Baseball Opens MVC Slate on the Road

Bradley Baseball will continue its early-season travels by opening Missouri Valley Conference play with a weekend series at Missouri State

Dave Wegiel, Pinola Photo

Bradley Game Notes (PDF)

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications & Operations Baseball 3/31/2017 8:30:00 AM

SPRINGFIELD, MO - Bradley Baseball will continue its early-season travels by opening Missouri Valley Conference play with a 3-game weekend series at Missouri State. The teams have faced each other during "Championship Saturday" of each of the last two MVC Baseball Championship tournaments.

SERIES DETAILS
Who - Bradley Braves (10-12, 0-0 MVC) at Missouri State Bears (15-9, 0-0 MVC)
When - Friday, March 31 (8 p.m.) | Saturday, April 1 (3 p.m.) | Sunday, April 2 (1 p.m.)
Where - Springfield, MO (Hammons Field)
Tickets - $5 reserved chairbacks | $2 children | More Info
Social Media - @BradleyBaseball | @MSUBearBaseball
Watch - The Valley on ESPN3 (Sunday only)
Listen - KBFL 1060 AM/96.9 FM
Live Stats - MissouriStateBears.com

SERIES HISTORY
Games 100-102 | Missouri State leads 63-36
At Missouri State - Missouri State leads 33-12
Bradley Head Coach Elvis Dominguez vs. Missouri State - 9-21
Missouri State Head Coach Keith Guttin vs. Bradley - 62-36
Current Streak - Missouri State W2
• Friday's series opener will be the 100th meeting in the all-time series between Bradley and Missouri State.
• The teams have faced each other on the final day of the last two MVC Baseball Championships, meeting in the 2015 final and the 2016 semifinals.
• Missouri State has won its last seven home games in the series.

THE OPENING PITCH
• Bradley will open its 66th Missouri Valley Conference baseball season this weekend when the Braves visit Missouri State for a 3-game series at Hammons Field.
• The weekend series will comprise games 100-102 in the all-time series between the Braves and Bears, who have met on "Championship Saturday" of the last two MVC Baseball Championship tournaments.
• Missouri State enters the weekend series ranked 11th nationally with a 2.67 staff earned run average and the Bears are tied for eighth with five shutouts.
• Of Bradley's 18 NCAA Division I games to date, all 18 have been played on the road and the Braves will add to that total by playing the three games this weekend at Hammons Field.
• Following this weekend's series at Missouri State, however, Bradley is scheduled to play 20 of its final 27 games at home, beginning next week with four games against Saint Louis (Wednesday) and Milwauke (April 7-9) at Dozer Park.

FOUR YEARS AWAY FROM HOME
• Since the start of the 2014 season, Bradley ranks second in the Missouri Valley Conference by accumulating 70 wins away from home.
• Bradley's 70 road (40) and neutral (30) wins away from home the last four seasons represent 70.7 percent of the team's 99 total wins the last four years.
• Bradley now is scheduled to play at least 31 games away from home this season, including the first 18 to start the season.

TOUGH START
• By visiting Missouri State for this weekend's Missouri Valley Conference opening series, Bradley will have played its first 21 Division I games away from home.
• Those 21 games will have been played against nine teams that enter the weekend with a 139-86 (.618) cumulative record.
• Bradley leads The Valley with a strength of schedule that ranks 28th (Missouri State is second with a SOS ranked 53rd).
• The other seven Valley teams own an average 147.6 SOS ranking.
• Aided by its strength of schedule, Bradley ranks 74th in the RPI (warrennolan.com), third best in the Missouri Valley Conference.

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