Kalmer Joins 1,000-Win Club
? Bradley head coach Dewey Kalmer became the 36th coach in NCAA Division I baseball history and the 14th active coach to win 1,000 career games Saturday when the Braves rallied late for a 6-1 victory at Indiana State.
? Kalmer is in his 39th year as a collegiate head coach and will enter this weekend's Valley series against Evansville with a 1001-881-5 career record, including an 811-739-4 mark in his 28th season at Bradley.
Braves Close Home Slate
? Bradley will close its 2007 home schedule this weekend by hosting defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Evansville in a 3-game set at O'Brien Field.
? Evansville owns a 32-24 lead in the all-time series against the Braves, including a sweep of last year's 3-game set at Evansville to end the regular season.
? The Braves bounced back, however, to hand the Aces their only loss of the 2006 MVC Tournament, a 6-3 victory in the opening game.
? Bradley has won five of the previous seven meetings at O'Brien Field.
Busy Weekend at O'Brien Field
? There will be plenty of pregame activitiy at O'Brien Field when the Braves host Evansville this weekend.
? Prior to Friday's 7 p.m. game, pitching coach Mike Dunne's No. 11 will be retired. Dunne was the 1984 Valley Player of the Year at Bradley and he went on to win a silver medal in the 1984 Olympics with USA Baseball, before enjoying a five-year Major League Baseball career.
? Head coach Dewey Kalmer will be honored in a ceremony before Saturday's 7 p.m. game in recognition of his 1,000th career win.
? As is tradition before the final home game of the season, Bradley's six seniors -- Justin Carr, Michael Christl, Ryan Curry, Brad Jones, Paul Rice and Pat Ryerson -- will be honored in a ceremony before Sunday's 1 p.m. finale.
Bradley Remains Redhot
? Bradley completed its second straight Valley sweep this past weekend at Indiana State to run its winning streak to a season-best eight games, including seven in a row in The Valley.
? The Braves, who have won 12 of their last 13 overall, had not won as many seven straight league games since March 31-April 10, 1996 by taking the final two games of the Missouri State series, all four games of the Creighton seris and the first game of a doubleheader at Illinois State.
? Looking ahead to this weekend's home series against defending Valley champion Evansville, Bradley has never won eight straight league games since complete round-robin scheduling was introduced in 1984.
? The current streak began April 22 by taking the final game of the Southern Illinois series and has been extended by sweeping Illinois State and Indiana State.
Altbach's Personal Streak
? Bradley's recent winning streak has been aided by the personal pitching streak of freshman Brad Altbach.
? The 6-foot-2 right-hander has closed out each of Bradley's last five Valley games, going 1-0 with three saves in the four outings.
? Altbach's fifth appearance may have been the most impressive of the group but did not count as a win or a save.
? After saving each of the first two weekend wins against Indiana State, Altbach inherited a bases-loaded, one-out scenario in the eighth inning Sunday and retired all five Sycamores he faced to end Bradley's 8-2 win.
? For the season, Altbach is 6-2 with four saves and a 3.00 ERA.
Late-Inning Offense
? Bradley had to rally for three of its four wins last week and outscored Blackburn and Indiana State by a combined 19-1 after the sixth inning.
? For the season, Bradley has outscored the opposition 94-40 after the sixth inning this year.
2007 MVC Standings
Thru May 7 MVC Overall
Team W-L Pct. GB W-L Pct.
#10 Wichita St. 17-4 .810 --- 41-13 .759
Creighton 14-4 .778 1.5 32-12 .727
Evansville 12-9 .571 5.0 31-19 .620
Bradley 10-8 .556 5.5 27-16 .628
Southern Illinois 9-9 .500 6.5 29-18 .617
Illinois State 8-10 .444 7.5 20-25 .444
Northern Iowa 5-13 .278 10.5 19-23 .452
Missouri State 5-13 .278 10.5 20-26 .435
Indiana State 4-14 .222 11.5 21-23 .477
Non-Conference Record 156-91 .632
