The softball team’s regular season is winding down, but thanks to a victory over Illinois State Wednesday afternoon, they will get the chance to repeat as Missouri Valley Conference champions.
Bradley rallied from two different deficits in the game. Down 3-1 entering the bottom of the fourth, the Braves ripped off five straight two-out singles to plate five runs and took a 6-3 lead.
They weren’t able to hold it for long, though. The Redbirds launched their third and fourth home runs of the game as part of a four-run inning to retake the lead at 7-6. The game stayed that way until the bottom of the seventh inning, when senior Shannon King lifted a wind-aided double into center for Bradley’s first extra-base hit of the game. Junior Kendall Duffy followed with a walk.
After a groundout moved the runners to second and third base, senior Brittany Burgess smacked a single into center field to plate both runners and give Bradley their 10th conference win.
King picked up seven hits against the Redbirds, and in the process set a new career-high with 32 RBIs in a season. The second baseman said she was comfortable at the plate against ISU’s pitchers.
“I felt pretty confident at the plate,” King said. “I was seeing their pitches pretty well and I was just able to keep a level head.”
Sophomore Jaelen Hull earned the victory in relief for the Braves, allowing just one hit in 2 1/3 innings. The only hit was a wind-aided triple that freshman centerfielder Erika Hansen was unable to make a play on. Hansen said the wind was a factor in the games this week, but the team prepared for that scenario.
“In the warmups, we go over routine fly balls,” Hansen said. “If you go over them and you remember it well, you’ll be fine. But the wind definitely affected on some of the hit balls in the outfield.”
The wind also played a role in Bradley’s non-conference game against Illinois-Chicago Tuesday. The teams combined for five home runs in a 6-5 Bradley victory.
Hull picked up her second save of the season for the Braves, entering the game in the top of the seventh inning with the bases loaded and one out. She retired both batters she faced on 10 pitches to end the game.
Head coach Amy Hayes said she liked what she saw from the sophomore in relief, especially given her injury issues earlier in the season.
“It’s good to see,” Hayes said. “We had to rely a lot on [Spinas-Valainis] to throw a lot of innings early on because [Hull] was coming back from an injury. It’s nice to see that patience has kind of payed off. Jaelen really loves those situations, coming in and being able to shut people down. The last two times she’s been really good at it.”
Those two victories came after a series against Wichita State that saw the Braves lose two of three to the Shockers. Bradley was swept in a doubleheader last Saturday 10-8 and 2-0, but the team rallied to take the final game of the series 4-2.
Bradley’s offense touched up Shockers’ pitcher Jenni Brooks in game three for four runs in five innings. The finale was on Sunday, one day after Brooks was able to hold Bradley scoreless in 7 1/3 innings. Hayes said the team watched film to prepare themselves for the final game.
“We just watched film and prepared,” Hayes said. “We knew a little bit more about what was coming but until you get in there and really see it…For us, it’s just a matter of staying aggressive. Being passive doesn’t really get you far in this life at all and it’s certianly not going to get you very far in a competitive game. If we’re aggressive, good things usually happen for us.”
The Braves take on the conference-leading Drake Bulldogs in their final home series of the season this weekend. The teams square off in a doubleheader starting at noon tomorrow, with the final game of the series Sunday at noon.
