Following their first Missouri Valley Conference sweep since 2019, Bradley (9-31, 5-13 MVC) took their season-high momentum into the Windy City to play the University of Illinois-Chicago (13-29, 9-9 MVC).
As the end of the season inches closer, the Braves are attempting to climb back into the top eight of the MVC standings to qualify for the MVC Championship Tournament.
Bradley entered the first game of the three-game series on Friday with wins in four of their past five games, including three against their rival, Illinois State.
Thompson’s career day
Junior right-handed pitcher Gavin Thompson got the nod as the starting pitcher for the Braves and controlled the game from the rubber. Thompson threw a career-high six innings and allowed just three hits, no runs and three walks while striking out four batters.
He earned run support from Bradley’s offense in the third inning when junior infielder Cole Smith ripped an RBI single into center field and later scored on senior utility Bobby Atkinson’s RBI base knock. The score remained 2-0 in the Braves’ favor for a majority of the contest.
The Flames tacked on their lone run in the seventh inning against junior left-handed pitcher Eli Lehrman on an RBI single to right field. As the inning turned over, Bradley fought hard for insurance runs and got them from junior utility Mason Breidenbach, who scored on a balk committed by UIC in the eighth inning. Smith delivered another run-scoring single in the ninth to extend the lead.
The Braves closed out the win in game one by a score of 4-1, marking their fourth consecutive MVC win.
Braves come up short
The Flames came out scorching in game two against the Braves, with a home run in the first inning. Bradley matched the run later in the third when freshman infielder Jackson Smith hit an RBI groundout. The next four innings featured both teams trading a run each.
Junior infielder Timmy O’Brien tied the game 2-2 in the fourth on an RBI single to center field. After allowing another run in the bottom of the fourth, Cole Smith continued his hot streak at the plate and poked out an opposite-field home run over the right field fence to tie the game once again at 3-3.
Senior left-handed pitcher Jack Stellano was pulled after starting the first five innings. He finished with two strikeouts and allowed seven hits, three earned runs and two walks. Junior right-handed pitcher Brayden Marks came in out of the bullpen and surrendered three runs in the bottom of the sixth on a UIC home run that shifted the game’s momentum.
The Braves weren’t done yet, however. O’Brien smoked a two-run blast to right field to cut the deficit to one in the eighth inning. But the Flames added two more runs against Marks in the bottom half of the eighth and shut Bradley down in the ninth, securing the 8-5 win.
O’Brien finished two-for-four with the home run and three RBIs. Junior infielder Beau Durbin collected three hits, including a double.
What goes around, comes around
There was a lot at stake for the series finale between two teams near the bottom half of the MVC standings. A series win would help the winner keep pace to qualify for the MVC Championship tournament.
Bradley’s big bats were humming in the third inning when Atkinson tripled to the left field wall, which brought home Breidenbach for the game’s first score. The next batter, O’Brien, did what he’s done all season long with a home run to deep left field for his 16th of the year. O’Brien has hit a home run in seven of the last eight games for the Braves and ranks tied for 14th in the nation in that category.
Junior right-handed pitcher Drew Politte used the 3-0 lead on the mound as he pitched four innings and didn’t allow a run until the fifth inning. UIC plated another run to make the score 3-2 after six innings. The score remained untouched as the game progressed into the final inning.
Bradley’s closer, junior right-handed pitcher Reece Clapp, entered the game in a save situation but allowed a double to lead off the bottom of the ninth, which then came around to score on an RBI single by the Flames to tie the game at 3-3.
Senior outfielder Cole Luckey doubled in the top of the 10th and was rewarded with a run when senior catcher Nick Hosie singled to left field to put the Braves ahead 5-4. The lead was short-lived, once again, as UIC scored a run on an RBI single of their own.
In the 12th inning, Clapp gave up back-to-back singles to begin the inning, then balked to move the runners to second and third with only one out. Bradley made the strategic move to intentionally walk the batter to load the bases so a force out could apply at any base.
That didn’t matter for UIC, and the next at-bat was a fly ball hit deep enough to junior outfielder Ashton Horchem in center field for the Flames to tag up and score on the sacrifice fly for the 5-4 walk-off winner.
Tuesday evening
The Braves had a quick turnaround after the weekend series at UIC and returned home to take on Illinois (26-16, 12-9 Big Ten Conference). The last time Bradley hosted Illinois at Dozer Park was in 2023, and the Braves used late-game heroics to beat the Illini, 7-6.
Fresh off his best outing of the season, Thompson earned the start but only threw the first inning against Illinois and allowed two runs while striking out two batters.
The Illini pinned three more runs on the scoreboard in the fourth inning off the bat of Collin Jennings, who hit a home run to the bleachers in right field. The big swing put Illinois ahead 5-0.
Bradley’s offense was quiet against Illinois’ pitching staff. Cole Smith led off the game with a single to left field, but the Braves didn’t find another hit until the sixth inning when senior catcher J.D. Bogart and Horchem hit back-to-back bloopers into the outfield.
Jackson Smith made the most of the limited opportunities with runners on base with a double that snuck in fair down the right field line that scored both Bogart and Cole Smith. These were the only runs Bradley scored, and the Braves fell short to Illinois, 5-2.
Wednesday at Western Illinois
Baseball is a game with highs and lows. You take each day for what it is.
Bradley experienced the high of a four-game win streak, but then fell on Wednesday night on the road at Western Illinois (14-26, 6-12 Ohio Valley Conference) for their fourth consecutive loss.
The Braves hit their stride in the first two innings with Cole Smith’s RBI double to left center in the first and freshman catcher Dominic Anselmo’s groundout that scored Horchem in the second. The Leathernecks caught up by the bottom of the second to even the game at 2-2.
Trailing 3-2 during the fifth inning, Bradley faced adversity with the bases loaded and dug themselves a hole they were never able to climb out of. Politte gave up a soaring grand slam to left field off the bat of Brock Lummus that extended Western Illinois’ lead to five.
Bradley scored runs on an RBI single by senior infielder Nick Fleckenstein, Anselmo reached home plate on a pick-off attempt, Horchem singled up the middle for a run and freshman infielder C.J Trask scored on a throwing error from Breidenbach’s fielder’s choice.
The Braves’ pitching allowed eight hits and seven walks as Bradley fell to Western Illinois 9-6.
Bradley will take on Indiana State for a three-game weekend set that begins at 6 p.m. on Friday.
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