JONESBORO, Ark. ? The Bradley baseball team dropped both games of a doubleheader Saturday at Arkansas State, falling 11-3 in the opener and 7-0 in the nightcap against the Indians. 

In the first-game of the day, senior right-hander Michael Christl (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley), surrendered eight earned runs in four innings of work, while striking out one and walking one. Sophomore Tyler Thornton (Minier, Ill./Olympia) pitched two scoreless innings in relief in his season debut, but the Braves managed just eight hits off ASU pitching in the 11-3 loss to open three-game series.

Offensively, the Braves were led by senior Justin Carr (Camargo, Ill./Villa Grove), who was 2-for-3 with a solo home run.  Five of Bradley's eight hits in the opener were for extra bases as freshman Andrew Eggers (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain), senior Paul Rice (Beardstown, Ill./Beardstown) and sophomores Mike McMillan (Bloomington, Ill./Normal University) and Colby Luttrell (Kincaid, Ill./South Fork) each doubled.

In the second game, freshman Brad Altbach (Northbrook, Ill. Glenbrook North) surrendered seven runs (six earned) in four innings of work in his first career start. 

Freshmen Alex Zerman (Lincolnshire, Ill. /Stevenson) and Luke Etchison (Frankton, Ind. /Frankton) both had strong career debuts, as both tossed one inning of scoreless relief. Sophomore Dan Brewer (Brookfield, Ill./Lyons Township) led the Braves with two hits.  Luttrell and sophomore Bryan Porter (Rolling Meadows, Ill. /Rolling Meadows) both added hits in the 7-0 loss.

Bradley fell to 1-5 on the season with the pair of losses, while Arkansas State improved to 5-4 on the spring.

Bradley will be back in action Sunday in the third and final game of the series.  First pitch at Tomlinson Stadium in Jonesboro, Ark., is set for noon.