TOLEDO, Ohio. – Western Michigan softball dropped two against the Toledo Rockets each by a score of 3-2. The result finished the regular season for WMU with a final record of 17-29, and 11-15 against Mid-American Conference opponents.
FINAL SCORE (G1): Toledo 3, Western Michigan 2
LOCATION: Scott Park (Toledo, Ohio)
RECORDS: Toledo (20-25, 13-14 MAC) | Western Michigan (17-28,11-14 MAC)
W: Sophia Knight (9-9)
| L: Rissa Bajusz (13-13)
FINAL SCORE (G2): Toledo 3, Western Michigan 2
LOCATION: Scott Park (Toledo, Ohio)
RECORDS: Toledo (21-25, 14-14 MAC) | Western Michigan (17-29,11-15 MAC)
W: Erin Hunt (12-14)
| L: Madysyn Lopez (0-5)
G1: Toledo 3, Western Michigan 2
The Broncos were held to five hits in game one of Saturday's doubleheader.
Riley Chumbley batted 1-for-1, while
Jessica Young,
Haleigh Smith, and
Courtney Farrish each went 1-for-3.
Alyssa Kramer went 1-for-4 to bat in WMU's pair of runs. Junior
Rissa Bajusz work 7.1 innings and allowed eight hits and three runs. Bajusz tossed six strikeouts to mark 157 on the season.
Haleigh Smith singled in the second for the Broncos' first reach, but WMU was unable to bring the runner around.
Toledo jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first and was shut out in the second as Bajusz retired the Rockets in order.
Top of the third Kramer rocketed a two-run homer over center field to bring
Addison Hudson around and take a 2-1 lead. The seniors blast marked the sixth of the season and the 19th of her career. Western Michigan rolled out another 1-2-3 inning for the Rockets in the third and held Toledo off the board in the fourth with two strikeouts.
The Broncos produced scoring opportunities in the fifth and sixth, each time threatening with a runner at third. Western Michigan stranded its runners and headed into extra innings at Scott Park.
The Brown & Gold was unable to convert another opportunity and fell 3-2.
G2: Toledo 3, Western Michigan 2
Scoreless in the first, WMU went up 1-0 in the second on a single to right center by Maddison Duell. A leadoff walk, followed by Smith's reach on a fielder's choice fueled the scoring charge in the second.
The Broncos extended the lead to 2-0 in the third, Kramer walked,
Payton Kelly was hit by a pitch, and
Haley Boxwell singled through the left side to bring one home.
Western Michigan posted four straight scoreless innings for Toledo before the Rockets broke the shutout with two runs on three hits in the bottom of the fifth.
The two teams were deadlocked through the sixth before Toledo hit a set of singles to bring the game-winning run across the plate, 3-2.
Autumn Godwin got the start in the circle and tossed one strikeout in 4.1 innings of work. The senior concludes four years of work in the circle for Western Michigan with a total of 164.1 innings pitched, including 75.2 innings this season. Freshman
Madysyn Lopez entered as relief for 2.1 innings and allowed one run on three hits.
