KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan softball team took two games from Kent State in a home series at Ebert Field over the weekend. The Broncos defeated the Golden Flashes 10-5 in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, before dropping the second game 11-1. WMU took the series after a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh to beat KSU, 7-6, on Sunday. 

GAME 1
The Broncos (13-34, 7-15 MAC) found themselves in an early hole after the Golden Flashes scored two in the top of the first on a RBI double by Kendal Leitner, who later scored on an error to take a 2-0 lead. 

Western Michigan responded and then some in the bottom of the inning. Senior Payton Kelly went yard on the second pitch for a lead-off solo home run to chop the lead in half. Tristen Head then walked, followed by a single by Riley Dittmar and another walk by Micaela Booth to load the bases. Jordan Smith then came up to bat and blasted the ball over the right field fence for the grand slam to give the Broncos a 5-2 lead. The runs didn't stop there as Emily Yacapraro later doubled to score Rylee O'Brien to make it 6-2 and Kelly singled to score Yacapraro for her second at bat of the inning, pushing the lead to 7-2. 

Kent State added two runs in the top of the fourth inning and then another run in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 7-5, but the Broncos had another big answer in the bottom of the fifth. Kelly hit a 2-RBI single to score Yacapraro and pinch-runner Haleigh Smith to push the lead to 9-5. Dittmar then had a sacrifice bunt to score Kelly to set the final at 10-5. Freshman Kaylee Salyer picked up the win, her third of the season. Kailey O'Connor earned the save after allowing just one run in 3 1/3 inning of relief work. 

GAME 2
Both teams put runs on the board to start off the second game of the doubleheader. Megan Claerhout hit a RBI single to give Kent State a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Smith doubled to left-center to score Dittmar to tie it up at 1-1, but that would be WMU's lone run of the game.

The game stayed tight until the fifth inning. Kent State took the lead when Claerhout drove in her second run of the game. Leitner then singled to score Claerhout to push ahead 3-1. Kam Utendorf made it 4-1 with a RBI single with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth. KSU then scored seven runs in the top of the seventh inning. 

GAME 3
Once again, both teams put runs on the board at the start of the game. Leitner singled to left field to drive in Brynn Libler, giving Kent State a 1-0 lead. Smith erased that lead with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the first, hitting the ball to deep center field and having the ball bounce off of the glove of the KSU centerfielder and over the fence for her second home run of the weekend, driving in Head and Kelly and giving the Broncos a 3-1 lead. 

The teams traded more runs in the third. Leitner hit a RBI single to cut WMU's lead to 3-2. Smith then singled up the middle to score Dittmar in the bottom of the inning to push the lead to 4-2. The RBI was Smith's ninth of the weekend, finishing the three games going 5-for-12 with 2 home runs and 9 RBIs. Booth hit a RBI double to score pinch runner Parker Ostach to push the lead to 5-2. 

Kent State retook the lead after Leitner hit a grand slam in the top of the fourth to make the score 6-5. The Broncos tied it up in the bottom of the sixth. Taylor Wolfe singled through the left side of the infield to open things up and then advanced to second on a passed ball. Yacapraro then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Wolfe to third base before Kelly singled up the middle to score her. Kelly also had a stellar weekend at the plate, going 5-for-11 with a home run and 5 RBIs.

Jensen Gremillion got the first two batters to go down in order to start the seventh inning. She then walked a batter but Aaralyn Nogay grounded out to Dittmar at second to retire the side. Riley Chumbley opened the bottom of the seventh with a triple. Booth struck out swinging, sending Caitlin Tighe up to the plate. With Kent State's infield playing in, Tighe hit a hard chopper to the short stop, and it bounced off her and toward second base, allowing pinch runner Chelsea Weatherford to score, while Tighe reached first base for the game-winning single. 

Gremillion picked up the win after pitching 3 1/3 innings, giving up just one hit. 

QUICK TURNAROUND
The Broncos head on the road for the last time this season on Tuesday for a doubleheader at Northern Illinois.