KALAMAZOO (WKZO) – Western Michigan took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning, but had to fight off a Miami run to secure the win in their MAC opener, 3-2.Bronco pitcher Meredith Whitney did a little bit of everything in this game, striking out two RedHawk batters in each of the first three defensive innings for Western Michigan. Whitney struck out 9 batters in the game. She also found success at the plate, bombing her second home run over the left center field fence; she added a single in the fifth. She now has 16 career home runs, which ranks second alone at WMU. Whitney’s two RBI’s brings her career total to 75, ranking fourth in school history.

With two outs in the fifth frame, Tara Buchanan belted her third homer of the season on the first pitch of her at bat giving the Broncos a 3-0 lead.

Miami staged a comeback in the bottom of the final frame, pulling within a single run behind back-to-back doubles. Bronco centerfielder Jennifer Tschetter made a stellar defensive play to double up a RedHawk baserunner on first. She nabbed the final out of the game on a routine fly ball.

Western Michigan is on the path to defending their 2011 MAC West championship. The Broncos and RedHawks meet Sunday afternoon at Fran Ebert Field for game 2 of the series. Western looks for their first season sweep of Miami since 2006. First pitch is 1 pm.