Up-and-down moments were the story of Bradley softball for the past seven days, as they failed to win a single game.
Seven-inning slam in Carbondale
Bradley started their SIU series on Friday after two much-needed wins against Valparaiso and SIUE. The Braves’ offense stalled until the fourth, while Southern Illinois hit a two-RBI double down the right field line.
Bradley continued to struggle in the fifth inning, allowing four runs by way of a two-run homer to center, a walk with the bases loaded and a fielder’s choice.
Down 6-0, the Braves had one last gasp of air, as freshman first baseman Olivia Turner smoked a ball into left center for a three-run home run. However, two outs later, the game ended 6-3 in favor of Southern Illinois. This handed the Braves their eighth conference loss, putting them just under .500.
Turner’s home run provided the only three RBIs of the game, and five Bradley players had at least one hit. Senior pitcher Sydney Kennedy gave up five hits and only struck out three batters.
Same score, different day
Saturday’s game felt a lot like Friday’s matchup, mainly because the score was the same.
This time, the Braves started the scoring with a home run from junior right fielder Kierston McCoy, which helped the Braves take their first lead of the series. That home run was quickly followed by a five-run fifth inning from Southern Illinois, including an RBI single and a grand slam to left, making it 5-1.
The sixth inning featured scoring from both sides, starting with Bradley, who scored on an RBI single by Turner and a sacrifice fly from junior pitcher Hannah Organ. After an RBI single that led the other runners to advance in the bottom half of the inning, the scoring came to a halt. The Salukis won again by the same margin as the day before, 6-3.
McCoy had a .500 batting average for the game, going two-for-four with two runs and an RBI. Organ suffered her eighth loss this year as a pitcher, giving up all six runs scored by Southern Illinois.
Swept by the Salukis
The Braves stayed consistent throughout the weekend, scoring three runs each game. Unfortunately for Bradley, SIU scored more, again.
Bradley took a 2-0 lead after an RBI fielder’s choice from senior designated hitter Abbott Badgley in the first and an RBI single in the top of the third from Badgley again. SIU tied the game at two when, in the bottom of the third, Kennedy gave up a walk with the bases loaded twice. Junior third baseman Ashley Breeding gave the Braves the lead again after a home run in the top of the fifth, giving Bradley a one-run cushion.
However, their lead was shortly dismantled, as a three-run home run from SIU in the bottom of the fifth, along with an RBI single, gave the Salukis a 6-3 lead. It looked like it would be a repeat of the last two games, but that wasn’t enough for the Salukis.
A wild pitch, walk and RBI single from SIU made the score 9-3 after six, which the Braves weren’t able to recover from. The Salukis are now first place in the MVC with a 16-1 conference record.
McCoy went 2-for-4 again, Badgley ended with two RBIs and Kennedy was credited with the loss for her second game in a row.
Extra-inning thriller ends in Braves heartbreak
After getting swept in Carbondale, Bradley traveled to DeKalb to face Northern Illinois on Wednesday. The Huskies, currently in fifth place in the Mid-American Conference, gave the Braves a run for their money.
Bradley started the game hot with a sacrifice fly from Turner, which sent junior left fielder Lauren DeRolf home. 1-0 to the Braves in the first. That trend would continue in the top of the second as freshman catcher Emily Organ reached home on a wild pitch and Breeding smoked an RBI double into center. The Huskies answered back in the bottom of the second with an RBI single, but the Braves got out of the inning up 3-1.
The score would go up to 5-1 as an RBI double from Turner and an RBI single from Hannah Organ drove in two runs in the top of the third. The next half inning, NIU did not mess around, as two RBI singles and a sacrifice groundout cut the lead to just one. Junior pitcher Rylee Richey, who relieved Badgley in the third inning, cranked an RBI double, which Breeding scored on. The Braves didn’t know it yet, but that would be the final run they scored all game.
The fifth inning was NIU’s chance to tie the game, which they did. A home run to left made it 6-5 and an RBI single knotted the game up at six. The sixth and seventh innings were both pitchers’ duels, so it was on to extra innings.
Bradley went scoreless in the top of the eighth. Then, with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Hannah Organ gave up an RBI double, making the final score 7-6 NIU.
Breeding had a massive game going three-for-five, along with Hannah Organ, who went three-for-four, but was credited with the loss on the mound.
Bradley’s next venture comes at home, when they return to conference play versus Indiana State. After spending the weekend in Peoria, they will head to Normal to face Illinois State on Tuesday.
