the visitors ahead, 4-3. In the bottom half of the fourth, Carter singled home Glenfield to tie the game.
It stayed that was until the top of the sixth when consecutive doubles from Madison Dudek and Fortune gave Akron a 6-4 lead. The Zips added three insurance runs in the seventh on a homer by DeVoe, providing the final margin of 9-4.
| On Deck
Western Michigan returns to action on Tuesday, May 4, with a doubleheader at Bowling Green. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. ET.
