KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Payton Kelly and Alyssa Kramer homered as Western Michigan softball shine against Kent State, 13-5 on Sunday. The Brown & Gold recorded 13 runs on 17 hits, to outhit the Golden Flashes by 10. WMU registered
 
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 13, Kent State 5
LOCATION: Ebert Field (Kalamazoo, Mich.)  
RECORDS:  Western Michigan (14-22, 8-9 MAC) | Kent State (12-28, 7-11 MAC)
W: Macy Irelan (6-11) | L: Rissa Bajusz (10-10)
 
Cassidy Brendtke and Haleigh Smith paced the Western Michigan offense each going 4-for-4 on the day, including two runs and three RBI from Brendtke and an RBI and three runs from Smith. Kelly went 3-for-4, claiming her third home run of the season with a leadoff bomb over the left field wall. She scored two for the Broncos and batted in three. Kramer joined in the second with a blast of her own over the center field wall to score Addison Hudson and Brendtke. Kramer went 2-for-4 to bring three runs across the plate and score one of her own. 
 
WMU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first with a leadoff bomb over the left wall by Kelly. Kramer and Smith singled up the middle to threaten, but the Broncos stranded the pair to close the first.
 
Kent State matched WMU with a home run over center field top of the second but was soon overtaken with another blast by Kramer. Kramer claimed her third homer of the season and drove in three for WMU. 
 
Western Michigan's three-run lead heading into the third was quickly challenged by the Golden Flashes when they added four runs to take the lead at 5-4. 
 
The one-run lead did not last long, as WMU surpassed the Golden Flashes' highest-scoring inning pushing five runs across the plate. The Broncos brought across five runs on five hits, including a multitude of singles.
 
Western Michigan posted its second scoreless inning for Kent State in the fourth, allowing just one hit. Two big hits in the bottom of the fourth resulted in another run for the Brown & Gold. Brendtke smashed a triple to right field to score Smith just after her double to left center to extend the lead, to 10-5.
 
The Broncos posted its third 0 on the board for KSU and brought in three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to seal the victory. 
 
Junior Rissa Bajusz allowed five runs, including two earned runs, and struck out two batters in a complete five innings of work.
 
Western Michigan moves its overall record to 14-22 and 8-9 in Mid-American Conference play. After this weekend, the Broncos now have three MAC series remaining this season, against Northern Illinois, Ohio, and Toledo. 
 
The Western Michigan softball team heads on the road for a three-game series with Northern Illinois on April 25-26. The Broncos will open the MAC series on Tuesday, April 25 at 4 pm. The two teams will finish the series with a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 26 with game one starting at 2 pm.