Returning much of its talent from last season’s 32-win squad, Bradley baseball is primed for the 2019 campaign and looks to improve on the 11-10 conference record from last season.
The Braves are tabbed fourth out of eight in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason coaches poll. They were picked behind Missouri State, Dallas Baptist and Indiana State. All four teams in the poll received votes for Collegiate Baseball’s top-40 preseason poll, with Missouri State ranked at No. 24.
A key part to Bradley’s contention will be the experience in the heart of their order. The team returns with three of its top hitters from last year in senior center fielder Andy Shadid and junior infielders Luke Shadid and Brendan Dougherty.
The trio will be crucial in replacing Luke Mangieri, who was drafted and signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in last summer’s MLB draft.
“We’ve taken our program to where our guys are coming in, developing while they’re here, and they’re leaving [for the draft],” said head coach Elvis Dominguez. “Having those three guys back, especially having Andy back, is really going to make things a little easier for us.”
Andy Shadid and Dougherty were selected to the All-MVC preseason team after being near the top of many offensive categories for the Braves last season.
With the exception of Boby Johnson, who was drafted by the Colorado Rockies, the team brings back much of their pitching staff, including key pieces in senior Mitch Janssen, sophomore Brooks Gosswein, senior Cole Cook and senior Brian Schrimmer.
Sophomore Keaton Rice will be behind the plate calling games for the Braves. Last season, he earned All-Missouri Valley Conference second-team honors.
“We have a lot of options [for starters], as long as we stay healthy I think we’ll be okay,” Dominguez said. “That sets up our bullpen really well because then you have starters that can actually go into the bullpen and come out to give us a couple quality innings.”
The Braves added seven freshmen and four junior college transfers to their roster for the 2019 season.
“We recruited in a way anticipating we were going to lose a couple of guys [to the draft], and all the guys we brought in have somewhat met or exceeded expectations,” Dominguez said. “They’ve taken the next step. They’re gonna play, and they’re gonna play a lot.”
Andy Shadid said he is ready to help his teammates reach expectations and be leaned on as a leader.
“We have a veteran group of guys, but we are going to rely on some new guys to step up and help us win this year,” Shadid said. “Trying to help them adjust to the college level is what me and the older guys try to do everyday, and I think they will be ready for this weekend.”
Senior infielder and captain Christian Dominguez knows the Braves will lean heavily on their experience and need to stay healthy.
“Our 12 seniors and 11 juniors with the addition of our underclassmen, along with our culture and chemistry, will make us a very competitive team this spring,” Dominguez said. “If we are able to stay healthy this spring, I believe we have the right guys to have a very successful year.”
Heading into the first weekend of the season, much of the Braves’ focus is on playing as a team.
“People think that baseball is an individual sport, but no one player can win a game,” Shadid said. “Playing for each other throughout the year will be the factor in us being great this year.”
Bradley will head south to take on Central Arkansas for a three-game series this weekend. The first pitch of the season will be thrown this afternoon at 3 p.m.
