photo via Bradley University Marketing
After compiling a 14-11 record in its non-conference season, the Bradley women’s softball team began its Missouri Valley Conference season this past weekend by dropping two of three games at Southern Illinois.
Saturday’s doubleheader saw the Braves struggle to get much going at the plate. The Braves only scored one run in each game as SIU hurlers Brianna Jones and Savanna Dover both went the distance in their starts, beating the Braves 6-1 and 2-1.
“They are two of the best pitchers in the conference,” head coach Amy Hayes said. “They do a good job of throwing a pretty big mix. Some of their success is going to depend on what the zone is like. We just didn’t do a very good job of making adjustments from at-bat to at-bat.”
In game three, the Bradley hitters made the necessary adjustments at the plate. The Salukis took a one-run lead into the seventh inning, but the Braves rallied.
“Our approach to game three was to focus in on the little things that can make the biggest difference in the game,” senior center fielder Caitlyn McCarron said. “For hitters, it was to make the adjustments as soon as we can. Our team does an excellent job of keeping our composure no matter the situation we are in or who is playing. We all have confidence in one another to get the job at hand done.”
Senior left fielder Kelly Kapp led off the frame with a single, and McCarron delivered the go-ahead two-run homer.
“My goal was to just get the ball in play and do the best I could to get Kapp in,” McCarron said. “When I saw the ball in the zone, I knew I wasn’t going down without a fight, and then all of a sudden I saw it go over the fence, and I couldn’t contain my excitement.”
That gave the Braves a 6-5 lead going into the bottom of the seventh when senior pitcher Jaelen Hull closed out the game to earn her seventh win of the season.
“[Hull] has really embraced this role as a closer for us,” Hayes said. “You don’t always see that in softball. I think [sophomore pitchers] Julie Kestas and Megan Mahaffey set her up really well this weekend.”
After dropping the first two games of the series, McCarron said getting the win in the third and final game was very important.
“Now that we are in conference, every win and loss makes a difference in our record,” McCarron said. “One win or loss can determine where we are ranked overall for the conference, and the higher up the ranking the better seat we have in the MVC tournament.”
Kapp also set the Bradley record for career steals this weekend with 90 while also becoming the third player in Bradley history to notch 200 career hits.
Bradley also dropped a mid-week non-conference game at Illinois Wednesday night. The Fighting Illini got out to a 4-0 lead after three Bradley errors in the first inning and never looked back as they went on to win 7-1.
The Braves will continue conference play this weekend at Evansville with a double-header at noon Saturday and game three at the same time Sunday.
