KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan softball team heads to the University of Tennessee Martin for the Skyhawk Classic, beginning on Thursday.
The tournament was originally scheduled to start on Friday but was moved up a day due to weather concerns. Due to the changes, WMU will now open the tournament against UT-Martin at 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. The Broncos will also take on Purdue Fort Wayne later in the afternoon at 4:30 p.m. WMU and PFW play again on Friday at 4:30 and then Western Michigan takes on Murray State at 6:30 p.m. The Broncos close out the tournament on Saturday with the time and opponent still to be determined.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
UT-Martin (2-3) opened its season at the 2025 Paladin Invitational at Furman last weekend. The Skyhawks went 2-3 with an 8-0 win over South Carolina State an and an 8-0 win er Stonehill. UTM three losses came to the Paladins 2-1, Evansville 9-6, and SC 2-1. Outfielder Dylan Scott and infielder Jordyn Hustey lead the team with three RBIs each. Catcher Avary Makarewicz has the team's lone home run. Junior Ashtyn Green started three of the team's five games and has a 1.70 ERA with 11 strikeouts.
Purdue Fort Wayne (1-4) opened the season at the Kickin' Chicken Classic, hosted by Coastal Carolina. The Mastodons went 1-4 with the lone win coming against CC, 7-5. PFW dropped three games to Creighton, including a 4-3 affair that was settled in eight innings. The other loss on the weekend came against Coastal Carolina. Grace Hollopeter and Bailey Manos each have a team-high three RBIs on the season, while Addison Zimpleman and Skylar Smith have both gone yard. Zimpleman has a team-high .375 batting average. Alanah Jones started three of the five games and pitched 18 innings, going 0-3.
Murray State (2-2) opened the season at the South Alabama Tournament, going 2-2. Both of MSU's wins came against Northwestern State, with a 2-1 victory and a 10-2 win. The Racers lost 3-2 against South Alabama and 9-1 against UAB. Infielder Ailey Schyck leads the team in nearly every hitting category. The junior has a .429 batting average with two home runs, seven RBIs, two walks, an on-base percentage of .556 and an OPS of 1.985. Raylee Roby is 2-0 on the mound with a win in a start and a relief appearance. She has a 2.47 ERA.
BRONCOS FIND THEIR BATS
In Western Michigan's opening weekend, the team combined for 36 hits in five games. Eight of those 36 were for extra bases, with four doubles, one triple and three home runs.
Riley Dittmar leads the team with seven hits, with
Tristen Head right behind her with six. Both
Taylor Wolfe and
Caitlin Tighe each have five, while
Payton Kelly has four. 12 of the 36 hits came against nationally ranked opponents in No. 17 Arizona and No. 11 Alabama.
A FIRST FOR GREMILLION
Graduate student
Jensen Gremillion pitched her first complete-game shutout as a Bronco in the season-opening win over Michigan State. Gremillion went six innings and allowed just two hits to the Spartans. The complete game was her second as a Bronco and third of her career, with the previous one coming at Nichols State in 2023.
ON THE HORIZON
There's still snow on the grown at Ebert Field, so that means the Broncos are once again on the road. Next weekend the team heads to the University of Evansville Tournament, where WMU will take on Saint Louis, Evansville, UT-Martin and Ohio State.
