KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan softball team is celebrating the programs 50th season and its alumnae this weekend during its series against the Toledo Rockets.

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan's return to the Ball State Softball Stadium after four years away, the Broncos won all three games over the Ball State Cardinals. WMU bounced back in a big way last weekend with three commanding wins over Ball State. The Brown and Gold opened the series with a 5-2 win on Saturday afternoon before taking the second game of the doubleheader 4-1. Western Michigan then exploded on offense in the final game of the series with four home runs in the 13-3 victory to sweep the Cardinals.

Senior catcher Tristen Head had her best series at the plate so far this season. Head went four of seven from the batters box for an average of .571 while setting a new career high with two home runs on Sunday. Four other Broncos were .500 or better at the plate including infielders Caitlin Tighe and Bella Duncan along with outfielder Megan Malartsik and Jadeyn Merrill. Tighe had the most hits of any WMU batter with five in nine at bats while also scoring a team-high five runs.

BREAK OUT THE BROOMS
Western Michigan swept its first conference series in two seasons over the weekend. The Broncos went into Ball State Softball Stadium for the first time since 2022 and took all three games from the Cardinals on Saturday and Sunday.  WMU last swept a MAC opponent in April of 2024 when the Brown and Gold took two games from Bowling Green. Western Michigan also had a three-game series sweep earlier that season over Akron from March 29 to March 30.

With the sweep of Ball State, the Broncos have returned to an over .500 record. WMU heads into the weekend sitting at 6th in the Mid-American Conference. The Brown and Gold sit only a game behind 5th place Ohio, who they won't see this season. 

MUNCIE = HOME RUN CITY
For the second time this season, Western Michigan hit four home runs in a single game. In the Broncos explosive 13-3 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday, 3 different WMU batters hit a homer. Senior catcher Tristen Head was the only batter with multiple homers in the series finale, hitting two for a new career record. Head now has 10 home runs in her collegiate career, all of which came during her time in a Western Michigan uniform.

The Broncos have now had five batters hit two home runs in a game this season to match the program record. Along with Head, Emily Lampela, Bella Duncan, Analeez Niles, and Jadeyn Merrill have also hit two homers in a single game while Merrill has done so twice this year (South Alabama and Butler). WMU is approaching its program record for most home runs in a season as the team currently has 38 homers in 40 games. Averaging 0.95 long balls a game, the Brown and Gold are on pace to hit 47 home runs, four more than the current program record set in 2018 and again in 2025.

100 AND COUNTING K's
On Sunday afternoon in a 6.0 inning performance, freshman pitcher Hannah Potts threw her 100th strikeout of the season at Ball State. Potts is the first freshman with 100 strikeouts in a season for the Broncos since 2025 WMU Athletics Hall of Famer Meredith Whitney Buchanan threw 196 strikeouts in 2009. Whitney Buchanan was named the MAC Freshman of the Year for her performance in 2009 and continues to hold the program records for innings pitched (720.2) and strikeouts (742) in a career.

Along with Potts throwing her 100th career strikeout, freshman pitcher Ava Geyer is also nearing 100 Ks in the circle. Going into this weekend's series, Geyer has thrown 87 strikeouts. Currently averaging 4.1 Ks in an appearance, Geyer is on track to throw 100 strikeouts in four more game appearances. 

Potts and Geyer's combined performance in the circle is almost unprecedented for the Brown and Gold. Western Michigan has had only one other season in program history with more than one pitcher throwing 100 or more strikeouts. The only other season the Broncos had two pitchers striking out 100+ batters came in 2011 from juniors Whitney Buchanan and Kayla Houston.  This would be the first season in program history with two freshman throwing 100+ strikeouts for WMU. 

SERIES HISTORY
Western Michigan plays Toledo for the 127th time in program history this weekend. The Rockets lead the series by only six games at 66-60 while the Broncos hold the record at home 35-31. Last season WMU won the three game series with two victories in the Glass City and one loss to open MAC play. The Brown and Gold opened the series on Friday afternoon with a 3-2 win and followed it up with a 8-6 victory the same day. Western Michigan then dropped the final game of the series 17-6 after a weather delay. 

SCOUTING THE ROCKETS
Toledo enters Friday's doubleheader with a 12-28 overall record and an 8-10 conference record. The Rockets earned a series win over Bowling Green in the Battle of I-75 last week before falling to Miami at home over the weekend. Freshman catcher Aubrey Hensley led the offense last week, batting .429 with six hits, including a double. Sophomore outfielder Samantha Bolding continues to lead the team offensively with a .373 average at the plate and a team-high 34 runs scored.