GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Western Michigan softball team wrapped up the T-Mobile Florida Invitational over the weekend, going 0-5.
WMU opened the tournament with a 7-4 loss to Troy and then a 8-7 loss to Florida A&M on Friday. The Broncos then battled #3 Florida to a 10-2 loss, while dropping a game to Samford, 4-0, on Saturday. WMU finished off the tournament dropping the another game to the Trojans, 9-0.
In the opener against Troy, the Broncos (5-13) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first.
Riley Chumbley doubled to left field to drive in
Riley Dittmar.
Micaela Booth followed it up with a single to center, with Chumbley scoring.
Kailey O'Connor then hit a sacrifice fly out to left field to score pinch-runner
Parker Ostach. The Trojans answered back in the bottom of the first with a three-run home run and then added two more runs in the second. An RBI single in the fourth gave TU a 6-3 lead before
Tristen Head's RBI on a fielder's choice scored Dittmar to cut it to 6-4 in the top of the fifth. Troy added a seventh un in the sixth to keep the game out of reach.
WMU built a 7-0 lead and had a no-hitter against FAMU going into the bottom of the sixth. The Broncos score two runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings and then added a seventh in the top of the six. The Rattlers mounted a furious comeback in the bottom of the sixth, scoring seven runs to tie things up. They then added the game-winning run it the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly.
Western Michigan struck first against the third-ranked Gators, with Chumbley hitting a two-run home run to left field in the top of the first inning, but it was all the offense that the team could muster against Florida pitcher Ava Brown. The Gators scored five in the bottom of the first and then added two more in the bottom of the second. The lead expanded to 8-2 in the bottom of the fourth, with UF adding two more in the bottom of the sixth and final inning.
Against Samford, the Broncos gave up three runs in the top of the second.
Kaylee Salyer came on in relief to pitch and was stellar over 5 1/3 innings, giving up just two hits and allowing one run with three strikeouts. SU pitcher Olivia Trout pitched a no-hitter, going seven innings and striking out four Broncos.
Sunday's finale was a tight contest, with Troy holding a 3-0 lead heading into the top of the sixth. The Trojans scored sixth in the top of the sixth to put the game out of reach for the Broncos.
WMU stays in Florida to take on North Florida on Tuesday at 1 p.m. WMU then heads to the Hoosier Classic, beginning on Saturday.
