With an MVC tournament spot still on the line, Bradley baseball closed out last weekend going 0-for-3 against Southern Illinois, scoring more runs each game they played and putting up decent numbers in a one-off game versus Northwestern.
Coming into the series 4-8 in Valley play, they took on a Salukis team that was fifth in the conference and had just lost a series to Evansville the week prior.
To start Friday’s game, Southern Illinois took advantage of a wild pitch to advance their leadoff hitter to home and take the 1-0 lead in the first inning. One frame later, an RBI double to left center and a balk brought home two more runners.
Bradley finally found their way onto the scoresheet with a single to right center from Sohrab Rezaei in the fifth, but a five-run sixth inning from the Salukis brought their lead up to seven, and eventually, a seventh-inning two-run homer would be the final nail in the coffin.
Despite some time to rest thanks to a weather delay that pushed the rest of the game to Saturday, the Braves weren’t able to score any more runs against the Southern Illinois bullpen, which kept the final score at 10-1. But for Bradley head coach Justin Dedman, this game was an opportunity to clear the team’s heads and give it their all to potentially win the series.
“I think the process is very similar on Saturday versus Friday,” Dedman said. “It’s about talking about the things that we need to do better from the game and prepare for the next day. When you show up on Saturday, you’ve got a fresh mind and you’re excited to see that pitcher and these players that are playing and attacking with the scouting report.”
“So, after a Friday game, we’re typically trying to talk about how we met our standards at a high level or how we didn’t meet our standards at a high level and raise that constant awareness so that our players are seeking to play to that standard,” Dedman added.
Some improved play came as a result of pitcher Robert Sanford, who started the first two innings with zero runs given up. But a triple and throwing error in the third cut his time on the mound short. Out of the bullpen, Davis Webb – even after giving up two runs in the fifth and ninth innings – struck out nine batters in six frames of work.
Down 6-0, the Braves made one final push in the ninth inning. Rezaei started with a walk, which Hayden Miller followed up with a double down the left field line, the only hit of the game for Bradley. Those two would eventually score on fielder’s choices from Landon Lowe and Michael Quick, respectively, to make it 6-2, but the third out came on the next play.
Dedman praised the quality of pitching during Saturday’s game, noting improvements from Game 1, but the coach still stressed the importance of the defensive output.
“Saturday, we pitched much better,” Dedman said. “We had some good performances, but we just didn’t score enough runs to be able to be in that ball game. But I think it was encouraging to see those pitchers continue to improve and throw well. We’ve had a lot of pitchers improve in the last month, and that bodes well for this weekend. But then, when you’re preparing for Sunday after Saturday’s game, you know there’s a sense of urgency. We need to get out there and defend our home field and collect a win here on Sunday.”
Game 3 started with an RBI single from Southern Illinois, but Bradley took the lead in their half of the first inning. Quick drove a two-RBI single down the right side to score Lowe and Rezaei. Even though the Salukis tied the ballgame up at two in the third, a sacrifice fly from Angelo Aleman in the fourth gave the Braves a one-run lead once again.
The score became 4-2 when Rezaei led off the bottom of the fifth with his first home run of the year, but then Southern Illinois found its groove once again. Bradley’s bullpen gave up 11 more runs in the final four innings, including a four-run sixth inning and a six-run ninth inning. The Salukis were able to string together a pair of home runs and a pair of RBI singles during that timeframe, and while Lowe brought a runner home with an RBI double of his own in the seventh, it was too late by then, resulting in a 13-5 loss.
Starting pitcher Josh Vaughn only allowed two runs while striking out two batters. Lowe ended the game going 2-for-5 and extended his on-base streak to 24 games, which isn’t the only thing he’s doing for the team.
“Landon [Lowe] has been a leader since he showed up,” Dedman said. “[He’s] showed up every day ready to work with a smile on his face; he continues to make adjustments, competes and he’s really good at making adjustments, but not overthinking them and trusting his eyes in the batter’s box. And he’s really taken on a leadership role in the last several weeks with the team by pushing and challenging other people to do what they’re capable of doing, which ultimately for him and for this program are going to leave a legacy.”
Two days later, the team traveled up north to face Northwestern, their fifth game against a Big Ten outfit this season. Looking for their first win over a Power Four opponent in 2026, the Braves scored three runs in the second inning with an RBI double from Jaxon Schumacher, an RBI triple from AJ Garcia and an RBI single from River Lindsey. However, the Wildcats scored two runs prior and added another six in their half of the second.
Adding an extra run in the third, Northwestern finally gave up another run in the fifth with a homer by Quick, which would end up being one of two hit by the Braves. The rest of the game went back and forth, with Northwestern scoring in the fifth and sixth and Bradley scoring in the sixth and ninth, the latter being a Lowe home run, which was one of three hits that helped him reach the 25-game mark for his on-base streak.
Bradley doesn’t have to travel far for their next series against Illinois State, which will be followed by games against Illinois on Tuesday and Eastern Illinois on Wednesday, what could possibly be one of their biggest stretches so far this season, testing whether the Braves are MVC Tournament-ready.
“We’ve got to play good baseball, and this team is capable of that,” Dedman said. “So we’re training to have focus, competitiveness and urgency. Illinois State has good stuff on the mound this year and throws a lot of strikes. They’re a team that I think a lot of people thought was going to do some real damage this year.”
“We should be excited to have to play well to beat people because it means that you’re in the right place competitively and it means that you have to prove that you’ve gotten better and that you’re ready for the moment, so I’m excited to see our guys do it this weekend,” Dedman added.
