In her 14 at-bats over Bradley’s last four games, King picked up seven hits, six RBIs and three runs while leading Bradley’s offense to four straight victories.
Last Saturday, the Braves swept a doubleheader against the Ramblers thanks to a little patience and a lot of pitching.
Down 3-1 entering the sixth inning, the Braves drew six walks against Loyola’s Madison Hope, leading to a four-run outburst that gave the Braves the lead. Bradley would hold on to win the game 5-3.
Head coach Amy Hayes said the team is very patient at the plate, noting her batters are exceptional at reading the pitcher.
“I think we have a pretty good command of the strike zone, and we work very hard to be able to hit balls that are off the plate anyway,” Hayes said. “A good hitter can tell when a pitcher is kind of struggling and falling behind and we need to be a little bit more patient, or when [a pitcher is] just trying to stretch the zone.”
In the second game Saturday, the Braves received a dominating pitching performance from sophomore Jaelen Hull. Hull tossed a complete game shutout, scattering seven hits and one walk while striking out four.
It was an encouraging performance for Hull, who tossed 116 pitches in the effort, especially since she was removed from a game two weeks ago due to what coach Hayes called a “soft” pitch count. Hayes said the team is still going to track Hull’s workload.
“I think we still have to keep an eye on her,” Hayes said. “[Her pitch count] was probably a little high, but she felt really good, and she wanted to keep going.”
Bradley got another dominating performance in the circle Sunday from senior Alyson Spinas-Valainis. She, too, tossed a complete game shutout, allowing just five hits in her seven innings of work.
King helped Spinas-Valainis’ cause by cranking out three hits in four at-bats, tallying four RBIs and scoring a run. She also made a leaping grab to end the game, similar to how Bradley’s loss to Missouri State ended a week prior.
The Braves took on Western Illinois in a non-conference game Tuesday, rallying from an early five run deficit to beat the Leathernecks 10-8. Three unearned runs scored for the Braves in the bottom of the sixth inning thanks to a pair of errors on Leatherneck left fielder Holly Hoelting. Hayes said the team has the mentality needed to rally and win games.
“It’s just a testament to what we kind of keep preaching to them: just keep your head down, and it’ll come,” Hayes said. “They have not quit on us, they have not stopped working hard, [and] they have not stopped swinging the bat. They’ve really kind of started to trust the process. I think we’re gaining a little bit of confidence. Any time you can come from a five-run deficit and come back to win, you just want to keep it rolling.”
Bradley takes on Indiana State in a doubleheader Saturday at noon. The team will face the Sycamores again Sunday at noon to close the series.
