COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Western Michigan softball team exploded for 11 runs in the final three innings on Tuesday night to secure an 11-10 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes.

It was a game of explosive offensive innings on Tuesday at Buckeye Field. The Broncos and Ohio State combined for 21 runs scored on 20 hits with only three errors across seven innings. WMU came out on top with the one-run victory thanks to a big sixth and seventh inning from its defense. In the field, the Brown and Gold limited the Buckeyes to only one run on three hits while leaving four runners on base in the final two innings. Infielders Bella Duncan and Caitlin Tighe had two hits each for Western Michigan, while junior Casey Fazzini earned her second win in the circle with 2.1 innings pitched.

Despite the final score, the Bronco offense was quiet early in Columbus. Ohio State had the early advantage with a four-run second inning on three hits. But after the second, WMU's defense was able to limit the Buckeyes to two innings without a run scored and only two hits at the plate. The Brown and Gold didn't register their first hit until the top of the fourth when Tighe singled to third with two outs on the board.

Tighe wouldn't make it home in the fourth inning but soon found herself in a similar position at the top of the fifth. Western Michigan began the fifth with a runner on first, thanks to a fielding error from Ohio State, before infielder Lili Janeczko singled to center field.  Only two at-bats later, both runners crossed home plate as Duncan hit her fourth home run of the season over the left-center fence, making it a one-run game.

The Broncos' next two batters both reached base on walks before the Buckeyes made a change in the circle. But the change only helped WMU as Tighe came up to bat and hit her fourth double of 2026 to center, giving the Brown and Gold a one-run lead. Western Michigan wasn't done scoring there as catcher Tristen Head put a long fly ball into center field, allowing Tighe to score the Broncos' sixth run of the inning.

Ohio State's offense responded in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five runs in only seven batters. The four hits in the half inning had WMU behind for the second time that evening at 9-6. The Brown and Gold began to chip away at the deficit early in the sixth inning with all three of its batters getting on base. With the bases loaded, Duncan had her second hit of the night, this time a single to center, that scored two more runs for a 9-8 game.

Western Michigan didn't stop there, as pinch hitter Haleigh Smith had a groundout to the pitcher that scored the tying run. The Broncos didn't take the lead in the sixth inning, but they did keep the Buckeyes from reaching home in the defensive half despite facing a bases-loaded situation. Heading into the final inning of the night, WMU had a near-perfect start to break the 9-9 deadlock.

Head singled up the middle to begin the seventh, followed by a single to right field from infielder Kendall Kotzmacher. Both runners advanced a base on a passed ball from Ohio State catcher Hailey Lang. While the Brown and Gold's next hitter struck out, Head scored on the following at-bat with another ground out to the pitcher to give Western Michigan another one-run lead. The Broncos added an insurance run in the next AB as infielder Hannah Herman reached first on a dropped third strike from the catcher, scoring Kotzmacher to make it an 11-9 game.

In the final half inning of the night, WMU had a strong start with back-to-back outs. But the Buckeyes weren't done yet as they strung together a two-hit sequence that scored a lone run. With only a one-run lead and one out left to go, the Brown and Gold intentionally walked Ohio State's next batter to have two runners on the base paths. The Western Michigan defense came up strong as the Buckeyes' final batter connected on her second pitch straight to Duncan, who tossed the final out over to Janeczko to secure the 11-10 victory.

Tuesday night's win was the Broncos' first over Ohio State in over 40 years. WMU's last victory over the Buckeyes goes all the way back to March 23, 1981, when the Brown and Gold won 5-3 on a neutral site. Western Michigan earned a win in Columbus before in April of 1978, which was only the program's third year of competition. The Broncos and Ohio State are now even at 3-3 in the all-time series.

WMU will be back in action in less than 24 hours as the team travels an hour east to Dayton. The Brown and Gold are set to play the Dayton Flyers for the second time this season in a mid-afternoon matchup on Wednesday. First pitch from UD Softball Stadium is currently set for 2:00 p.m., weather permitting.