Bradley softball (22-28, 11-13 MVC) hosted its final home series of the year last week against Evansville, which provided close calls and dominant performances from the Braves. It all culminated in Bradley going three-for-three at home.
Epic comeback after five extra innings
The Braves started their Saturday doubleheader in close fashion, with the game tied at 0-0 after five innings. However, in the sixth, senior designated hitter Abbott Badgley hit a two-run homer to left center and got the ball rolling for Bradley. Minutes later, senior pitcher Sydney Kennedy hit a single to extend the lead to 3-0.
Despite the Braves’ onslaught, Evansville proved to be resilient and in the final inning, the Aces pulled two runs from up their sleeve to cut the deficit to one. Evansville had the momentum, and they kept their foot on the gas. The Aces smashed a three-run homer to take a 7-3 lead.
Bradley threw the first punch, and Evansville responded with an uppercut. With their backs against the ropes, it was time for the Braves to deliver a knockout punch.
Junior third baseman Ashley Breeding started the comeback with an RBI single, one of her three hits this game, and Badgley responded by hitting a sacrifice groundout to drive in another runner. Finally, freshman first baseman Olivia Turner reached first via a throwing error, which helped score two unearned runs, making the score 7-7 after seven.
The extra innings were quiet, as no one scored through the first four innings. Both teams were starting to fatigue a bit, but Evansville pulled through with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly to go up 9-7.
The Braves, needing three runs to win, showed up when it counted, as senior shortstop Addie Welsh walked with the bases loaded and brought the game within one. Junior left fielder Lauren DeRolf tied things up after reaching first base on an error. Bradley needed one more run to win the game.
Breeding, as she had the entire game, stepped up when it mattered. The junior smashed a single to second base, sending Welsh home and walking off a 10-9 win.
Breeding led the team with three hits, while multiple others, including DeRolf, Turner and Kennedy, had two. Badgley came in relief in the eighth inning and took the win on the mound.
“It’s always fun when you can go into extra innings; it’s like a battle back and forth,” Breeding said. “I think being able to go three up, three down for multiple innings fired us up and just kept us going.”
Huge fifth inning gets the job done
After a total of four hours and four minutes of softball in the first game, both teams had to go right back on the field for the second game of the doubleheader. This time, the margin of victory was slightly larger.
Evansville gave the Braves a scare in the third inning after an RBI single to right field. The Aces only continued to pile on runs, as a sacrifice lineout in the fourth and a two-RBI double down the left field line in the top of the fifth put them up 4-0.
However, the bottom of the fifth was the game-changer for Bradley, as nine runs were scored. In the first at-bat of the inning, freshman catcher Emily Organ homered to center. Afterwards, the Braves kept scoring and scoring, as back-to-back RBI singles from Breeding and Badgley tied the game up at four.
Organ took ball four with the bases loaded in her second plate appearance of the inning to take the lead, but it didn’t stop there. After two errors on balls hit by Welsh and junior right fielder Kierston McCoy, as well as Welsh scoring on a wild pitch, the Braves finished the fifth inning with a score of 9-4.
The Aces continued to put pressure on Bradley, though, after two consecutive walks with three women on base cut the lead to three. The game ended with a final score of 10-6, after a homer from Badgley in the bottom of the sixth put the game away.
Breeding, Turner and Badgley all finished with two hits, with the latter grabbing another win on the mound. Kennedy came on in the sixth to get her first save of the season.
“The big inning definitely set a tone,” head coach Sarah Willis said. “It really shuts down your opponent, because they’re going to have to be a lot more stubborn to be able to come back and edge out of the deficit. So certainly, that’s the great thing about big innings.”
Mercy rule madness in Braves’ final home game of season
The Braves ended their senior weekend with a massive victory after only five innings.
Three runs were scored in the second, as Bradley’s senior left fielder, Allie Paregien, started things off with an RBI single to left. Welsh drove in the second run on an RBI triple and later scored herself on a wild pitch. The third inning also provided three Bradley runs, starting with a two-RBI double from Kennedy and an RBI single from Organ.
With a 6-0 lead, the fifth inning is where Bradley put a dagger in this game. After McCoy was walked with the bases loaded, Badgley smoked an RBI single to right, ending the game there on the mercy rule. The Braves secured an 8-0 win in five innings of work.
Four Bradley batters had two hits, including Badgley, Organ, Paregien and Welsh, as they had four RBIs combined. On the mound, it was an ideal last home game for Kennedy, almost pitching a no-hitter. A lone double in the second was her only fault.
“I’m just looking to carry [this] into the weekend,” Kennedy said. “I think just doing the little things right and working with everybody on communication, so that when we face [UIC] this weekend, there’s no problems, [just] automatic outs.”
Bradley’s final series of the year will be in Chicago, as they travel up north to take on conference rivals UIC in a three-game series.
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