This past weekend, Bradley softball traveled to Starkville, Mississippi, to compete in the Alex Wilcox Memorial Tournament and left with five consecutive losses.
The Braves played Mississippi State to kick the tournament off. The Bulldogs were quick on their feet, scoring two runs in the first inning.
However, the Braves quickly adjusted, with junior Ashley Breeding hitting a three-run homer to center field. The Bulldogs quickly halted the momentum and didn’t allow any more runs for the Braves for the rest of the game. The Bulldogs scored three more runs in the third and sixth innings for the 5-3 win.
Bradley’s next game was against Georgia Tech. Within the first inning, the Yellow Jackets rapidly put up eight runs, one due to a fielding error on the Braves’ behalf. Junior Lauren DeRolf was the only run for the Braves at the sacrifice of Bailey Sample’s ground ball. The Braves lost the game 15-1.
The next day, the Braves’ second game against the Bulldogs went similar to the first. In the first inning, the Bulldogs, once again, were quick to put the first several runs on the board with six.
However, Bradley did try to catch up as DeRolf hit a double towards right field and got thrown out at third to bring home freshman Morgan Schlosser, and seniors Addie Welsh and Bailey Sample to put three runs up.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs persevered, adding six more runs in the third inning and not allowing the Braves to score for the rest of the game.
The next game was the Braves’ chance at redemption against the Yellow Jackets. The Braves led the majority of the game. In the first inning, Bradley had two runs and was locked down defensively, until the Yellow Jackets put a run on the board in the third inning.
In the sixth inning, the intensity picked up after both teams got a run on the board, before the Yellow Jackets suddenly scored two runs in the seventh inning to take the close game, 4-3.
For the last game of the tournament, the Braves lost in a shutout to North Texas.
“Ups and downs come with every season,” Sample said. “We’ve played a lot of power four’s in our first two tournaments and in some games, [it has] done very well and some of them we have struggled. The best we can do is learn from them and move on. As long as we continue to get back up on our feet, it doesn’t matter how many times we have fallen down.”
The Braves are headed to Bowling Green, Kentucky to take on Gardner-Webb University and Western Kentucky University on Sunday and Monday.
