Led by record-setting performances at the plate, the Bradley Braves softball team were able to close out the Troy Cox Classic in New Mexico this past weekend and win four of their five games. This brings their overall record to 5-5.
Bradley started the weekend off with three tight wins against Montana, New Mexico State and Texas State. On Saturday night they blew San Jose State out of the water with a 14-6 victory but dropped their last game to New Mexico State 7-8 on Sunday.
Head coach Amy Hayes became the all-time winningest coach in Bradley softball history after the Braves’ win on Friday against Montana, bringing her to 208 wins.
“I think [passing the record] means I’m old,” Hayes said. “It’s not really about me. It’s about the kids who have come through this program and that have bought in and put in the hard work and time to get us those W’s.”
Despite the loss to finish out the weekend, senior utility player Gabby Stoner said the weekend was a big confidence boost for the team and mentioned several keys to winning during the week.
“Not getting nervous and not pressing whenever we were down in the game,” Stoner said. “We trusted we would come back on offense.”
Staying consistent from the plate worked wonders for the Braves as they brought in a team total of 22 home runs, 57 hits and 44 runs over the five games.
They tied the NCAA DI record for most home runs in an inning, hitting five in the sixth inning against San Jose State.
Individually, junior catcher Kealia Wysocki set a school record for most single-game home runs with three. Wysocki earned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week for her offensive performance.
The Braves only committed three errors, down from 13 last weekend. From the circle they managed a weekend average of three walks per game. Bradley’s pitchers had a combined total of 31 strikeouts for the weekend.
Coming into this past weekend Hayes said that it was important that the team didn’t focus on the amount of wins they had heading into the weekend.
In addition, both Stoner and Hayes said that the depth of the team is the key to the success. With 12 of the homeruns coming from underclassmen, the team showed that they didn’t have to rely on experience.
Hayes said that the underclassmen performance was a result of the leadership and influence from upperclassmen.
“We have a group this year that is pretty tight, that’s buying in, that really care about each other and you can see that in the way we play,” Hayes said. “We’re not letting the ups and downs of the game affect us.”
The Braves kick off another
