CLEVELAND - Western Michigan junior Rissa Bajusz has been named the Mid-American Conference Softball Pitcher of the Week for the opening week of the 2023 season. It marks the first Pitcher of the Week Award for Bajusz in her WMU career.

Bajusz pitched in four of Western Michigan's five games over the weekend at the Best on the Bayou Tournament and boasted a 1.12 ERA in 18.2 innings while holding opposing hitters to a .159 batting average. The Aurora, Ill., native got the ball for the Broncos to start the season-opener on Friday against Lindenwood and gave up just two hits in a complete-game victory. In the win over Houston Christian, she yielded one run on three hits over five and one-third innings and racked up a season-high seven strikeouts.

At the plate, the junior hit .278 for the weekend with a double, a homer and four runs batted in. Her solo home run against ULM proved to be the difference in a 4-3 Western Michigan victory.

The Broncos return to action from Feb. 24-26 with five games in three days at the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. Western Michigan begins the tournament on Friday, Feb. 24, with matchups against UNLV and Eastern Illinois.