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Bradley softball confident with new campaign on deck

The team returns much of its offensive firepower and head coach Amy Hayes believes the pitching will come along. Photo via BradleyBraves.com.

A new season is on deck for the Bradley softball team and there are numerous reasons for the Braves to feel confident ahead of the new season.

The Braves return a talented core from last season’s 29-win campaign, Bradley’s most successful season since the 27-win 2014 squad won the Missouri Valley Conference championship. Seniors Kealia Wysocki and Allison Apke, along with juniors Emma Jackson, Taise Thompson and Stacia Seeton as well as sophomores Lucy Mead and Grace French headline those returning.

These players combined for a .330 batting average at the plate and 3.62 earned run average in the circle last season.

“Our kids who were freshmen last year who are sophomores this year got a lot of really good experience and exposure,” head coach Amy Hayes said. “I think we have a really good core group of seniors who are backed by some good juniors … there’s a lot of power in that junior, senior class as far as offensively. I think we have a really good core group returning on both sides of our game.”

The Braves open their season at the Troy Cox Classic at New Mexico State this weekend. The first pitch against a nationally ranked Arkansas squad scheduled for this afternoon. From there, they’ll face the Aggies tonight. On Saturday morning they’ll face Nebraska, then a rematch with the Razorbacks and a game against UTEP Sunday to wrap up the first of five season-opening road trips.

Though the Braves’ nonconference schedule is rich with good competition, Hayes said she views the opening weekend as the toughest one of them all. Indeed, the battles with Arkansas may represent the only time all season they’ll face a team ranked in the USA Today preseason coaches’ poll.

Nevertheless, Hayes said that the schedule is designed to set the team up for success in conference play.

“I always feel strongly that if you want to be playing in the postseason, you have to be prepared by playing those people throughout your preseason,” Hayes said. “Arkansas has done a really good job of turning things around down there … Arkansas and New Mexico State are both pretty strong offensively and I know Nebraska is never an easy opponent either.”

This year’s Braves are picked sixth in the Valley and a fortified by a cast of freshmen that Hayes said can make an immediate impact on the Hilltop, keyed by left-handed pitcher Morgan Radford. She is the first lefty on the staff since Jaelen Hull graduated on 2017.

“The circle is always such an important part for us, big piece, and I think for us that’s going to be Radford,” Hayes said. “[Radford’s] going to be a big part of our success this year. That’s a lot for a freshman, but there are a lot of freshmen all over the country stepping up and doing that for their teams.”

Hayes also touted the abilities of freshman utility player Avry Blume.

“She’s probably going to be behind the plate or in a corner [infield position],” Hayes said. “Super athletic, and has really picked up on the offensive side of our game and how we do things so she’ll be good to watch too.”

As the team takes the field in New Mexico, one of its former softball stars will be enshrined among the greatest Bradley athletes to ever compete. Ashley Birdsong will be inducted into the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame during Sunday’s men’s basketball game against Evansville.

Birdsong, who entered the hall of fame in her first year of eligibility, played for the Braves from 2006 until 2009. A cornerstone of Bradley’s 2009 MVC title-winning team, Hayes offered high praise for her work ethic and leadership skills.

“She was a senior when I got here and she is absolutely the reason why that 2009 team won … I cannot say enough about what Ashley did,” Hayes said. “That comes from her work ethic, from her pitching until she did not get a pitch wrong … huge kudos to her for going in on the first try and I’m really thankful that she was recognized. She meant a lot to this program.”

The season begins today at 3 p.m. when the Braves play Arkansas in hopes of seeing future hall of famers make a name for themselves.

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