CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Not even the cold temperature could cool the Bradley Baseball team as the Braves (7-2) won their seventh consecutive game Wednesday, downing host Saint Louis, 8-2, at the Billiken Sports Center.
Senior pitcher Josh Caruso (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria H.S.), who had worked exclusively out of the bullpen to this point in his Bradley career, got the start Wednesday and responded by allowing just one run on five hits in his five innings of work. Caruso (1-0) also struck out seven Billiken hitters. Junior reliever Peter Elmer (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier H.S.) made his first appearance of the season and allowed an unearned run in three innings, while sophomore Michael Christl (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley H.S.) closed out another dominant pitching performance by the Braves. The trio combined for 15 strikeouts, the most by the Braves since at least the start of the 2000 season.
Senior outfielder Ryan Kenny (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame H.S.) proved to be the hitting star in a reserve role Wednesday. Kenny, who pinch hit for starting leftfielder Jason Newburger in the sixth inning, delivered the deciding runs in the seventh inning with a 3-run double to put the Braves up 5-2. He added a run-scoring single in the middle of Bradley's 3-run, ninth-inning rally to finish 2-for-3 with four runs batted in.
After Saint Louis (2-7) got on the board first with a run in the second inning, Bradley freshman designated hitter Peter Malinowski (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South H.S.) pulled the Braves even by drilling his first career home run to left field to open the fourth frame. Senior first baseman Brad Canada (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern H.S.) put the Braves ahead for good, 2-1, by adding his first home run of the season with two outs in the fifth inning.
Bradley next heads to Jacksonville, Fla., for six games during its annual Spring Break trip. The Braves will open the trip Saturday afternoon versus Ohio State and also will face Toledo, Long Island, Jacksonville and North Florida during the trip. The seven-game winning streak is Bradley's longest since March 4-17, 1998, a streak that included six wins during the Spring Break trip to Deland, Fla. Bradley has not won eight in a row since a 10-game streak March 31-April 7, 1996.
