Bradley Baseball Notebook ? March 23, 2008

Overall Record:  8-9

MVC Record:  2-1

Last Week's Results

March 17 vs. Central Connecticut State  W  4-1

March 18 vs. Ohio State                 L  3-10

March 19 vs. Miami (Ohio)               W  7-6

March 21 *at Evansville                 L  8-9

March 22 *at Evansville                 W  9-6

March 23 *at Evansville                 W  11-6

This Week's Schedule

Tuesday at Northern Illinois (DH)  1 p.m.

Friday     *INDIANA STATE          4 p.m.

Saturday   *INDIANA STATE          2 p.m.

Sunday     *INDIANA STATE          1 p.m.

Picking Up Where They Left Off

?       Bradley started the 2008 Missouri Valley Conference season right where the Braves left off the 2007 campaign.

?       By taking 2-of-3 games this past weekend at Evansville, Bradley won its fifth league series in its last six tries.

?       Since suffering a 3-game sweep at Creighton April 13-15, 2007, Bradley is 13-5 (.722) in its last 18 regular-season Valley games.

One More Road Trip

?       Having already played its first 17 games away from home, the Braves face one more road trip this week before finally playing a home game.

?       Bradley will visit Northern Illinois for a Tuesday doubleheader, 1 p.m. in DeKalb, before opening its home schedule with a three-game weekend series versus Valley rival Indiana State (5-12, 1-2 MVC).

?       The 19 games away from home to start the season are the most since 1997, when the Braves played their first 20 away from home.

Home Heavy Slate to Follow

?       This weekend's series against the Sycamores will start a mid-season stretch that will see the Braves play 19 of 25 games at O'Brien Field.

?       Three of Bradley's next four Valley series will be played at O'Brien Field:  March 29-30 versus Indiana State, April 4-6 versus Creighton and April 18-20 against Missouri State.

Luttrell Fires Away

?       For some reason, runners continue to test the arm of Bradley junior right fielder Colby Luttrell and he continues to pass the test.

?       Luttrell threw out two runners at the plate in Bradley's six games last week and already has collected five outfield assists in Bradley's first 17 games this year.

?       Luttrell led The Valley with 10 outfield assists last season.

Offense Heating Up

?       After managing to score more than five runs just once in the season's first 13 games, Bradley's offense heated up at the end of last week.

?       The Braves have scored at least seven in each of their last four games.

?       Bradley does not appear to require much offense to succeed, however, as the Braves are 7-4 when scoring at least three runs this year.

Jensen Doubles as Closer

?       Junior Kori Jensen, a transfer from Hutchinson County Community College, has started the most games at second base (10) on the team.

?       Jensen also doubles as the team's top relief pitcher and is 1-0 with four saves and a 4.26 earned run average to date this year.

?       In his last five appearances, including four last week alone, Jensen is 1-0 with four saves.

?       The 5-foot-10 righthander saved both of Bradley's victories at Evansville to open the league season.

Brewer Warming

?       Junior Dan Brewer, a two-time all-conference performer for the Braves and the team's top returning hitter, started slow at the plate, but appears to be heating up.

?       A five-game hitless streak dropped Brewer's average to .143, but since his 0-for-2 showing in the first game of the March 15 doubleheader versus Vermont, Brewer is 13-for-32 (.406) with two doubles, a triple and two home runs.

?       Brewer has hit safely in the last five games with 10 runs batted in and eight runs scored.

Getting Support from Escue

?       Leadoff man Dan Brewer has been getting support from No. 2 hitter Grant Escue of late.

?       A local product who returned home from Stanford during the summer, Escue rides a six-game hitting streak into the week.

?       Escue is hitting .423 (11-26) during his current streak, which has been capped by a pair of 3-hit performances in the final two games at Evansville.

2007 MVC Standings

Thru March 23              MVC           Overall

Team                W-L   Pct.    GB    W-L    Pct.

#15 Wichita State   3-0  1.000   ---   14-3    .824

Missouri State      2-1   .667   1.0   14-5    .737

Southern Illinois   2-1   .667   1.0   10-8    .556

Bradley             2-1   .667   1.0    8-9    .471

UNI                 0-0   .000   1.5   10-8    .556

Creighton           1-2   .333   2.0   14-6    .700

Indiana State       1-2   .333   2.0    5-12   .294

Evansville          1-2   .333   2.0    2-17   .105

Illinois State      0-3   .000   3.0    9-8    .529

Non-Conference Record                  73-64   .533