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Softball bounces back from Western Illinois losses to defeat St. Louis

Courtesy Bradley Athletics

After dropping the first two games of the season to Western Illinois, Bradley bounced back and defeated St. Louis 5-4 on Monday at the Louisville Slugger Dome.

Freshman Morgan Radford took home the win, pitching in two and a third innings of relief, striking out three while only giving up one run. Fellow freshman Camryn Schaller picked up her first collegiate save in one and two-thirds innings.

At the plate, junior Taise Thompson hit a two-run home run, and freshman Avry Blume hit two doubles and drove in two more runs.

Blume is on a tear to start the season with four hits in eight plate appearances, three of which have been for extra bases. However, it’s not just the hitting that’s caught the eyes of coach Amy Hayes.

“[Avry] is extremely quick and athletic,” Hayes said. “Probably since I’ve been here, she’s the most athletic catcher we’ve ever had.”

That’s high praise from a coach who just graduated one of the best hitting catchers in program history, Kealia Wysocki. Wysocki owns the best slugging percentage in a season (.775) and most home runs in a season (13).

Blume’s athleticism is on display when crouched behind the plate. She’s thrown out four attempted base stealers in three games, sending a warning to opponents that advancing on her arm won’t be easy.

Even though the season was cut short last year, Blume was still able to use the 24 games played to pick the mind of Wysocki and improve her own game.

“She was able to slow down the pace, calm down her team and be confident in them and herself and make this happen,” Blume said. “That’s something I took from her greatly and I’m hoping that I can make happen as well.”

The Braves were able to get into the win column for the first time in almost a year, but that didn’t come until after two hiccups against Western Illinois. The Braves only mustered one run in the doubleheader — a home run from junior Stacia Seeton.

“We were excited to play, coming out we had good energy,” Hayes said. “[The losses were] a rude awakening, but we got it out of the way and our turnaround against SLU was much, much better.”

Hayes felt the win over St. Louis reflected the team’s true potential. 

“Sometimes we come into the games physically ready, but the mental aspect isn’t there,” Blume said. “Whether I fail or succeed, my team will be there to back me up. Reminding myself of that is what really helped me to improve this year.”

Understandably, the team is excited to get back out onto the field again.

“We’ve been playing this game since eight or nine years old, and obviously we fell in love with something when we started then,” Blume said. “Playing together, being in a team atmosphere and doing something you love with the people you love is an amazing thing.”

With the first three games of the season under their belt, the Braves are settling into the long season routine. 

“I think physically, we’re prepared,” Hayes said. “We take enough cuts.”

The next opportunity for cuts at the plate will be March 2 when the Braves host Division-II Illinois-Springfield at the Louisville Slugger Complex.

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