Late-inning drama highlighted each of the three games that took place last weekend, as the Bradley baseball team traveled to Indiana to win its conference opener, taking two of three games from the Valparaiso Crusaders.
Game one marked the Crusaders’ first game in conference history, and they jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after the first inning. Bradley answered back, taking a 3-2 lead after the top of the sixth. The Crusaders tied the score in the bottom half of the inning, and eventually scored the go ahead run in the bottom of the eighth.
Down one run in the ninth, junior Luke Mangeiri got things started for Bradley after reaching base with a single. Senior Andrew Ivelia would double in his at bat, scoring Mangeiri on the play. With two outs in the ninth and the score tied at four, sophomore Brendan Dougherty drove in Ivelia for the go ahead run, setting up junior pitcher Matthew Richey for the save in the bottom half of the inning, as the Braves picked up a 5-4 win.
With rain in the forecast for Saturday, the teams played a second game Friday night. Sophomore Ryan Hodgett started the second game of the evening’s double-header and took a no-hitter into the fifth.
Bradley took a 2-0 lead after Dan Bolt doubled to right field which scored fellow sophomore Luke Shadid. The game headed to extras after the Crusaders tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. In the bottom of the tenth, Valparaiso’s Zack Leone then hit a walk-off three-run home run to tie the series at one game apiece.
Head coach Elvis Dominguez turned to redshirt junior pitcher, Sam Lund, for the final game of the series on Sunday.
Despite the cold temperatures, Lund said he used the weather to his advantage.
“Cold weather is [tough] to play in, personally I think it’s more difficult for the hitters,” Lund said. “My mentality was to go out there and throw mostly fastballs, let [Valparaiso] put the ball in play and allow our defense to make plays.”
Lund pitched six innings and handed the ball off to senior Alex Gray with the Braves trailing 3-2 after six innings.
The Braves took the lead in the eighth on a pair of RBI singles from Bolt and junior Jean-Francois Garon, heading into the ninth with a 4-3 lead.
Bradley erupted for six runs in the top of the ninth, after drawing six walks and tallying only one hit as Valparaiso used four pitchers to get out of the frame.
Junior right-hander Bobby Johnson took the mound for the last inning, giving up a run. The Crusaders would load the bases, but Johnson escaped the jam, and the Braves took game three by the score of 10-4.
After taking two of three from the Crusaders in the first conference series, the Braves share first place in the Missouri Valley Conference with Missouri State and Southern Illinois. Dominguez said he believes an early series victory will help the Braves throughout the rest of conference play.
“Anytime you can start off winning a conference opener, it sets the momentum going forward,” Dominguez said.
The Braves concluded their five game road trip by traveling to Western Illinois University Wednesday evening, to take on the Leathernecks.
Bradley throttled Western for 14 runs as every starter reached base. Junior Pitcher Mitch Janssen picked up his second win of the season as the Braves cruised to a 14-7 victory.
Next up for the Braves is their first home series of the conference season. Bradley hosts Indiana State at 2 p.m. this afternoon, and at noon on Saturday and Sunday.
