KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan softball team closed out its eight game homestand with a 2-1 series win over the Akron Zips with 4-3 and 4-1 (9) victories.

Senior Jordan Smith hit the Broncos first walk-off home run since 2019 in the final inning of the weekend to secure a second straight MAC series win. While WMU dropped the first game of the weekend on Friday afternoon 5-2, the Brown and Gold came back with a vengeance on Saturday. Western Michigan took both games of the doubleheader on the 28^th in walk-off fashion for the program's first back-to-back walk-off wins in seven seasons.

Over the three games sophomore outfielder Rylee O'Brien led the Broncos at the plate going 5-of-9 for a .556 average while adding a double. Senior utility Haleigh Smith also had a big weekend for WMU hitting .444 and connecting on the game-winning double in the first walk-off on Saturday. In the circle, MAC Pitcher of the Week Hannah Potts had two starts with a 1-1 record, a 1.95 ERA, and threw 9 strikeouts. Freshman Ava Geyer earned the Brown and Gold's second win in the circle with a complete game allowing six hits and three runs with seven strikeouts for a 3.00 ERA.

In the first game of the weekend it was a pitchers duel early as neither side had more than four batters in the box through the first two innings. The 0-0 deadlock was broken in the top of the third by Akron after a leadoff single, two outs and a second single to bring a run across home. The Broncos limited the Zips to the single run as starting pitcher Hannah Potts threw her second strikeout of the afternoon.

Akron threatened again in the fourth inning, putting two runners in scoring position. But the WMU defense left both Zips stranded on the base paths. The offense used the momentum the defense created in the top of the fourth inning to score the Brown and Gold's first run of the series. After a leadoff single from shortstop Caitlin Tighe, a failed pickoff attempt put the junior at third base. Tighe crossed home on designated player Jordan Smith's ground out to second base, making it a 1-1 game.

But in the top of the fifth Akron took a run lead again on a solo home run. The Zips then added onto their lead in the sixth, scoring their final three runs on four hits to have a 5-1 advantage. Western Michigan brought another run across in the bottom of the sixth, making it only a three-run game. For the second time in two innings, Smith brought Tighe home with a long single to left field.

 The Broncos turned their fifth double play of the season on defense in the top of the seventh to keep Akron from adding any more runs. In the bottom of the seventh, WMU had a perfect start with back-to-back singles from outfielder Parker Ostach and utility player Haleigh Smith. Catcher Tristen Head was then walked in the next at-bat after the Zips put a new pitcher in the circle.

The Brown and Gold had the bases loaded with no outs on the board with the chance for a walk off win. But Western Michigan wasn't quite able to bring any more runners' home with two outs in the field. The Broncos final out of the game came at home plate as Ostach was tagged at the plate on a fielder's choice for Tighe.