Bradenton, Fla. ? After sweeping through the first four games of their Spring Break trip, the Braves have hit an offensive lull in dropping two straight.  On Friday, Fairfield topped the Braves 3-0 to drop the Braves to 4-2 at the IMG Sports Academy.

Junior second baseman Ryan Curry (Downers Grove, Ill./South) extended his hitting streak to five games with a 2-for-4 effort in the third spot in the Bradley lineup.  Curry leads the team in hits and his .327 average is second-best on the squad.

Bradley starter, junior right-hander Michael Christl (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) allowed just one earned run in his six innings of work but was doomed in the sixth when two Braves' errors lead to an unearned run that put the Stags ahead 2-0 ? more than enough for Fairfield starter Ed Kamintzky (2-2) who worked all nine innings in the shutout effort.

Christl (1-2) tallied four strikeouts and walked three while allowing just five Fairfield hits in the tough loss.

The Bradley offense totaled just eight singles in offensive support for Christl and stranded eight on the bases.

The loss drops the Braves to 6-8 overall on the season.  Bradley will play one final game at the IMG Sports Academy on Saturday afternoon when they take on the Big Red of Cornell at 1:30 p.m. before returning to the Hilltop for their home opener next Tuesday.