EAST PEORIA, Ill. -- Senior Alycia Bachkora (Overland Park, Kan./Notre Dame de Sion) slugged a three-run homer in the third inning and senior Anne Creighton (Glide, Ore./Glide) added a two-run double in the sixth to help power Bradley to a 5-3 victory against second-seeded Southern Illinois Friday afternoon in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinals at the EastSide Centre. The Braves (24-26 overall) extended their win streak to eight games and advance to Saturday's championship against top-seed Creighton with the victory.
Southern Illinois (33-13 overall) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Katie Wagner belted a one-out solo home run to center field in the bottom of the second inning, but Bradley would answer with three runs in the top of the third. Freshman Jackie Roth (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) drew a walk to open the inning and junior Janay Mitchell (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South) drew a one-out walk to put runners at first and second. Bachkora followed with the Braves first hit of the game, when she ripped a 2-2 Danielle Glosson pitch over the fence in left field to give Bradley a 3-1 lead. Bachkora's homer pushed her school season-record to 10 and also moved her into a tie for first on Braves' career list with her 16th career dinger.
The Salukis threatened to score in the fourth inning. SIU had runners at second and third with one out when Katie Wilson drew a base on balls to load the bases. Senior Ashley Birdsong (Otis, Ore./Taft) got Katie Schmidt to foul out and struck out Jayme Wamsley to get out of the jam and escape with a 3-1 lead.
Bradley would push two more runs across in the top of the sixth inning to push the lead to 5-1. Junior Jacqueline Vitale (Indian Head Park, Ill./Lyons Township) led off the inning with a single and junior Amanda Clack (Hillsboro, Mo./Hillsboro) followed with a single of her own. The Braves had runners at second and third with one out, when Creighton ripped her third extra-base hit of the tournament with a double to right center to drive in a pair of runs.
Bradley left two runners on base in both the sixth and seventh inning and carried a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning. SIU opened the inning with back-to-back singles and the Salukis loaded the bases with a walk. Birdsong got Haley Gorman to fly out to center field for the first out of the inning. Garza, who hit a walk-off grand slam off Birdsong in a 5-3 SIU victory earlier in the season, drove in a run when she hit into a fielder's choice for the second out of the frame as the Salukis cut the lead to 5-2.
Southern Illinois loaded the bases again with a walk and SIU scored on a Birdsong balk trimming Bradley's advantage to 5-3. Birdsong got out of the jam, snagging a line drive up the middle off the bat of Katie Wagner for the final out of the game as the Braves advanced to the MVC Tournament championship for the first time since 1996 and fourth time in program history. Bradley also advanced to the MVC Tournament Championship game in 1986 and 1985. The Braves hosted the 1986 tournament Fon du Lac Park in East Peoria, Ill., and now own an 8-4 record when hosting the MVC Championship.
Birdsong and the Braves picked up their eighth consecutive victory, matching the best win streak since the 2004 campaign. She improved to 18-10 on the season with win, striking out four and walking four as she gave up six hits and three earned runs over seven innings. Glosson suffered the loss in the circle for the Salukis, falling to 9-7.
Top-seeded Creighton advanced to the championship with a 5-4 win against #8-seed Indiana State in the day's first semifinal. MVC Player of the Year Renae Sinkler highlighted the win with a three-run homer in the fifth inning.
Bradley and Creighton will play for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title Saturday at 3 p.m. at EastSide Centre. The Championship game will be televised on Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Indiana, Fox Sports Kansas City, Fox College Sports, Comcast SportsNet Chicago and Metro Sports.
