Last weekend, Bradley baseball (4-24, 0-9 MVC) took a slight detour for their road series against Murray State (21-8, 5-4 MVC). Originally scheduled to play in Murray, Ky., poor weather conditions pushed the conference series to Cape Girardeau, Mo. However, the Braves couldn’t steal a neutral-site game against the Racers.
Braves stall in game one
The series began on Sunday with Murray State jumping out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning from a two-RBI single and a solo home run. The Braves allowed two more runs across the next two innings to trail 5-0.
Senior right-handed pitcher Travis Lutz got the start and went the first four innings on the mound. He gave up four hits, five earned runs, six walks and registered five strikeouts. Junior left-handed pitcher Eli Lehrman came out of the bullpen and shut down the Racers’ lineup in his four innings with just two hits allowed and five strikeouts.
“[Lehrman’s] been one of our most consistent arms out of the bullpen,” head coach Elvis Dominguez said. “He can wear so many hats and gives us an opportunity to compete. But his best role is coming out of the pen and trying to bridge that gap to try to get it to a closer.”
Despite the pitching success after the third inning, the Braves’ offense sputtered and finished with just three total hits. Junior utilityman Mason Breidenbach had two of the team’s hits, including a double in the ninth inning. Senior outfielder Mitch Ball was responsible for the other hit as the Braves lost the series’ first game 5-0.
Offense falls flat once again in doubleheader
Monday was slated as the doubleheader to close out the series. The Braves struggled once again out of the gate and allowed nine runs across the first three innings, six of which came in the second inning alone.
Bradley’s bats were somber as the team finished the game with just three hits, coming from the bats of Breidenbach, senior outfielder Cole Luckey and a seventh-inning double by senior utilityman Bobby Atkinson.
Between the middle of the second inning and the beginning of the seventh, the Braves hitters were retired 14 consecutive times. The Racers scored two more runs in the fifth inning and one more in the sixth as Murray State won 12-0 in just seven innings due to the 10-run rule.
In the final game of the series and second of the doubleheader, Bradley faced another deficit as they had in the previous two games. Murray State scored one run in the first inning and two more in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead.
But the Braves didn’t back down and fought tooth and nail in an attempt to avoid another series sweep in Missouri Valley Conference play.
After freshman outfielder Kenton Unrah singled to left field to open the fifth inning, junior infielder Cole Smith delivered with an RBI double for the Braves’ first run of the series. Then, in the eighth inning with two outs, freshman catcher Dominic Anselmo singled to left field to drive in Atkinson and cut the deficit to one run.
The flicker of a spark Bradley built was immediately put out in the ninth inning by Murray State as the Braves went three up and three down to lose 3-2. Bradley’s offense was much better with 10 hits recorded, but the Braves also left nine runners on base in their 11th consecutive loss.
“We just couldn’t get [hits] with runners in scoring position,” Dominguez said. “And that’s the game we should have won, and could have won, but just couldn’t come through. And sometimes that happens. We [hit] a lot of balls hard that day, and none of them were in the gaps or anything. It was all at people.”
Some silver linings in the losses were pitching performances, especially in the final game for junior right-handed pitchers Drew Politte and Gavin Thompson. Politte pitched three innings while allowing four hits, three earned runs and three walks. Thompson threw the remaining five innings with no hits and one walk allowed while collecting five strikeouts.
“It was great to see from Drew, especially because his stuff is really, really good,” Dominguez said. “He just hasn’t had the numbers to back it up. And Gavin was outstanding [when he] came in out of the bullpen.”
Braves feeling grand again
Following the up-and-down weekend, the Braves returned to Dozer Park for a non-conference matchup with Western Illinois (7-21, 2-7 Ohio Valley Conference). It’s a matchup Bradley has fared well with in the past, with a 20-1 record at home against the Leathernecks since 1991.
The Braves’ pitching staff continued its hot streak, giving up only two hits through the first four innings. But a Leatherneck home run in the fifth inning and a double in the sixth put the Braves into a 2-0 hole.
Junior right-handed pitcher Brayden Marks was tabbed as the starter and finished with five innings pitched allowing just three hits, one earned run and no walks allowed while striking out five.
“We finally played a complete ball game last night,” Dominguez said. “Marks did an outstanding job, kept them at bay, had one run through five innings, and all of a sudden we were able to sneak through.”
With one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning, senior catcher Nick Hosie drew a walk to make it a 2-1 game. Needing a game-changing moment, junior infielder Timmy O’Brien launched a deep ball over the left field wall for a grand slam that shifted the game’s momentum in favor of the Braves.
“It took Timmy O’Brien to get a clutch hit there [in] the sixth inning to kind of put us over the top,” Dominguez said. “It’s great to see. Hopefully it rubs off.”
“[The grand slam] was good for Timmy because he’s come up [to bat] so many times in clutch situations and hasn’t had success,” Dominguez continued. “To see him have success under those kinds of conditions in that situation, great for him.”
Senior left-handed pitcher Jack Stellano and junior right-handed pitcher Reece Clapp closed out the 5-2 win on the mound, helpingBradley snap their losing streak and earn their first win since March 19.
“We got great starting pitching, we got stellar defense, and we got timely clutch hitting,” Dominguez said about the team’s win. “That’s a recipe for success. We did all three aspects that we’re supposed to do, which we’ve been missing.”
The victory gave the team a breath of fresh air and an opportunity to see their hard work pay off.
“It was good to see because I know our guys have been working extremely hard,” Dominguez said. “It’s great to [hear] music in the locker room finally. So hopefully this gets us going.”
Bradley gets to enjoy this weekend at Dozer Park against Belmont as the Braves look to build off their win.
“The team that doesn’t beat themselves will end up winning this series,” Dominguez said. “If we come out and get good quality pitching, play good defense, then we have a chance.”
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