MOBILE, Ala. – The Western Michigan University softball team opened its weekend tournament with a victory over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks before dropping the final four games of the weekend. 

The Broncos went 1-4 in five games at the Mardi Gras Classic presented by Mobile Marriott this weekend. WMU opened the tournament with a 7-4 win against Jacksonville State. The Brown and Gold then dropped two close games to hosts South Alabama and UAB before closing out the weekend with a run rule loss to the Jaguars and a seventh inning decision to the Gamecocks. Infielder Megan Malartsik and Bella Duncan led the offense with five hits each while Duncan had seven RBIs. In the circle, freshman Hannah Potts earned the lone win of the weekend, going 1-0 with an ERA of 3.94 and two strikeouts.

Western Michigan found itself down early in the first game of the weekend as Jax State walked in a run and scored a second on a sacrifice fly in the second inning. But the Broncos weren't down for long as they scored all seven of their runs in the next half inning. WMU batted through the order in the third inning, bringing seven runs across the plate on seven hits and an error, including a home run from outfielder Parker Ostach and doubles from Duncan, Hannah Herman, and Caitlin Tighe.

Over the next two innings the Brown and Gold defense only allowed two hits and no runs to keep their five run lead. The Gamecocks were able to shrink Western Michigan's lead to three as they scored two runs on four hits in the bottom of the sixth. The Bronco defense was able to lock up the 7-4 win in the bottom of the seventh, allowing only a walk with two ground outs and a fly out. Potts earned the win for WMU, pitching 5.1 innings while junior Casey Fazinni earned her first save of the season.

In their second game of the day against hosts South Alabama, the Brown and Gold took an early lead on a two-run home run from designated player Jadeyn Merrill in the top of the second. The Jaguars trimmed the lead to a run in the third with a well placed double. Only an inning later, Merrill again connected for the long ball, scoring another pair of runs for a 4-1 lead. But Western Michgian only added two more hits in the final three innings of the game while USA scored four runs on five hits to hand the Broncos their first loss of the season.

On Saturday, WMU began with an early deficit to the UAB Blazers. The Blazers scored two runs in the first inning and then added two more in the fifth to put the Brown and Gold down by four. The offense began a rally in the top of the sixth with three straight hits to score its first run of the day. Western Michigan added two more runs on a ground out and a single from pinch hitter Rylee O'Brien. The Broncos weren't able to find the tying run before the middle of the seventh inning, falling to UAB 4-3.

WMU's offense was quiet in its Saturday nightcap against South Alabama, only connecting on three hits in the 8-0 run-rule decision. But the offense exploded on Sunday morning, scoring 12 runs on a season-high 13 hits against Jacksonville State. Every other inning the Brown and Gold added multiple runs until the sixth. Western Michigan tied the Gamecocks in the bottom of the first on Duncan's second home run of the season. And Duncan wasn't finished as she launched another two-run bomb to center in the bottom of the third to make it a 4-4 game.

The Broncos added three more runs in the third inning as designated player Jordan Smith hit her first home run of the year to score herself and infielder Caitlin Tighe. WMU followed up the home runs with a sacrifice bunt three at-bats later to make it a 7-4 advantage. The Brown and Gold offense had another big inning in the fifth, scoring four more runs on four more hits from infielder Riley Chumbley, Malartisk, Herman, and Duncan.

With an 11-4 lead, Western Michigan started having to fend off a comeback from the Gamecocks. Jax State scored five runs in the top of the sixth, trimming the Bronco lead down to two. A lead-off double followed by a walk and a sacrifice fly scored a 12^th run for WMU in the bottom of the sixth. But Jacksonville State was able to complete the comeback in the seventh, scoring seven runs on seven hits and an error while holding the Brown and Gold to only a hit and a walk in the 16-12 final.

Western Michigan returns to the diamond next weekend for its third straight tournament of the month. The Broncos will be a little closer to home at the Hilltopper Classic hosted by Western Kentucky. WMU will play two games against the hosts along with seeing Detroit Mercy twice and Butler once. The Brown and Gold's first game at the Hilltopper Classic is set for 1:30 p.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 20 against the Titans.