Bradley softball won games last season thanks to a top-ranked offense and steady performances in the circle. In their opening tournament in Arizona, neither the offense nor the pitching were consistent enough to get the job done.
The team won its first game of the season against Utah Valley 7-1 behind a strong performance in the circle by senior Lexi Cremeens, who earned her first career victory by tossing 5 1/3 innings and allowing just one hit and two walks in relief. Head coach Amy Hayes said she liked what she saw out of Cremeens in the first game.
“I think she did really well; she did a good job keeping the ball down in the zone and she got ahead in the count,” Hayes said. “Her changeup was on that day. Utah Valley went on to beat I think Wisconsin and West Virginia…they had a really good weekend, so I think it shows if we put a really good game together, we’ve got something solid in the circle.”
Bradley was unable to put a solid anything in the circle after that.
The team lost its next four games by a combined score of 38-4, triggering the “mercy rule” in all four contests.
On Feb. 7, the team lost to Pacific 9-1 and Seattle 11-3. No Bradley pitcher lasted longer than 1 2/3 innings against the Tigers, as junior college transfer Dani Cowan and senior Alyson Spinas-Valainis combined to allow eight runs on seven hits and five walks. Fellow senior Mandy DeMeulenaere closed out the game, allowing a run on three hits in 1 1/3 innings.
The second game of the afternoon was not much better. Junior Amanda Barna allowed three runs without surrendering a hit in the bottom of the first before giving way to Cremeens, who gave up four more runs before being pulled.
Bradley’s offense was non-existent Saturday. The team scored four runs, one of which came without a hit, and totaled just 10 hits in 10 innings. Hayes said the team struggled as a whole that day.
“Saturday, as a team, we didn’t bring anything to the field,” Hayes said. “The pitching, we weren’t getting ahead. We were walking too many people. You name it, we just about did it in the circle…We didn’t execute pitches.”
The team played better Sunday, but according to Hayes, they dealt with a bit of bad luck.
“Sunday was a very different day,” Hayes said. “They probably only squared up about four balls on our pitching staff, everything else was a mishit or a bloop. We hit better than they did, just right at them. Spenn ripped a shot that happened to go right at the third baseman, who tagged third.”
Bradley did not score a run Sunday, losing to Stanford 10-0 and North Carolina 8-0.
Kendall Duffy led the Braves’ offense, picking up seven hits in 14 at-bats. The hot start is in stark contrast to how Duffy started the 2014 season.
“She really struggled at the beginning of last year, but as a testament to her she came in and put in the time and ended up making all-conference,” Hayes said. “The fact that she’s coming out strong this year bodes really well for her, but it’s also a good example of if you keep your head down and keep working, it’ll work itself out.”
Duffy herself agreed with her coach, and said it was a mental adjustment that helped her start the season off strong.
“I didn’t think a lot,” Duffy said. “I tried to attack a little more than I did last year too.”
Bradley heads to New Mexico for the Troy Cox Classic this weekend. The team faces off against Kansas and Weber State today starting at noon. Tomorrow, the Braves face Weber State and New Mexico State before finishing play Sunday against the Aggies.
