Softball to host Bowling Green and Toledo

By Katie Lynn
Western Herald

(Western Herald file photo) Senior Mandi Sayres put the Broncos on the board in their last game against Akron with her suicide squeeze bunt single. Sayres has the highest batting average on the team with .344.

The Western Michigan softball team will take on Bowling Green State University in a doubleheader on Friday starting at 1 p.m. and then they will take on the University of Toledo on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

Western Michigan (18-13, 3-1 Mid-American Conference) is coming off a weekend in which the team won three of its four games at home against MAC rivals, the University of Akron and Ohio University. They will look for further success this weekend against two more conference foes.

On Friday, the Broncos will take on Bowling Green, who currently have an overall record of 7-14 and a conference record of 2-0.

The Falcons have a lot of talented players, but two in particular will need to be watched out for. Senior Hayley Wiemer leads the Falcons with a .348 batting average, with five home runs and 13 RBIs.
Another Falcon player that has had a successful season thus far is freshman Rachel Proehler, who is second on the roster with a batting average of .333, and leads with 22 total hits.

Bowling Green beat Toledo at home in a doubleheader on March 28. The Falcons took the first game 6-4 and the second game 9-1.

The next conference competitor that the Broncos will face this weekend is the Rockets of Toledo

Toledo’s record thus far is 1-21 overall, which includes a 0-2 mark in the MAC.

Junior Mica Sanchez leads UT with a .288 batting average and is second on the team with 15 hits. Freshman Brooke Gates is third on the team with a batting average of .250, and also leads her team with two home runs.

Toledo took on Florida A&M University earlier this season, falling 5-3. WMU has a win against Florida A&M, defeating the team 6-0 on Feb. 27.

The Broncos had early success and will look to keep a good balance if they hope to continue playing successful softball this weekend.

“Yesterday we practiced strictly hitting, and today has been a combination of both hitting and defense,” junior pitcher Meghan Thomas said Tuesday.

Sophomore Lexi Jager has been one of the leaders in the batting box for the Broncos, with four home runs and a batting average of .342.

Along with Jager is freshman Meredith Whitney who is second on the team with 19 hits, and has two home runs. A pitcher, Whitney has also done very well in the circle and hasn’t allowed a run in five straight starts.

The Broncos have worked really hard this week to make sure they continue their winning ways against the Falcons and Rockets.

“They’re tough teams, but I mean if we come out playing like we did this weekend in hitting, I think we could come out with some wins again,” Thomas said.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Apr 2 2009. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
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