Running out of the dugout for the first time in 2023, Bradley’s baseball team was retired after dropping the deciding third game against Louisiana-Monroe (2-1) Sunday afternoon.
Being shutout in the series opener Friday, the Braves broke through in game two Saturday, setting up the rubber match the following day.
Junior shortstop TJ Manteufel’s two-run homer slashed the Warhawks’ (2-1) lead to one in the eighth, but three runs in the bottom of the frame helped the home team pull away and take the series.
“[They were] very good three pressure games; I mean we had three bad innings the entire weekend and it cost us two games,” Bradley head coach Elvis Dominguez said.
Getting the series started at Lou St. Amant Field in Monroe, Louisiana, Bradley sent out sophomore Jacob Kisting for game one. Kisting, one of the strengths of last year’s pitching staff as a freshman, suffered from a bit of first game jitters after hitting his first batter. A single, strikeout and double later, Louisiana-Monroe had taken the early 2-0 lead.
Kisting settled down before giving up a two-out double down the left field line in the fourth. That lead only grew larger as the Warhawks accumulated 10 hits and held the Braves to five in their 7-0 series-opening win.
“I think it was kind of a shock that hit us the first night and [we were] just trying to get those first nerves out,” junior centerfielder Ryan Vogel said.
The following day, Bradley was much more settled in.
The offensive showing took a boost with a 12-for-36 day at the plate and a dually strong performance by sophomore pitcher Travis Lutz, who went seven innings.
Lutz, a local transfer from Bartonville who spent last season with Illinois Central College, was tagged for three runs (two earned) in the third, but was otherwise smooth on the mound by striking out seven and walking just one batter in seven innings.
“It was pretty nerve wracking at first,” Lutz said. “I had a lot of confidence coming in because I thought I prepared a lot. Being from the Peoria area, it’s always a big deal to represent Bradley and it feels good to be a part of that.”
“In the game we were really just going to throw it inside and make them work for it,” he added. “I had all three of my pitches working. [I] threw my curveball, threw the sinker in on them and then the changeup.”
The Braves trailed 3-1 entering the fourth but broke through in a big way. After Vogel singled in a run, senior preseason first-team selection Connor O’Brien charged one out to left field that scored three and put Bradley in front 5-3.
Bradley would come back one inning later and score a pair, thanks to RBI singles from Vogel and freshman Easton Harris to swell the lead to 7-3 with Lutz still holding steady on the hill.
Sophomore infielder Cal McGinnis added another insurance run for the visitors in the ninth but while the Warhawks scored three in the comeback attempt, Bradley held strong for their first win of the season.
“The energy was just way different [in the second game] and we kind of just turned it up a notch and as soon as we got some runs on the board I was just thinking like ‘Here we are, this is the team I play for,” Vogel said.
Looking for the series win, both squads found themselves in a pitchers’ duel through the first four frames.
Louisiana-Monroe was the first to break the tie after finding the cracks in the Braves’ game three starter senior Dalton Mall. Mall had worked through the first four innings without surrendering a hit, but four walks and two hit batters increased his pitch count early. In the fifth, Mall let up three hits and was charged for three runs after exiting with one out.
Now sensing some life, the Warhawks returned the following frame to add on to their 3-0 edge. Bradley junior pitcher Josh Flack picked up the first two outs in the inning but then collapsed by giving up a single and eventually walking in the second run before he exited the frame.
Trailing 5-0 at that point, the Braves began chipping away at the deficit. Batting in the three-hole, sophomore Peter Hansen fired up the dugout with an RBI single before cleanup hitter senior Connor Manthey doubled for another. At the time, Bradley still occupied second and third with no outs, but a strikeout and double-play retired the inning.
Manteufel’s homer in the eighth put the Braves behind 5-4, but the Warhawks added three in the bottom frame and took the rubber match 8-4.
Despite losing the first series, the Braves came away with multiple bright spots to build off of. Vogel continued his strength as the leadoff man batting 6-11 with three RBI’s, which were both team highs. Entering his senior season, Manthey was also promising with his 5-11 start.
“I would like to see [in the next series] that we minimize those big innings,” Dominguez said. “I would like to see our offense get off to a better start but I thought overall this weekend was what I expected.”
Bradley will set out for the south again, this time for a three-game set with Arkansas-Little Rock. Dominguez will go with Kisting when the series begins today at 3 p.m. followed by Lutz and senior Dalton Mall in the finale Sunday.
