After weeks of searching for ways to close out games and build momentum, it looks like Bradley baseball may have found it.
Entering a three-game set against the University of Tennessee-Martin, the Braves sat at 1-6 and were coming off a series in which they were swept by UNLV, allowing 45 runs across three games.
The start to the weekend against the Skyhawks appeared much the same. Bradley allowed 17 runs in Game 1, including 10 in the first two innings, as the team dropped to 1-7 for their fifth loss in a row.
The Braves knew they needed a swing in momentum in Game 2, and it appeared that they had found it through the first few innings. Entering the bottom of the fourth, Bradley held a 6-3 lead, powered by two home runs from utilityman Hayden Miller.
The lead evaporated as quickly as they got it, though. The Skyhawks scored three runs across the next two innings to tie the game, and the Braves needed a response.
A response is exactly what they got.
Bradley scored five runs in the sixth and seventh innings to rebuild their lead. UT Martin fought back with three runs in the seventh and eighth, but left-handed pitcher Davis Webb shut down any chances of the Skyhawks tying the game to secure the Braves’ second win of the season.
“I think the way we responded to adversity this weekend was what this team is capable of doing and what it takes to win,” head coach Justin Dedman said. “There’s always going to be adversity inside of a baseball game, and these guys know to get off the mat fast and get off furious and battle back, and we did that a lot this weekend. Our mindset really made a jump this weekend.”
Webb pitched the last 4.2 innings of Saturday’s game, striking out seven Skyhawks for his first winning decision of the season.
“I think the leadership on the mound that Davis Webb has shown for us so far this season has really grown a ton,” Dedman said. “His stuff has made a step forward, and he’s throwing rockets and has some gross stuff, but he’s just competitive in attacking the strike zone, attacking hitters and trusting himself. He knows he’s good enough to beat you no matter what’s going on today.”
Entering the rubber match on Sunday, Bradley had a chance to come away with their first series win of the season and first under Dedman. Once again, they came out of the gates hot, taking a 2-1 lead after two innings. The Skyhawks wouldn’t let them hold the lead, though, as they took a 5-2 lead in the fourth.
The Braves responded instantly in the fifth, scoring three runs to tie the game thanks to great situational baserunning and a few errors by UT Martin. With two outs and a runner on second, freshman catcher Cal Leighton stepped up to the plate and launched a two-run homer, giving Bradley the lead.
“I try to attack every at-bat like it’s the same, trying to stay inside the baseball and get the job done,” Leighton said. “That’s typically where you’re going to have a lot of success, is having the same approach and sticking to it. That’s what I did in those at-bats and, you know, eventually I came through.”
The Braves never looked back after Leighton’s homer, adding on two more runs in the sixth and responding to the Skyhawks attempts to rally in the seventh and eighth innings. Robert Sanford picked up his first save of the season, and Bradley took the series over UT Martin.
“It was awesome,” Leighton said. “The bus ride home was great. We know that we’re capable of doing it, and I think it’s going to get us rolling. Especially next weekend, we’re feeling really good about what we can do.”
Before traveling to Saint Louis for their next series, the Braves had a midweek matchup against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. After each side went scoreless in the first two innings, Bradley jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third, capped off by a bases-clearing double from designated hitter Jack Holubowski.
The Cougars battled back with two runs in the bottom of the inning, and the two sides traded runs in the fourth. After a scoreless fifth, Leighton once again delivered for the Braves by way of a two-run double in the sixth to extend Bradley’s lead to four. Third baseman Luke Skinner roped a double of his own to drive Leighton in, and the Braves led 8-3.
“Cal is really competitive,” Dedman said. “He believes in himself at a high level, and with good reason. He’s very skilled, he’s got great bat-to-ball skills, great hand-eye coordination, very good bat speed and he’s shown a lot of toughness for us thus far. To do it as a freshman catcher at that position is very impressive.”
It wouldn’t be easy the rest of the way for Bradley, though. The Cougars scored two runs in the eighth to cut the deficit to three. SIUE’s right fielder, Terrick Thompson-Allen, hit a two-run, 467-foot homer to cut the Braves’ lead to one in the ninth, but Sanford was able to get the final out to secure Bradley’s third win in a row.
“Momentum is real in life,” Dedman said. “You have to be on top of the process, on top of the details and then on top of how you play the game. When you do those things well, a lot of good things are going to happen. There’s energy to that, because now you start to really believe we are good, we are capable.”
The Braves look to extend their win streak this weekend, as they travel to Saint Louis for a three-game series against the Billikens, and then to Lindenwood in the middle of the week for two games against the Lions.
“Their pitching isn’t anything crazy, their offense is kind of middle of the pack,” Leighton said on the upcoming matchup against Saint Louis. “I think if we attack them the same way that we did UT Martin offensively the past two games, then we’re going to have success with them just as we did these last three games.”
