NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After picking up three wins to start the season at the UTEP Memorial Tournament, the Western Michigan Softball team will travel to Nashville, Tennessee to compete in the Roar City Invitational hosted by Tennessee State. The Brown and Gold are scheduled for a five-game slate in which they will face Indiana State University, UT Martin, and Tennessee State from Friday, February 16 - Sunday, February 18. Over the course of the tournament, the Broncos will play a total of five games. 

The Broncos will open the invitational against Indiana State University this Friday at 11:00 AM ET and will conclude action Friday against UT Martin at 3:00 PM ET. On Saturday, the Brown and Gold will face off against Tennessee State at 11:00 AM ET and UT Martin later at 3:00 PM ET. The softball team will end the tournament on Sunday at 11:00 AM ET versus Tennessee State University.

Indiana State carries a 1-4 record into the invitational and is led by senior Kennedy Shade. Shade leads the team in essentially every offensive category including runs (5), doubles (1), home runs (1), RBI (5), total bases (9), stolen bases (3-3) on-base plus slugging percentage (.647). 

1-3 UT Martin is led by Katie Dreiling in nearly every hitting category: Dreiling is first in batting average (.500), slugging (.700), and is second in on-base percentage (.563). Additionally, she has recorded a team-high in hits (7), doubles (3), and RBI (4). 

Tennessee State University is 1-4 through five games this season and is led by senior Lalia Armstrong. The outfielder Armstrong is first on Tennessee State in batting average (.467), hits (7), runs (3), and RBI (4).

ICYMI 

At the conclusion of the UTEP Memorial Tournament, Rissa Bajusz, Haley Boxwell, Payton Kelly, and Megan Welsh were named to the UTEP Memorial All-Tournament Team for their performances on the field. The four student-athletes helped lead the Broncos to two 10-score outings this weekend: First, in their 10-run outing versus Abilene Christian University, the Brown and Gold recorded the most runs scored as a program in a season opener since 2010. During their second double-digit scoring game, WMU defeated UTEP 10-0 on Saturday, February 10, after supplying 11 hits. With the help of Bajusz, Boxwell, Kelly, and Welsh, the Broncos are ranked 39th nationally in run scoring as of Tuesday evening, with an average of 6.60 runs scored per game.

During the UTEP Memorial Tournament, the pitcher Bajusz earned three wins and one loss after posting an ERA of 1.29 and a batting average offensively of .250. Bajusz was able to etch her name in the WMU record books by becoming only the eighth Bronco in program history to surpass 300 strikeouts and currently stands at 321 career strikeouts (and counting) which ranks eighth all-time in program history. 

As for the catcher Boxwell, she recorded two doubles off of three hits and tacked on five RBI this past weekend. In the final game of the tournament, the senior tied a career-high of two hits and set a personal best with three RBI against Monmouth. Boxwell enters the Roar City Invitational batting an average of .231. 

The junior outfielder Kelly, who is batting .500 over her first five games, has notched eight hits, one double, and one RBI this season. Defensively, she recorded six putouts during the tournament and posted a fielding percentage of 1.000. Kelly is tied with teammate Riley Dittmar for 40th in the nation with eight hits as of Tuesday evening. 

The graduate student outfielder Welsh produced exceptional numbers this past weekend after hitting .417 in five games to start the 2024 campaign. Over the span of the tournament, Welsh totaled five runs, five hits, six RBI, and two home runs. The outfielder tied a personal best with three hits (including one home run) against UTEP in WMU's 10-0 win over the Miners on Saturday, February 10. As of Tuesday evening, Welsh's two home runs rank 20th nationally. 

The junior infielder Dittmar performed phenomenally at the UTEP tournament by recording eight hits and collecting a batting average of .667, which is tied for 19th in the nation as of Tuesday evening. Ditmar's best outing of the tournament occurred on Saturday, February 10, against UTEP. In four at-bats, Ditmar tallied three hits, five RBI, one double, and one run scored. 

WMU will look to continue to expand on their hot start in the hitting department and their success in the circle at the Roar City Invitational this weekend. 

For all things WMU softball, make sure to follow the team's socials @wmusoftball_ on Instagram, @wmusoftball on X, and @westernmichigansoftball on Facebook.