Bradley Baseball Game Notes
Bradley Braves (24-19, 8-7 MVC) at Illinois State Redbirds (19-23, 3-12 MVC)
May 2 (6 p.m.), May 3 (2 p.m.), May 4 (1 p.m.) ? Normal, Ill. ? Rebird Field
Braves On A Roll
? Bradley enters this weekend's series versus Interstate 74 rival Illinois State riding a seven-game winning streak, its longest win streak of the season.
? The current winning streak is the longest since the Braves enjoyed a 10-game streak April 22-May 12, 2007.
? Coincidentally, the current streak started on April 23.
? In addition to the seven-game ride, Bradley has won 11 of its last 15 games overall, helping the Braves climb a season-best five games over .500.
I-74 Series Begins Friday
? Off from league play since April 20, Bradley will resume its Missouri Valley Conference schedule Friday evening when the Braves open a 3-game set at Interstate 74 rival Illinois State.
? Bradley owns a 111-96 lead in the all-time series and the Braves have won four straight, as well as eight of the last 10 meetings, against the Redbirds.
? The last time the Braves went on the road in The Valley, Bradley earned a 3-game sweep April 11-13 at Southern Illinois.
State Streak Reaches 11
? By sweeping five games versus Eastern Illinois and Chicago State last week at O'Brien Field, Bradley ran its winning streak against in-state competition to 11 games.
? With this weekend's series at Illinois State looming, Bradley is 12-1 against other teams from the state of Illinois this season and the Braves are 23-3 against the Land of Lincoln since the start of the 2007 campaign.
? The current 11-game Illinois winning streak is Bradley's longest since a 12-gamer from April 14-May 8, 1992.
Kalmer Closing In On 50 Percent
? Dewey Kalmer enters the Illinois State series with an 840-763-4 record in his 29 years at Bradley.
? With two more wins, Kalmer will be able to claim exactly one-half of the overall wins in the program's 108-year history.
? The Bradley Baseball program owns a 1,682-1,326-14 all-time record.
? Kalmer could become the second active Bradley head coach to win at least 50 percent of his program's all-time games: 13th-year soccer head coach Jim DeRose boasts 73.7 percent of Bradley's all-time wins on the soccer pitch.
More Than 200 Meetings
? Bradley owns a 111-96 lead in the all-time series versus Illinois State, meaning the teams have played 207 times heading into this weekend's series.
? The 207 games against Illinois State easily are the most Bradley has played against another opponent.
? At 135 games, the series against Southern Illinois is the second-most played in Bradley Baseball history.
Who Are These Guys?
? While Brewer and Luttrell should be familiar to Bradley's Valley rivals, each as three-year starters, the rest of Bradley's lineup features plenty of new faces.
? After losing 13 lettermen from last year's 32-21 squad, Bradley's 2008 roster features 16 newcomers.
? Of the nine players in Bradley's probably batting lineup, seven figure to be newcomers.
Non-Conference Done
? Although the Braves still have three weekends remaining in their regular-season schedule, Bradley has completed its non-conference season.
? Bradley will finish the regular season with a 16-12 non-conference mark, the second consecutive year the Braves have posted a winning non-MVC record.
Back-to-Back 30's
? Coming off last year's 32-21 season, Bradley (24-19) has nine regular-season games left to try and get six more victories for consecutive 30-win campaigns.
? Bradley has not won at least 30 games in consecutive seasons since a five-year run from 1992 through 1996: 1992 (24-23-1), 1993 (40-16), 1994 (35-26), 1995 (30-27) and 1996 (40-22).
Winning Road Record
? Bradley takes a 10-8 road record into this weekend's series at Illinois State.
? The Braves need to win two of their final six road games (also at Wichita State May 15-17) to finish at least .500 on the road during the regular season.
? Bradley was 17-14 on the road in 2007, but has not gone consecutive seasons with winning road marks since 1993 (13-3) and 1994 (14-10).
Tough Combination
? Bradley enters this weekend's series at Illinois State five games over .500, but the Braves have been outscored by 47 runs (266-219) this year.
? The Braves have partially overcome the total run deficit by going 10-6 in games decided by two runs or less.
? Although the pitching staff does own a 5.65 ERA, Bradley is 22-9 (.710) when scoring at least three runs this season.
That's A Lot of Games
? Now in his 40th year as a head coach, Bradley's Dewey Kalmer began the season ranked 11th among NCAA Division I active coaches with 1,006 wins.
? Kalmer enters the Illinois State series with a 1,030-905-5 career record, meaning he has been a head coach for 1,940 college baseball games.
Barbalat Has CLASS
? Bradley senior right-hander Eitan Barbalat is one of 10 national finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
? A second-team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American last year, Barbalat boasts a 4.00 cumulative GPA while majoring in cell and molecular biology and is a leader in community service programs.
? Notably, Barbalat's sophomore season in 2006 was cut short by a career-threatening, and potentially life-threatening, blood clot in his right shoulder.
? He has bounced back from the injury to post a 4-3 record with two saves and a 3.10 ERA in 61.0 innings pitched the last two seasons.
? The winner of the 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award and the five-player All-American team will be partially determined by an online vote: http://baseball.seniorclassaward.com/public/men/vote.aspx
Three-Four Punch
? The combination of No. 3 hitter Dan Brewer and cleanup hitter Colby Luttrell has become a productive pairing for the Braves.
? After successfully moving Brewer to the leadoff position last season, the Braves experimented with the same move again for most of March.
? Since moving Brewer back in front of Luttrell in the No. 3 spot March 30 at Indiana State the duo has combined to hit .374 with 40 runs scored and 39 RBI's in the last 22 games.
The Last 22 Games (14-8)
Dan Brewer .400 (30-75) 25 Runs 11 RBI's
Colby Luttrell .350 (28-80) 15 Runs 28 RBI's
Brewer Climbing Top 10 Lists
? Junior centerfielder Dan Brewer has begun to put his name in Bradley's record books.
? Brewer enters the Illinois State series already in the school's career top 10 for doubles, triples, hit-by-pitches and stolen bases.
? He is now tied for fourth in Bradley history with nine career triples, tied for fourth with 17 hit-by-pitches, tied for eighth with 45 career doubles and tied for 10th with 42 career stolen bases.
? In addition, Brewer needs just two more runs and two more total bases to crack the career top 10 lists in those respective categories.
Bruised But Not Battered
? Sophomore second baseman Matt Fritz has been hit by 13 pitches so far this year, already the second-best single-season total in school history.
? Just 35 games into his Bradley career, the DePauw University transfer, will enter the school's career top 10 for hit by pitches the next time he is plunked.
? Undeterred by the constant beanings, however, Fritz is hitting .372 and his willingness to get hit has helped him to a team-leading .492 on-base percentage.
? In another example of his willingness to sacrifice for the good of the team, Fritz also leads the Braves with eight sacrifice bunts.
Scahill's Comeback
? Sophomore right-hander Rob Scahill has taken over as Bradley's No. 1 starter this year after missing the entire 2007 season as a medical redshirt.
? After going 3-6 with a 4.31 ERA in 14 appearances, including 11 starts, as a freshman in 2006, Scahill has come back from his year off by going 4-3 with a 4.08 ERA in 10 appearances, all starts.
? He enters the weekend fifth among all Valley pitchers with 64 strikeouts (9.0/9 innings) and the opposition is hitting just .235 against him.
Jensen Sets Saves Record
? Junior right-hander Kori Jensen, a transfer from Hutchinson County C.C. who began the season at second base, has quickly set the single-season school record with seven saves this year.
? The old mark was five saves, originally set by Michael Christl in 2005 and matched by Brad Altbach last year.
