Bradley could’ve left the Irish-Alamo Classic in San Antonio with three wins and a loss. Heck, they were even capable of a 4-0 record .
However, thanks to several blown leads in the waning innings of a couple games, the Braves left the Lone Star State with two wins and two losses.
While the bullpen stumbled through the weekend, the starting pitchers had no such problems, especially junior Matt Dennis and senior Cameron Roegner. After they both struggled in the first weekend, the Bradley starters rebounded in stellar fashion.
“In Matt’s case, I think it’s just a matter of going from the closer’s role to a starter’s role,” head coach Elvis Dominguez said. “I think it’s just become a habit of how to prepare himself and so forth. Cameron had a bad outing against Austin Peay, and he was back to his dominant self.”
According to Dominguez, Dennis “set the tone” for the weekend Friday night against Notre Dame. The junior right-hander twirled a gem, throwing seven scoreless innings while giving up only one walk and three singles and striking out 10. Dennis earned his first win of the year as the Braves won 4-3.
“Matt Dennis pretty much carried us on his shoulders,” Dominguez said. “He went out and gave a dominating game. We were able to scratch a couple runs against a very good Notre Dame club. I was really pleased.”
The Braves’ second win of the weekend came the next day against Gonzaga, where Roegner gave up three runs on seven hits in six innings of work, striking out five on the way. The game would go into extras, as senior short stop Tyler Leffler knocked in the go-ahead run to seal the win for the Braves, 5-4.
Although the Braves’ offense sputtered throughout most the weekend, Leffler was their saving grace. The senior went 8-17 on the weekend, knocking in five runs with a pair of doubles.
“Coming off the first weekend, we weren’t where we wanted to be offensively,” Leffler said. “I just worked all week in practice on the little things, like staying inside the ball. I didn’t try to do too much and found ways to get on base.”
Leffler, a second-team All-MVC selection in 2014, regressed at the plate last year as his average dropped from .354 to .196. However, he seems to be showing signs of reverting back to his old self, posting a .333 average through seven games.
“After the season, I took a week and a half off to just relax,” Leffler said. “I started to just have fun again when summer ball started, and I had fun when fall ball started. I’ve been able to just enjoy the game and not worry as much.”
Dominguez said relaxing has taken a lot off Leffler’s shoulders.
“He’s just back to relaxing,” Dominguez said. “I think he’s basically being the same guy he was his freshman and sophomore year where he was just out there playing and not worrying about expectations or the draft or pro ball or anything like that. He’s just going out and playing well.”
Both Leffler and Dominguez added that the Braves must start to capitalize with runners in scoring position if they are going to continue winning games.
Arguably, the team’s biggest area of concern is the bullpen, particularly with how many free passes they are distributing. The bullpen allowed 12 walks on the weekend and surrendered just as many runs. Of those 12 runs, eight were given up in the eighth inning or later.
Dominguez credited some of the bullpen woes to the youth of the pitchers he has pitching in late game situations, who haven’t been exposed to that environment before.
“Anytime you throw a freshman into that kind of environment, I think you’re either going to get a great performance or [a poor performance,]” Dominguez said. “The moment gets too big. At the same time, we just have to cut down on our walks. That’s really the reason we ended up losing both of those games.”
Despite the 3-4 start, Leffler said the team is very confident in its ability to keep improving and winning games.
“You realize you’re going to play competitive games,” Leffler said. “We’re growing right now, and when conference play comes around, we’re going to be right where we want to be.”
