CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Western Michigan softball team went 1-4 at its final non-conference tournament of the season at the Cathi Maynard Invitational hosted by Austin Peay.

The Broncos picked up their second shutout win of the year on Saturday afternoon in a 4-0 victory over the Lipscomb Bisons. But that was the only win of the weekend for WMU, who dropped a game to Butler and three games to Austin Peay on Friday and Sunday. The Brown and Gold took the Governors down to the wire on Sunday afternoon as neither team scored going into the final two innings. But one run crossed the plate for Austin Peay to give them the victory over Western Michigan to close out the weekend.

Freshman Bella Duncan led the Broncos at the plate with a .389 batting average with seven hits, two doubles, and three RBIs. Duncan was the only WMU player who had multiple hits for multiple bases while two players, outfielder Rylee O'Brien and catcher Tristen Head, had the Brown and Gold's two home runs of the weekend. In the circle, Western Michigan's pitchers had their best weekend striking out batters. Across the five games over the weekend, the Broncos threw out a season-high of 30 batters. Freshman pitcher Hannah Potts led WMU with 15 strikeouts in the circle while freshman Ava Geyer was right behind Potts with 13 Ks in two appearances.

The Brown and Gold fell behind early in their first game of the weekend against Butler. The Bulldogs scored a run in each of the first two innings for a 2-0 lead. But Western Michigan answered in the bottom of the second as Head launched her first home run of the season past the left center wall to tie the game up at two each. Neither team scored in the third inning, but Butler soon found its offense again, scoring seven runs on six hits to take a 9-2 lead in the top of the fourth. Two early runners on base in the bottom of the fourth for the Broncos led to two more scored runs on a single from infielder Hannah Herman and a double from Duncan. But WMU wouldn't score again over the next three innings as the Bulldogs took the victory 12-5.

In the Friday nightcap, the Brown and Gold held hosts Austin Peay to only six batters in the first two innings. Western Michigan scored the first run of the game in the top of the third thanks to a lead off double from outfielder Megan Malartsk. After advancing to third on a Governors passed ball, Malartsik scored the first run of the game on a sacrifice bunt from Herman. The Broncos got three straight outs after a lead off walk in the bottom of the third and threatened to score in the top of the fourth with two on base. But the Austin Peay offense soon figured out WMUs defense, launching a three-run homer to take the lead in the bottom of the fourth. The Governors continued to add on the runs from there with three scored in the fifth and the sixth to end the game an inning early with a 9-1 final. 

On Saturday, the Brown and Gold traveled the hour south of Clarksville to play a single game at Lipscomb as part of the Cathi Maynard Invitational. With a 10 a.m. local first pitch due to projected weather the rest of the day, Western Michigan put together its best performance of the weekend in its first ever program meeting with the Bison. The Broncos earned their second shutout of the season behind a complete game performance from Geyer. In seven innings of work, Geyer allowed only two hits while striking out six batters. On the offensive side of things, WMU put together seven hits while scoring four runs in three innings. The Brown and Gold took an early lead in the first, scoring three runs to begin their lone game of the day. Western Michigan then added its insurance run in the top of the sixth on a single from Duncan that scored pinch runner Emily Yacapraro for the 4-0 final.

In the final day of the Cathi Maynard Invitational, the Broncos began their doubleheader with Austin Peay at noon local time. The Governors struck first with a sacrifice hit to score a lone run. But Austin Peay's lead didn't last long as WMU scored two runs in the top of the second. O'Brien hit her first career home run to tie the game up with two outs on the board while a double from Duncan scored outfielder Parker Ostach to give the Brown and Gold a 2-1 lead. Western Michigan's offense went dry after the second inning not scoring again for the rest of the game. The Governors wasted no time in responding in game one, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the second and adding one more in the bottom of the sixth for the 9-2 final.

The second game of the doubleheader was the exact opposite of the first game. Starting pitchers Hannah Potts and Alanah Jones dueled in the circle, limiting hitters on both sides to only five total hits through 46 at-bats. Potts pitched a complete six innings in the circle for the Broncos, striking out six batters while allowing only one walk and two hits compared to Jones three. But one of the hits from Austin Peay led to the only run of the game in the bottom of the sixth. After a lead-off strikeout from Potts, the Governors had two runners reach base on a walk and an error. In the next at-bat a double sent the lone run home. Looking to keep the game going in the top of the seventh, Head began with a lead off single. But Head wouldn't get further than second base as WMU's next three batters went down in order for the 1-0 final.

The Brown and Gold won't have long to dwell on the Cathi Maynard Invitational as they return to action on Tuesday evening. Western Michigan heads to Ohio for a five-game road trip in the Buckeye state over the next week. The Broncos will begin their road trip with a single game at Ohio State on Tuesday, followed by a single game at Dayton on Wednesday. Then WMU opens Mid-American Conference play over the weekend at the MAC Preseason favorite Miami RedHawks on March 13 and 14.