Junior pitcher Jaelen Hull has experienced some tough luck so far this Missouri Valley Conference season. In her first start against Indiana State, her defense yielded seven errors in a 14-13 loss.
In last Friday’s loss to Missouri State, Hull allowed only five runs, but her offense contributed no run support in a 5-0 loss.
In the series rubber match, Hull finally found her way into the win column with authority. After beating the Bears 7-5 in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader, Hull shut out Missouri State as the Braves won 1-0 and captured the series.
“I told my coach, ‘I just turned my mind off,’” Hull said. “I just slowed things down. I wasn’t trying to focus so much on the littlest things in my pitches. I was just focusing on trusting everything and, it sounds weird, but I let my mind blank. I tend to do my best when I’m not thinking a lot out there.”
Hull credited a lot of her success to the “stellar” defensive effort put forth by the Braves. Head coach Amy Hayes said Hull was able to make a few adjustments from Friday night’s game, which made her extremely effective the next day.
“Honestly, [Hull] didn’t really change a whole lot from what she did in game one, she was just a little bit sharper,” Hayes said. “She just came back even stronger in game three. I think she saw where she could beat them and really just pounded there.”
Hull said the game plan was to attack the Missouri State hitters with her screwball and work back inside with her curveball. She said they were “working all over” the zone, and she clearly executed that game plan to perfection. The junior posted two complete games over 13 innings with a 1-1 record, four runs, four walks and 10 strikeouts.
Hull’s performance, along with some timely hits from sophomore Maria Schroeder and senior Rachel Huggins, boosts the team’s MVC record to 4-2. More importantly, those wins came on the road.
“One of our goals is to win every series,” Hayes said. “To drive over to Terre Haute and get it done and then drive six hours [to Missouri State] to get it done was good. I’d like to see us come out stronger in our first game, but I think playing at home this weekend will help with that.”
The women said they are excited about finally playing at home against Evansville this weekend, as it’s the first time they’ll be able to defend their home turf.
“There’s a lot of pride [in playing at home],” Hull said. “We’re pumped. After traveling so much on the road, it’s always great to come back and be in a familiar setting … we take a lot of pride in our game, and how we play and how hard we work, and we’re excited to showcase that.”
Bradley plays Evansville, who is 1-5 this year in the MVC. The Braves, however, pay no mind to the record of their opponents. They just want to go out and play their game, according to Hayes.
“Every team is tough in this conference,” Hull said. “We’re working on keeping our heads down and playing our game, controlling the things that we can control. Whether that’s our swings, our defense, our pitching, playing how we play [is what’s most important].”
The Braves will play three games against Evansville, starting with two games Saturday and completing the series Sunday afternoon.
