MONROE, La. – In its first game under new head coach Jenny Rohn, the Western Michigan softball team knocked off Lindenwood, 7-2, on Friday at the Best on the Bayou Classic. The Broncos fell, 7-5, to tournament host ULM in their second game of the day. 
 
FINAL SCORE (G1): Western Michigan 7, Lindenwood 2
LOCATION: ULM Softball Complex (Monroe, La.) 
RECORDS: Western Michigan (1-0) | Lindenwood (1-1)
W: Rissa Bajusz (1-0) | L: Keighlan Cronin (0-1)
 
FINAL SCORE (G2): ULM 7, Western Michigan 5
LOCATION: ULM Softball Complex (Monroe, La.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (1-1) | ULM (1-0)
W: Adrianna Chavarria (1-0) | L: Caitlyn Mullins (0-1)
 
Rissa Bajusz had a huge day for Western Michigan, as she yielded just two hits and did not allow an earned run on the way to the complete-game victory in the opener against Lindenwood. The junior helped out her own cause at the plate, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Bajusz added two more hits and knocked in another two runs in game two for the Broncos. 
 
Courtney Farrish had multiple hits in both contests, including a home run against ULM. Alyssa Kramer had three hits for the day, including a home run, and also drew three walks.  
 
In the opener, it was a first-inning solo shot by Kramer that gave the Broncos their first run of the new season and an early 1-0 edge. WMU tacked on two more in the third, when Bajusz knocked in a run with a single, then scored on a Taylor Garey double. 
 
Bajusz was dominant in the circle, as she did not allow a hit until the fifth frame when the Lions scratched across an unearned run to make it 3-1.
 
The Broncos answered with three in the next half-inning. Freshman Jessica Young came on to pinch run and scored on a Lindenwood error, with Payton Kelly also coming home on a Lions' miscue. Wolfe capped the three-run frame with an RBI single which plated Haley Boxwell.
 
Each team tallied a run in the seventh, with Western Michigan's coming on a sacrifice fly by Bella Gerlach, the first collegiate RBI for the true freshman. 
 
In game two, ULM pushed across two runs in the bottom of the first to seize an early edge.
 
The Broncos came right back in the second, as Kramer and Bajusz delivered back-to-back RBI singles to even the game at 2-2. 
 
The same duo was at it again in the fourth, as Kramer doubled in a run, then scored on a Bajusz single to put Western Michigan on top, 4-2. 
 
The Warhawks tallied four in the bottom of the fifth and one in the sixth to carry a 7-4 advantage into the seventh. 
 
Farrish led off the seventh with a solo home run for the Broncos to cut the deficit to two, but WMU could not get any closer in the final frame. 
 
Western Michigan continues its Opening Weekend at the Best on the Bayou Classic on Saturday with another twin bill. The Broncos are set to face Houston Christian at 1:30 pm and ULM at 6:30 pm.