EL PASO, TEXAS – The Western Michigan softball team will open the 2024 campaign at the UTEP Memorial Tournament from Friday, February 9 - Sunday, February 11. Over the course of the tournament, the Brown and Gold are scheduled for a five-game slate against Abilene Christian University, the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), and Monmouth University. The Broncos will face each of three teams for the very first time in program history this weekend.
The WMU softball team is led by first-year head coach Marlee Wilson and her staff of Morgan Fleetwood, Bill Shipman, and Erika Whittington. The Broncos will see a mix of both new and familiar faces on the 2024 roster including a depth of experience featuring over 10 upperclassmen including a senior class compiling of pitcher Rissa Bajusz, outfielder Addison Hudson, infielders Cassidy Brendtke, Taylor Garey, and catcher/outfielder Haley Boxwell. To add to their experienced roster, this past off-season the Broncos hit the transfer portal hard by acquiring graduate student transfer outfielder Megan Welsh (Harvard), senior pitcher Jensen Gremillion (Nicholls State), junior pitcher Kailey O'Connor (St. Mary's College in California), and sophomore catcher Gabbie Evans (Michigan State).
Coach Wilson and the WMU softball team will take their first steps in their quest to return to the MAC Tournament this weekend against Abilene Christian on Friday at 1:00 PM ET on YouTube in a Mid-American Western-Athletic Conference crossover. Last year, the Wildcats posted a 16-36 record and saw three players hit above .300. Of the trio, the Wildcats will return redshirt sophomore pitcher Bubba Rote and sophomore Sammie Schelander. The two combined for 81 hits, 44 RBI, 16 doubles, and six triples while batting a joint .325 on the year.
WMU will close out Friday's action against UTEP at 4:00 PM ET on ESPN+. The Miners are looking to improve on their 2023 campaign, where the team collected 11 wins. UTEP will lean on returning senior outfielder Lexi Morales, who was third on the team in batting average with .343, and pitcher Zaylie Calderon, who led the team in ERA (4.38) last season.
During day two of the tournament, the Brown and Gold will conclude their series with UTEP on Saturday at 1:00 PM ET on ESPN+ and will face off against Monmouth at 7:00 PM ET on YouTube.
Following a 10-34 season in 2023, Monmouth has retooled its offense with the addition of Graduate Student transfer Dani Dabroski from Villanova University. Dabroski, a career .258 hitter, played in 172 games (131 starts) as an outfielder and has totaled 73 career runs while batting in an additional 30. Additionally, Monmouth's sophomore Bri Lawson will look to step up in the hitting department in 2024. Last season, then-freshman Lawson hit the second-best batting average on the team with .260 in 44 games played (44 starts).
The Broncos will wrap up the UTEP Memorial Tournament versus Monmouth on Sunday, February 11, at 11:00 AM ET on YouTube.
For all things WMU softball, make sure to follow the team's socials @wmusoftball_ on Instagram, @wmusoftball on X and @westernmichigansoftball on Facebook.
