OXFORD, Ohio -- The Western Michigan softball team begins Mid-American Conference play at the 2026 MAC Preseason favorites, the Miami RedHawks.

LAST TIME OUT
The Brown and Gold 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 fiery offensive innings on Tuesday at Buckeye Field for both squads. 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.

FLY THE FLAG!
With their win over Ohio State on Tuesday night, the Broncos have earned a win over a Power 4 program during the regular season for three straight seasons. In 2025, WMU began the season with a big shutout of in-state rival and Big Ten member Michigan State at the Candrea Classic hosted by the Arizona Wildcats.

The Brown and Gold picked up the 8-0 win over the Spartans behind graduate pitcher Jensen Gremillion, going the full 6.0 innings with just two hits allowed on Feb. 8. WMU's defense behind her was stellar as well, with Gremillion only striking out one batter, the Broncos made 18 putouts without a single error. Outfielder Riley Dittmar was 2-for-2 with a solo home run, a 2 RBI single and a sacrifice fly for four RBIs. Taylor Wolfe and Riley Chumbley each had doubles, with Chumbley recording a RBI and Wolfe scoring two runs and driving one in while going 3-for-3 from the plate. While Tighe was 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored. 

During the 2024 season Western Michigan beat Pittsburgh of the ACC also in shutout fashion with a 5-0 victory at the FGCU Spring Break Classic hosted by Florida Gulf Coast. The Broncos recorded seven hits and scored five runs in their shutout on March 8 led by Dittmar with two hits and five combined RBIs from Payton Kelly and Gabbie Evans. WMU's win over the Panthers that afternoon was the softball team's first win over a Power 4 school since Feb. 8, 2020, versus Arizona State under former head coach Kathy Leitke.

MAKING THE SACRIFICE
Sophomore infielder Hannah Herman recorded her sixth sacrifice bunt of the season at Ohio State on Tuesday night in the Brown and Gold's 11-10 win. Herman now leads the MAC along with Central Michigan outfielder Emma Lotus in sacrifice bunts going into the start of conference play this weekend. Along with leading the conference in sacrifice bunts, Herman is ranked 13th nationally in sac bunts per game. With 19 games played, Herman is averaging 0.32 sacrifice bunts, only 0.18 behind the national leader, Addie Lucier of Wofford. 

WEARING ONE FOR THE TEAM
Two Western Michigan players are regularly reaching base through being hit by a pitch. Senior catcher and utility player Tristen Head has reached base six times after wearing one, including on Tuesday night at Ohio State. With six hit by pitches, the senior is tied for second in the conference with Ball State infielder Mandy Lauth. The two are also tied for 43rd nationally in statistic while Head is 28th among Division I players in hit by pitch per game at 0.33. Head is currently on a two-game streak of being hit by a pitch.

Junior outfielder Emily Lampela has also worn multiple pitches this season. Lampela has reached base four times after being hit by a pitch and is tied with five other MAC players for eighth in the conference. But with only 16 games played so far this year, Lampela is higher up the rankings in hit by pitch per game. The junior is sixth in the MAC at 0.25 hit by pitches a game while being ranked 75th nationally.

TIME FOR MAC-TION
WMU starts conference play this weekend at the Miami RedHawks with a three game series on Friday and Saturday. Back in February the Brown and Gold were picked to finish eighth in the league in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches. Whereas Miami was picked to repeat as the league title-holders in the early season poll with 116 points and eight first place votes. The RedHawks do currently lead the MAC through non-conference play with an 18-4 overall record while Western Michigan is tied for sixth with Central Michigan at 9-10. 

SERIES HISTORY
While Miami may be picked to win the 2026 regular season by head coaches, the Broncos lead the overall series with the RedHawks dating back to 1983. WMU has 57 wins to Miami's 45 over the program's 102 meetings in a little over 40 years. The RedHawks are currently on a six-game winning streak in the series dating back to the 2024 season. The Brown and Gold's last win over Miami came on April 2, 2023 with a narrow 2-1 victory at home in Ebert Field.

Last season, Western Michigan dropped three tight contests to then MAC leaders Miami on March 29 and 30 at Ebert Field. The Broncos opened the series with a pair of 5-4 losses to the RedHawks in a double-header on Friday and then fell to Miami 3-1 in the Saturday finale. Across the three games, seniors Payton Kelly and Riley Dittmar led WMU's offense with four hits each as Kelley went 4-of-13 (.307) and Dittmar was 4-of-10 (.400). In the circle, sophomore Casey Fazzini and freshman Kaylee Salyer almost evenly split time as Fazzini pitched 10.0 innings and Salyer pitched 12.0 innings. The two pitchers combined for five strikeouts across the three games.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
The RedHawks sit at the top of the MAC going into this weekend with 18 wins on the season in 22 games played. The only games Miami has not won in 2026 were an opening day loss to Kentucky 8-7, an 11-3 loss to Evansville in Memphis, and back-to-back 4-3 losses to Mississippi and Kennesaw State in mid-February. The RedHawks have rolled off 13 wins since over the past three weeks, including wins against Power 4 opponents Iowa and Missouri. But Miami will be coming off a full week away from the diamond on Friday as its lone game on March 7 in Richmond, Ky. against Delaware State was canceled due to weather.

The RedHawks have three batters all averaging above .400 at the plate coming into Friday afternoon's game. Freshman outfielder Evey Dieudonne leads the three at .417 with 20 hits in 48 at-bats, but has played three less games than the other two hitters. Senior outfielder Bailey Manos is averaging .416 with a team-high 32 hits that include six doubles, two triples, and seven home runs while appearing in all 22 games this season. Senior infielder Danitza Hernandez has a similar stat line to Manos with a .413 average through 22 games, connecting on 26 hits for six doubles and six home runs. In the circle, senior right-hander Presley Hosick leads Miami with a 1.99 ERA, a 6-2 record in 63.1 innings pitched through 11 appearances and nine starts with seven complete games.