The defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Bradley softball team did not have the best weekend of exhibition matches.
The Braves dropped their first game to DePaul and then bounced back to beat Kankakee Community College 4-2 and Lincolnland Community College 13-5.
Coach Amy Hayes said she was disappointed with the team’s play at DePaul. Although she lost track of the score, she said that the team would have been run-ruled if it were an official game. The reason why the score wasn’t kept was because this was not an official game, but an exhibition that lasted longer than a typical game.
“We started strong, but let some at-bats go,” Hayes said. “We wasted our at-bats in the middle innings. Our pitching was not on point, and we left a lot of balls up [in the strike zone.]”
According to Hayes, the Braves came out stronger against Kankakee and Lincolnland but could have put up more runs. Players were not focused on the right things and didn’t stick to the plan. However, these scrimmages provide an opportunity to mix some freshmen into the lineup as the Braves look to shore-up starting positions on the diamond.
The softball team closes its fall exhibition season with a game against Heartland Community College on Oct. 3 at 4 p.m. at Laura Bradley Park. The teams’ previous meeting resulted in a 19-5 win for the Braves.
Bradley’s 2014 softball players will receive their MVC Championship rings at the Oct. 6 men’s soccer game against Denver. The Braves acquired the fifth seed in the MVC tournament and rallied back to win multiple games to eventually pull off an upset and win the conference tournament.
“This group worked hard for four years,” Hayes said. “They overcame a lot and [were] a team with heart. They were a good group and focused on what it means to be a team.”
