OMAHA, Neb. ?  The Bradley softball team locked up a spot in next week's State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in Normal, Ill., splitting a doubleheader at league-leading Creighton Saturday.  The Braves defeated the Bluejays 4-2 in the series and opener, but fell 7-0 in the nightcap.

Bradley (25-21 overall, 8-14) secured the No. 7 seed for next week's tournament and will face either Missouri State of Evansville Thursday afternoon.  The Braves will be making their first MVC Tournament appearance since hosting the 2000 event a the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Ill.  The split also guaranteed the Braves a winning record for the second consecutive year, marking the first time Bradley has had back-to-back winning seasons since the 1994 and 1995 seasons. 

Seniors Elizabeth Wilson and Christine Cooney provided the big hits for the Braves in the 4-2 victory in the series opener.  Wilson had a run scoring double and Cooney followed with a two-run homer in the seventh inning to highlight the victory.

Creighton (36-12-1 overall, 18-4-1 MVC) jumped out to a 1-0 lead, pushing a run across in the bottom of the third inning.  Jessica Wakasugi led off the inning with an infield single and stole second.  She moved to third on a Bradley error and scored on a TJ Eadus single to right field.

The Braves responded with a run in the top of the fourth inning to tie the game at 101.  Cooney led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt.  Junior Trish Kowalewski drew a walk and Jessie Musgrove drove in Cooney from second with a single down the left field line. 

The teams entered the seventh inning tied at 1-1 as sophomore Ashley Birdsong pitched out of several jams.  Creighton left 10 runners on base in the game and had runners in scoring position in the in every inning but the seventh.

Sophomore Alycia Bachkora led off the top of the seventh inning with a single and pinch runner Katy Dammer advanced to second after a Stephanie Ramsey sacrifice bunt.  Wilson drove in Dammer with a double to right center and Cooney belted her second career home run to give Bradley a 4-1 lead.

Creighton got one run back in the bottom of the seventh inning on a one-out solo homer by Eadus, but Birdsong got a pair of groundouts to pick up her team-best 19^th victory of the season.  Birdsong fanned four and walked two, while surrendering eight hits and two earned runs. 

In the nightcap, Creighton starter Amanda Hess limited Bradley to just one hit in a complete game shutout, helping the Bluejays lock up the regular-season Missouri Valley Conference title.

Hess had a rough first inning, walking three runners in the frame, but the Braves were unable to capitalize, leaving the bases loaded.

Creighton scored twice in the bottom of the second inning with Renae Sinkler providing the big hit in the inning with an RBI single.  A Bradley error later in the inning led to another Bluejay run as Creighton took a 2-0 lead.

Another error in the bottom of the third inning, helped lead to another Creighton run.  A pair of runs scored on an error on a squeeze play and a Jessica German sacrifice fly drove home another run.

The Bluejays scored another two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 7-0 lead.  Michelle Koch drove in a pair of runs with a two-out single up the middle.

Cooney provided the only Braves hit in the second game, knocking a one-out single to left field, but Creighton ended the inning with a double play as Hess faced the minimum from the first inning on.

Bradley and Creighton close out the regular-season Sunday with a single game at noon at the Creighton Sports Complex.