Bradley baseball set a pair of records over spring break as the team prepares for its first Missouri Valley Conference series this weekend.
The Braves took five out of eight games over spring break before traveling to Iowa and defeating the Hawkeyes 5-2 Wednesday night, giving them a school-record 17 wins before the home opener.
Bradley started spring break by taking two out of three games from Mercer. Junior Elliot Ashbeck notched his fifth win of the season in the series opener. Ashbeck went five strong innings, allowing only two runs while striking out nine. Ashbeck said he believes his success on the mound can be attributed to his confidence, he said.
“I had a pretty solid [year] last year,” Ashbeck said. “I felt like I had a pretty strong fall coming back with a veteran group of guys, and just knowing that I belong out there and trusting my stuff has been a big thing.”
The Braves would go on to blank both Mt. Vernon Nazarene and UMASS-Dartmouth 10-0 in the middle of the week before they traveled south to take on Northern Florida.
Ashbeck and the Braves didn’t find as much success against UNF. The opener was a sore sight as the Braves nearly doubled their season error total with seven. Ashbeck gave up 10 runs, four earned, on eight hits as UNF won 12-4.
Junior Brent Stong didn’t fare much better the next day. The southpaw only lasted four innings, giving up seven runs en route to his second loss of the year, an 8-4 defeat.
Both starters had been solid all year, but Dominguez said that the rough outings were “bound to happen.”
“[Even] Kershaw has a rough outing,” Dominguez said. “[Stong] didn’t have great command and pitched from behind, and I think it got to him. [Ashbeck] wasn’t at his best Friday night. That’s just the way baseball goes.”
Ashbeck noted that he didn’t have his best stuff, saying that he left a lot of his pitches up in the zone. The right-hander allowed eight hits in the game.
The Braves bounced back in game three of the series, winning 4-3 in seven innings. Sophomore Matt Dennis earned his 11 career save, which is a new Bradley record. Junior Cameron Roegner earned his second win on the year while sophomore Evan Gruener went 2-2 with an RBI double and two runs scored.
Wednesday night’s game against Iowa was used to get a few pitchers some work in who would not normally have gotten any. Freshman Jordan Fedro started for the Braves, tossing four innings of five-hit, one run ball to pick up his second win. Four different Braves picked up multiple hits offensively while Isaac Smith drew two walks
As the Braves prepare for their home opener, the team remembers the situation they were in last year when they lost 11 of their final 35 games and are determined to not repeat it.
“Most of the guys from that team are back, and I think we all understand what we have to do now to continue the success and not let it taper off like it did last year,” Ashbeck said.
The Braves take on Southern Illinois today at Dozer Park at 3 p.m. Tomorrow, the team will shave its head after the game in support of the Vs. Cancer Foundation.
The foundation created a challenge among college programs to raise money for children’s cancer research. The Braves currently rank seventh in the challenge, having raised $7,740 as of press time. To donate, go toteam.vs-cancer.org/Bradley.
