COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Senior Ashley Birdsong (Otis, Ore./Taft) tossed a complete-game five-hit shutout in the opener to help Bradley a 6-0 victory, but host Tennessee Tech responded with a 5-1 victory in the nightcap as the Braves split a doubleheader with Golden Eagles Tuesday. Bradley stands at 10-10 overall after splitting the doubleheader, while Tennessee Tech is 11-15 on the year.
Birdsong dominated the opening game, striking out 10 and walking none as she tied former BU standout Amy Elza for second on the Braves career wins list with her 51st career victory. Birdsong (6-4) also matched Elza for second in school history with her 19th career shutout.
Bradley got all the runs it would need in the top of the second inning. Freshman Julie Sherman (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) drew a one-out walk and junior Janay Mitchell (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South) followed with an infield single. A double steal put runners at second and third and junior Lindsay Watkins (Hopedale, Ill./Olympia/Parkland) drove in the first run of the contest with a single down the left field line. Mitchell scored the second run of the frame on a sacrifice bunt off the bat of senior Anne Creighton (Glide, Ore./Glide) and Watkins later stole home to give the Braves a 3-0 lead.
BU got another run in the top of the third inning, after junior Lauren Meister (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Freshman Jackie Roth (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) drove home Meister with a single down the line pushing Bradley's lead to 4-0.
The Braves pushed another pair of runs across in the top of the fourth. Mitchell led off the inning with a walk and Bradley loaded the bases on a single and base on balls. Meister drove home Mitchell with a single to right field and another run came across on a Tennessee Tech error to push the BU advantage to 6-0.
Birdsong scattered three hits over the first six innings of the contest, before surrendering a pair of two-out hits in the bottom of the seventh inning. She would settle down to strike out Kimmie White for her 10th strikeout of the contest and preserve the shutout.
Bradley scored a run in the top of the first inning of the nightcap, but managed just two hits off Tennessee Tech Maddie Schmissrauter as the Golden Eagles claimed the second game of the day with a 5-1 victory.
The Braves pushed a run across in the top of the first inning without the benefit of a hit. Senior Miriam Wegmann (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) drew a two-out walk and moved to third on a Tennessee Tech error. Senior Alycia Bachkora (Overland Park, Kan./Notre Dame de Sion) loaded the bases with a walk and Wegmann raced home on a wild pitch to give Bradley an early 1-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. A one-out base on balls was followed with a run-scoring double off the bat of Whitney Cummings. Holly Thomas cleared the bases with a two-out homer to left to give Tennessee Tech a 3-1 lead.
Bradley left a pair of runners on base in both the first and second innings, but didn't collect its first hit until the top of the third when Bachkora had a two-out single to left. The Braves were unable to score in the third inning, however, and trailed 3-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth.
Tennessee Tech capitalized on a Bradley error to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning and Thomas followed with a single. With runners on first and third with one out, Schmissrauter helped her own cause with a sacrifice fly to center field and Kaleigh Gates chased Bradley starting pitcher Katie Dennis (Gilbert, Ariz./Mesquite) with a run-scoring single which pushed the Golden Eagles lead to 5-1.
Creighton had the second hit of the game for the Braves to leadoff the bottom of the seventh, but Schmissrauter retired the next three batters she faced to close out the 5-1 Tennessee Tech victory. Dennis suffered the loss for the Braves, falling to 3-5 on the year. She struck out three and walked one in three and two-third innings of work. Junior Amanda Clack (Hillsboro, Mo./Hillsboro) tossed two and one-third innings of scoreless relief, giving up just one hit.
Bradley returns to action Wednesday with a 2 p.m. doubleheader at Lipscomb in Nashville, Tenn.
