2008 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
Bradley Braves (26-26, 10-14 MVC) -- No. 6 Seed
Dates: May 21-24, 2008 (11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m.)
Location: Wichita, Kan. ? Eck Stadium
Audio Stream: www.goshockers.com
Subscription Video Stream: www.mvc-sports.com
Live Stats: www.goshockers.com
Game 2: 3 p.m. - Bradley (26-26, 10-14 MVC) vs. Creighton (35-19, 16-8 MVC)
Limping Into Postseason
? Bradley is not taking momentum into the postseason as the Braves enter the 2008 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on a 3-game losing streak and with seven losses in their last nine games.
? Each of those final nine games were played against Valley rivals and the Braves lost each of their last four league series.
? Most recently, Bradley was swept in a Valley series for the first time this season when the Braves dropped all three games at #14 Wichita State last week by a combined 40-8 score.
Field Of Bad Dreams
? Wichita State's Eck Stadium, site of the 2008 State Farm MVC Tournament, has not exactly been a Field of Dreams for the Bradley Baseball team through the years.
? Bradley has lost 24 consecutive games to the Shockers on their home field, dating back May 17, 1996 when the Braves eliminated host Wichita State from the MVC Tournament.
? In the 12 years since its last road win versus Wichita State, Bradley also has played eight neutral-site games at Eck Stadium in the MVC Tournament and the Braves are 3-5 in those games.
? Including its regular-season and postseason games, Bradley is 16-58 (216) at Eck Stadium since taking 3-of-4 regular-season road games against the Shockers during the 1986 season, including 3-29 (.094) since May 17, 1996.
Bradley's MVC Tournament History
? Bradley owns a 46-57 (.447) all-time Missouri Valley Conference postseason record and the Braves have won six Valley postseason titles, all in the old divisional playoff format.
? Bradley has not won an MVC postseason championship since 1968.
? The Braves have qualified for its fourth consecutive State Farm MVC Tournament, the team's longest postseason streak since a 7-year streak of MVC Tournament appearances from 1990 through 1996.
? Bradley has gone 2-2 in each of its last two MVC Tournament appearances.
Who Are These Guys?
? While juniors Dan Brewer and Colby 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 probable batting lineup, seven figure to be newcomers.
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 MVC Tournament with a 1,032-912-5 career record, meaning he has been a head coach for 1,949 college baseball games.
Kalmer Owns One-Half
? In his 29th year as Bradley's head coach, Kalmer now owns an 842-770-4 record with the Braves, giving him exactly one half of Bradley's 1,684 wins in the 108-year history of the program.
? Kalmer is 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 (143-85-25) boasts 73.7 percent of Bradley's 194 all-time wins on the soccer pitch.
Opening Wins
? Bradley has won its opening game in the MVC Tournament in each of the last two years.
? Bradley had never before won its opening MVC Tournament game in consecutive years.
? As Bradley prepares for Wednesday's tourney opener versus Creighton, the only time the Braves have won three straight first-round MVC Tournament games occurred over an 8-year period: 1964, 1968 and 1971.
Facing The Bluejays Again
? When Bradley and Creighton meet in Wednesday's first round, it will mark the third time this academic year that will have met in the MVC Tournament of the four head-to-head men's team sport championships: baseball, basketball, soccer and tennis.
? The Braves knocked off host Creighton, 1-0, in the title game of the 2007 State Farm MVC Men's Soccer Championship.
? The Bluejays returned the favor with a 74-70 victory versus Bradley in the quarterfinals of the 2008 State Farm MVC Men's Basketball Tournament.
? The teams did not meet during the 2008 State Farm MVC Men's Tennis Championship, but the tournament was hosted by Creighton in Omaha, where the Braves lost in the first round to Wichita State.
More Creighton Repeat
? Wednesday's opening game will be the fifth postseason baseball meeting between Bradley and Creighton in four years.
? Creighton opened the 2005 MVC Tournament with a 9-7 win against the Braves.
? Bradley returned the favor in 2006, eliminating the Bluejays with a 1-0 victory in the third round.
? Creighton dealt Bradley both of its losses last year in Springfield, 2-0 on the second day and 17-2 in seven innings to cap Day 3.
Playing Sound Defense
? Bradley (.969) enters the MVC Tournament second to Creighton (.975) as the second-best fielding team in The Valley.
? Bradley's current fielding percentage is the second-best in program history, trailing only the slick-fielding Braves of 1968, which turned in a .972 percentage.
.500 The Hard Way
? Bradley brings an even 26-26 record into the 2008 State Farm MVC Tournament, despite being outscored by 74 runs through its first 52 games.
? The run deficit is Bradley's largest since the 2002 Braves were outscored 389-294 (-95) during an 18-38 campaign.
? The last time Bradley was outscored while going at least .500 during the regular season was 1990 when the Braves overcame a 340-321 run differential to produce a 30-30 regular-season record.
No Four-Game Slides
? Bradley enters the MVC Tournament on a 3-game losing streak.
? But on the bright side as the Braves prepare to face Creighton in the opener, Bradley has not suffered a four-game skid since April 21-25, 2006.
? The Braves have halted five 3-game slides this last two seasons, including three this year.
Kansas Homecoming
? Bradley's extended trip to Wichita for the regular-season finale and next week's State Farm MVC Tournament will serve as a homecoming for a pair of Bradley newcomers.
? A graduate of Wichita Goddard H.S., junior pitcher Kori Jensen is in his first year with the Braves after transferring from Hutchinson C.C.
? Another junior college transfer, starting shortstop Tommy Fitzgerald hails from Lenexa, Kan. (Mill Valley H.S.), while fellow JUCO transfer, outfielder Chris Gordon, calls Colby, Kan., home.
? Gordon transferred to Bradley from Colby C.C., while Fitzgerald transferred from Fort Scott C.C., where he teamed with senior pitcher Lendsey Thomson during the 2006 season.
Three Is Enough
? Bradley is 24-13 this season when it scores at least three runs this season.
? Unfortunately for the Braves, they have been held to less than three runs 15 times (2-13).
Bradley's First 20-40 Player
? When junior centerfielder Dan Brewer clubbed a 3-run home run April 29 versus Valparaiso, he became the first player in Bradley Baseball history to hit 20 career homers and steal 40 career bases.
? Brewer enters the MVC Tournament with 21 career home runs and 46 career stolen bases.
? Currently seventh in school history with his 46 thefts, Brewer needs three more home runs to crack the school's career top 10 list.
Brewer Climbing Top 10 Lists
? Junior centerfielder Dan Brewer has begun to put his name in Bradley's record books.
? Now 158 games into his Bradley career, Brewer ranks among Bradley's all-time top 10 in six offensive categories, ranking as high as fourth with nine triples and 18 hit-by-pitches.
? He needs just three more hits to reach 200 for his career and 11 more to crack the school's all-time top 10 in a seventh category.
Five Braves Voted All-MVC
First-Team: Dan Brewer (OF)
Second-Team: Colby Luttrell (OF)
Honorable Mention: Grant Escue (1B), Matt Fritz (2B), Kori Jensen (RP)
? Brewer becomes the first Bradley outfielder to earn first-team All-MVC honors since Chad Saalfrank in 1997 and just the fourth Braves outfielder to land on the first team since 1973: Kirby Puckett (1981), Eric Kuhlman (1988) and Saalfrank (1997).
? Brewer now has earned all-conference honors at three different positions (honorable mention second base in 2006 and second-team shortstop in 2007).
Luttrell's Breakthrough Year
? Junior rightfielder Colby Luttrell has enjoyed a breakthrough offensive season in his third year with the Braves.
? Luttrell quickly proved himself as a top-flight outfielder as a two-year starter, but he entered the 2008 season with a .265 career batting average and 51 RBI's in 101 games during the 2006 and 2007 season.
? Luttrell enters the MVC Tournament leading the 2008 Braves with a .366 batting average and he has nearly doubled his career RBI total with 46 runs batted in through the year's first 52 games.
? Luttrell was particulary productive in league play, driving in 28 in 24 Valley games.
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, however, the Braves are 16-15 and the duo has combined to hit .375 with 48 runs scored and 54 RBI's in the last 31 games.
The Last 31 Games (16-15)
Dan Brewer .385 (42-109) 30 Runs 21 RBI's
Colby Luttrell .365 (42-115) 18 Runs 33 RBI's
Bruised But Not Battered
? Sophomore second baseman Matt Fritz has been hit by 16 pitches so far this year, already the second-best single-season total in school history.
? Just 44 games into his Bradley career, the DePauw University transfer, already is tied for sixth on Bradley's career list for hit-by-pitches.
? Undeterred by the constant beanings, however, Fritz is hitting .320 and his willingness to get hit has helped him to a .444 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.
Jensen Sets Saves Record
? Junior right-hander Kori Jensen, a transfer from Hutchinson 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.
? Jensen already is second on Bradley's career saves list, three shy of the record 10 saves by Jason Simmons in four seasons (1990-93).
Escue A Nice Addition
? Junior first baseman Grant Escue has been the most productive of Bradley's large crop of newcomers this year.
? After beginning his career at Stanford, the Washington, Ill., native returned to Central Illinois for the 2008 season and leads his “hometown” Braves with 16 doubles.
? Batting .308, Escue also ranks second on the team with 34 runs batted in and third with a .308 batting average.
Hendricks is Fourth Backstop
? Bradley has used four catchers this year, before finally settling on freshman walkon Brett Hendricks during the Creighton series the first weekend of April.
? After losing strong-armed Ryan Eigsti to the 2007 Major League Baseball June Draft, Bradley brought in three catchers to compete with junior Adam Kimble.
? Sophomore Kevin Sullivan was the early starter, but he broke a bone in his hand during a swing and is out for the year.
? Junior Nick Mitidiero has caught in 30 games this year, but he has hit just .219 as the backstop, compared to .292 as the leftfielder, his more natural position.
? After a 1-for-30 start at the plate, Hendricks was 7 for his last 18 (.389), before he tweaked his ankle May 3 at Illinois State.
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 (and a candidate again this year), Barbalat graduated last week with a perfect 4.00 cumulative GPA while majoring in cell and molecular biology.
? 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 3.63 ERA in 62.0 innings pitched the last two seasons.
