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Baseball 4th, Softball 8th in preseason polls

The baseball coaches of the Missouri Valley Conference released their preseason poll Wednesday, predicting a fourth place finish for the Bradley baseball team with a total of 35 points.

The coaches selected Missouri State (60 points) to repeat as conference champions, receiving five of eight first place votes by the coaches. Dallas Baptist (56) and Wichita State (47), who were pegged to finish second and third, received two and one first-place vote, respectively.

Following the Braves are Indiana State (28), Illinois State (27), Evansville (22) and Southern Illinois (13).

The Braves finished third in the conference last year and played for a conference tournament championship last season. Their performance throughout the season earned them a berth in the NCAA tournament as a two-seed in the Louisville Regional.

However, the men lost some key players from last year’s squad. Pitcher/DH Elliot Ashbeck and second baseman Chris Godinez opted to leave for professional baseball at the conclusion of last year. Center fielder Isaac Smith, who was among the team leaders in hits and batting average, graduated, along with catcher Drew Carlisle and pitcher Steve Atkins.

The returning talent was enough to earn their opposing coaches’ respect, though. Five starters will return to the field, including third baseman Spencer Gaa and short stop Tyler Lefler. Also returning are flame-throwing pitcher Matt Dennis and catcher/DH Ian Kristan, who the MVC coaches selected to the preseason All-Conference team.

The Braves will begin MVC play against the projected champions, Missouri State, at home Friday, April 8.

In addition to the baseball team, the MVC also released the coach’s preseason rankings for softball.

The Braves were voted to finish eighth in the conference with 32 points, a season after they finished sixth in the MVC and lost in disappointing fashion to Illinois State in the first round of the MVC tournament and two seasons after they made an NCAA tournament appearance.

However, Bradley did finish ahead of Loyola (21) and Evansville (11), while Wichita State (84) was picked as the preaseason favorite to win the conference title.

The Braves will have a tough time replacing graduating seniors, which include 2015 first team All-MVC infielder Shannon King, outfielder Brittany Burgess and utility player Lexi Cremeens, who combined for 66 runs batted in and 10 home runs.

The Braves also lost starting pitcher Alyson Spinas-Valanis, who struck out 100 batters in 38 appearances and finished with a 9-16 record on the bump.

Of the returning players, sophomore outfielder Erika Hansen was voted to the preseason All-Conference team after a standout freshman campaign, where her 20 doubles and 68 walks ranked second in Bradley history for a single season.

The Braves begin conference play March 19 against Indiana State in Terre Haute.

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