SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Western Michigan softball team lost to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 3-2 Tuesday despite two hits from both Riley Dittmar and Haleigh Smith. The two would combine for a scorching 4-7 at the plate to lead the Brown and Gold in the loss.  

The Broncos saw themselves in a brief 1-0 deficit after Notre Dame took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning Tuesday. In response to the Notre Dame run, the Brown and Gold rallied by scoring two runs during the top of the fourth inning to capture their first lead of the day. After a single from Taylor Garey and a walk from Cassidy Brendtke, Smith, and Kelly notched back-to-back singles. With the offensive boost from Smith and Kelly, the Broncos tacked on two runs and took a 2-1 lead in the fourth. After the two runs from WMU, Addison Hudson walked, however, the softball team saw three outs before adding a third run in the inning. 

Over the next two innings, both teams saw a standstill until Notre Dame added a run to tie the game with a one-out run during the bottom of the sixth inning. Later, with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Notre Dame would conclude the game with a walk-off home run over the Broncos.  

Historical Notes 

After Bajusz's six strikeout performance versus the Fighting Irish, she is now tied with Reily Galloway (2018-2022), for the third most career strikeouts created for the Brown and Gold with 445 K's and counting. 

Up Next

The Brown and Gold will see a quick turnaround and will play Michigan State in East Lansing Wednesday, April 10, at 5:00 PM.