Bradley softball played three games in three days and went winless against Southern Illinois.
The Braves faced off against the Salukis and lost their games by a combined score of 23-4.
In the first game, the Braves only managed three hits off of SIU starting pitcher Danielle Glosson en route to losing the game 12-0.
Glosson gave up just three hits and struck out eight in the complete game shutout, putting her at 12-8 for the season.
SIU got home runs from three different players. The first came early in the first inning when Katie Wilson hit a three-run shot. SIU tacked on another run in the first on a Bradley error.
The second home run ended the scoring in the first when Corinna Gonzalez hit one down the left field line and put the Salukis up big early in the contest.
The third of the Saluki home runs came off the bat of Allie Hanson who cleared the bases with a two-out grand slam, extending the score to 10-0.
The mercy rule came into effect in the fifth to end the game.
Freshman Brandi Ore took the loss for the Braves, tossing two-thirds of an inning, giving up six runs, five of which were earned, on five hits. This dropped her season record to 2-6.
In the night cap, freshman Mackenzie Camp threw the first complete game of her career, but a three-run homer was all the Salukis needed, to win the game 3-2.
The Braves struck early, plating a run in the first inning. Freshman Taylor Cox drew a walk and stole second. She scored on an RBI single from junior Brittany Fairbairn to give the Braves their first lead of the day.
Fairbairn went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the night game of the double header.
Camp gave up the three-run home run to Wilson in the fourth inning after giving up back-to-back singles to lead off the frame.
After retiring the next two batters, Wilson hit one out over the left field wall, giving the Salukis a 3-1 advantage.
The Braves struck back in the fifth, adding another run when senior Lindsay Watkins scored after a double to left center by Fairbairn.
In the series finale, SIU took advantage of five Bradley errors and took the victory 8-2.
Wilson struck again for SIU, hitting a grand slam in the top of the fifth inning with the score tied at one, giving the Salukis all the offense they needed to take the series sweep.
Bradley left two runners on base in each of the first four innings of the contest, and stranded 11 runners throughout the course of the game.
“We played fairly well against SIU with the exception of the first game, we just didn’t get the timely hits that we needed,” senior Amanda Clack said. “Sometimes we tend to overthink everything when we all know how to play so we just need to go out there and have fun and play the game.”
Coach Amy Hayes said the team is playing better than earlier in the season.
“We need to stop worrying about the outcome and focus on executing the plan,” Hayes said. “We need to have some prime time at bats from the middle of our order and put runs on the board. Our pitchers need to focus on one pitch, one hitter at a time and execute the task at hand. They need to get ahead and stay there.”