Last Week Recap
Bradley closed out the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 4-2 home win against SIU Edwardsville, before winning two out of three games at Indiana State over the weekend. The Braves needed extra innings in the opener, posting a 5-2 win in nine innings, before topping the Sycamores 12-2 in five innings in the second game of the series. Indiana State rallied from a 2-0 deficit to pull out a 3-2 win in 10 innings to keep Bradley from its first series sweep of the year.
This Week
Bradley closes out the series with Northern Iowa Tuesday with a single game in Cedar Falls, Iowa, before welcoming preseason Valley favorite Creighton to Laura Bradley Park this weekend for a three-game set. The Panthers won the first two meetings earlier this season, posting a 10-2, five-inning win and a 9-2 victory on April 8 at Laura Bradley Park. UNI holds a 41-29 lead in the all-time series heading into Tuesday's series finale. Creighton is 31-14 all-time against the Braves, but Bradley defeated the Bluejays 2-0 in last year's MVC Championship game. Bradley won two of three meetings against Creighton last season.
On The Internet
Fans can follow live stats of all Bradley home games on the official Bradley Athletics website (www.BradleyBraves.com). In addition all home contests will feature a free live audio steam also available at www.BradleyBraves.com and home games will also include a subscription based video stream.
About Bradley
Picked to finish eighth in the preseason Missouri Valley Conference poll, the Braves are coming off the first postseason appearance in program history after sweeping through last year's State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament to claim the first NCAA Tournament bid in school history. The Braves returned 15 of 20 letterwinners, including six starting position players and two pitchers from last year's squad which finished 26-28 overall and was sixth in the MVC at 12-12.
Bradley is 15-24 overall, with five of the losses coming to teams ranked in the top 25. The Braves have won three of the last four overall and five of their last seven games.
Senior Amanda Clack is hitting a team-best .336 on the year and also leads the team with an 8-7 record and 3.68 ERA in the circle. Clack also leads the team in hits (39), runs (17) and stolen bases (12). Sophomore Jackie Roth owns a seven-game hit streak and is hitting .591 over the last games to raise her average to .315. Senior Janay Mitchell is hitting .304 on the year and has swiped nine bases. Freshman Taylor Cox has emerged as the team's leadoff hitter and leads the squad with 21 base on balls and a .415 on base percentage to go along with a .290 batting average. Junior college transfer Brittany Fairbairn is hitting .286 with 15 runs scored and 16 RBI, while fellow transfer Kate Singler has driven in a team-best 25 runs while hitting .272.
Head Coach
A former assistant coach at Bradley (1997), Amy Hayes returned to The Hilltop in July 2008 to take over the head coaching reigns of the Braves after a three-year run as head coach at Portland State. Now in her second season, Hayes has led the Braves to a 41-52 record (.441) mark in her time as head coach. In addition, to posting their best conference finish since the 1995 squad finished fifth in the MVC with a 10-10 league record, she led the Braves to their first MVC Tournament title and first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history in 2009. In her ninth year as a collegiate head coach, Hayes was head coach at Portland State for three years where she led the Vikings to a 92-81 (.532) record and the school's first-ever conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. She was head coach at Boston University from 2001-04 and guided the Terriers to a 121-95 (.560) mark, three America East Conference regular-season titles, two conference tournament titles and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. Hayes has a career record of 254-228 (.527) career coaching record and has taken teams to the NCAA Tournament four times.
Off And Running
Bradley has 46 stolen bases on the season and the Braves boast three players with nine or more steals on the year. The 46 stolen bases are the most for BU since swiping a then Missouri Valley Conference record 99 bases in 2000. Senior Amanda Clack leads Bradley with 12 stolen bases on the year, while fellow senior Janay Mitchell and sophomore Jackie Roth each have nine steals to their credit. Bradley has not had two players with 10 or more steals in the same season since 2004. BU's 46 stolen bases rank as the ninth best season total in program history.
Seven-Game Hit Streaks
A trio of Braves bring seven-game hit streaks into Tuesday's game at Northern Iowa. While the senior duo of Amanda Clack and Janay Mitchell have hit safely in each of the last seven contests, sophomore Jackie Roth has been the biggest bat in the lineup during that stretch; hitting .591 during her hit streak. Roth is 13-for-22 with six runs scored and five RBI, while boasting a .682 slugging percentage in the last seven contests. The seven-game hit streak followed an eight-game streak in which Roth went without a hit (0-for-13). Roth's average was .224 following the April 8 doubleheader against Northern Iowa, but will bring a .315 batting average into Tuesday's contest at UNI.
Winning In Extras
Despite Sunday's 10-inning loss at Indiana State, Bradley is 2-1 in extra-inning games this season and the Braves have had a quite a bit of success in extra-inning contests over the last few seasons. Sunday's loss snapped a three-game win streak for BU in extra-inning games. Bradley is 14-4 (.778) in extra-inning games since the start of the 2007 season.
Taking Charge
Junior Katie Dennis has emerged as one of Bradley's top pitchers, posting a 3-0 record with a 0.84 ERA in her last four appearances. Despite starting just two of BU's last seven contests, she has pitched 25 of the last 49.1 innings and has three of Bradley's four wins during that stretch. She has limited hitters to a .213 batting average in her last four outings.
Nearing 200 K's
Senior Amanda Clack enters this week's action with 196 career strikeouts in the circle. Bradley's team leader with a career-best 69 punchouts this season, she is 10th in school history in career strikeouts and needs just 14 strikeouts to move up two spots on the BU career list into eighth.
Home Sweet Home
Following Tuesday's game at Northern Iowa, Bradley will conclude the regular season with six of the final nine games of the season at Laura Bradley Park. The Braves face preseason conference favorite Creighton this weekend in a three-game set before traveling to Wichita State (May 1 & 2) for the final road games of the year. Bradley concludes the regular season May 8 & 9 with a three-game series against I-74 rival Illinois State at Laura Bradley Park.
In A Pinch
Sophomore Alison Kresl has emerged as Bradley's top pinch hitter, boasting a .333 batting average (5-for-15) when used in that role. Kresl's five pinch hits are the most by a Bradley player since Jessie Musgrove finished the 2005 season with a .412 batting average as a pinch hitter (7-for-17).
Walk This Way
Freshman Taylor Cox has drawn a team-best 21 base on balls this season. The 21 walks is tied for the fourth best season total in school history and is near double the next best total on the team (11). Cox has seven walks in the last nine games and leads the team with 10 base on balls in Missouri Valley Conference play to go along with a .491 on base percentage against league foes. The Bradley season record for walks is 25 and the school mark for walks by a freshman is 24.
Setting The Table
Freshman Taylor Cox has taken over as Bradley's leadoff hitter, appearing in that role in each of the last 10 games. Cox has done a good job reaching base, getting on 48 percent of the time when leading off an inning on the year. In Missouri Valley Conference play she has reached base 60 percent of the time when opening an inning and has reached 56 percent since taking over as BU's leadoff hitter.
Coming Through In The Clutch
Sophomore Jackie Roth ranks third on the team with 14 RBI, but she has driven in the bulk of her runs in the clutch. Roth is second on the squad with 10 two-out RBI with four of her last five RBI coming with two outs. Senior Amanda Clack has also been a big bat with two outs, knocking in nine of her 10 RBI on the year with two outs.
Going Yard
Senior Janay Mitchell belted her first home run of the season with a solo homer in the series finale against Southern Illinois. The home run was the third of Mitchell's career, but first for the speedy outfielder since April 29, 2007. Mitchell homered in back to back games of a series against Indiana State as a freshman but had played in 113 games between the second and third home runs of her career.
Clack Climbs On To Doubles List
Senior Amanda Clack ripped the 24th double of her career in the second game of the series against Southern Illinois. Clack moved into sole possession of 10th place on Bradley's career doubles list with the two-batter against the Salukis. She needs three doubles to move up two spots on the doubles list.
On A Tear
Senior Janay Mitchell has been heating up after getting a slow start to the year. After opening the season 2-for-14 (.143) with one run scored and one stolen base in the first nine games of the season, Mitchell is .330 (29-for-88) with 14 runs scored, 11 RBI, eight stolen bases and a .379 on base percentage in the last 30 games.
Enjoying Conference Play
Freshman Taylor Cox entered Missouri Valley Conference play with a .234 batting average, but has hit .370 against conference opponents (17-for-46). Cox has 11 runs scored and seven RBI in 15 league games. On the season, she leads the team with 21 base on balls and a .415 on base percentage while ranking fourth on the squad with a .290 batting average.
Driving Them In
Junior Kate Singler has driven in a team-best 25 runs this season and enters the week tied for ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference. Singler needs just four RBI to break into Bradley's top 10 season totals. Fellow junior college transfer Brittany Fairbairn is second on the squad with 16 RBI.
Getting Ahead
Bradley is 7-5 on the year when scoring in the first inning and the Braves are 12-6 when they are first team to score. All but one of Bradley's victories this season has come when the team is leading after four innings. The Braves are 14-2 when leading after four innings and boast a perfect 11-0 mark when holding the lead after five innings.
Home Win Streak Snapped
Bradley's loss to Evansville in the conference opener for both teams snapped a 10-game home win streak for the Braves and a six-game win streak at Laura Bradley Park for BU. The 10-game home win streak included victories against six different MVC opponents. Bradley won the series finale against Drake on April 18 to start the win streak, before sweeping a doubleheader against Indiana State (4/29) and a three-game set from Missouri State to conclude the regular season (5/2 & 5/3). The Braves won four games in three days to win the State Farm MVC Tournament title at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria.
Success In The Valley
Senior Janay Mitchell has opened Missouri Valley Conference play strong, owning a .340 batting average in league action. Success in conference play is nothing new for Mitchell however. In 74 career games against non-conference opponents, Mitchell owns a .254 batting average (46-181) with 27 runs, five doubles and two triples. In 75 contests against Missouri Valley Conference schools, Mitchell is 64-for-207 (.309) with 34 runs, 11 doubles, two triples and all three of her career home runs.
Up Next
Bradley travels to Wichita State for the final road games of the season as the Braves face the Shockers May 1 & 2. Wichita State holds a 39-25 lead in the all-time series, but Bradley has won the regular-season series in two of the last three seasons. The Braves are 4-2 in the last six meetings.
Hit Streak Comes To An End
Junior Brittany Fairbairn had an eight-game hit streak come to an end March 12 against San Diego State. Fairbairn was 12-for-27 (.444) with one double, one triple, four runs scored and seven RBI during the streak. Fairbairn's eight-game hit streak is the second longest since the start of the 2006 season and second only to Amanda Clack's nine-game hit streak last season. On the year, Fairbairn is hitting .286 with 15 runs scored and 16 driven in.
Ranked Foes
Bradley has played five games against ranked teams this season and the Braves have a total of 11 games against ranked foes over the last two seasons. The five games against ranked teams is the fourth most in a season in program history. The school record for games against top 25 teams is eight (2005). Five of Bradley's 23 losses this season have come at the hands of teams ranked in the top 25.
Big First Hit
Senior Megan O'Malley recorded her first career hit earlier this season against third-ranked Missouri. Used primarily as a pinch runner her first two season, O'Malley was appearing in her 42nd game at Bradley; but it was only the 23rd at bat of her career when she delivered a two-out, pinch-hit double. She later scored on a Missouri error for Bradley's only run of the game against the 2009 College World Series participants. O'Malley is 2-for-4 on the year as a pinch hitter.
Records Watch
Seniors Amanda Clack and Jacqueline Vitale both rank among Bradley's career leaders in home runs. Clack is 11th in school history with 11 career home runs, while Vitale is tied for fourth in program history with 13 career dingers. Bradley's season leader in hits (39) and runs (17), Clack needs one RBI to move into a tie with former teammate Elizabeth Wilson for 10th on the career RBI chart.
Putting It In Neutral
Bradley is 8-7 in neutral site games this season and is now 14-12 over the last two years when playing at a neutral site. The Braves are a combined 23-15 (.605) at neutral sites since the start of the 2007 season.
Clack Wins Pair Of Scholar-Athlete Honors
Senior Amanda Clack earned a pair of scholar-athlete of the week honors as she was named Prairie Farms Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week and Bradley Country Financial Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the week of March 9. Clack hit .500 with two doubles, six runs and one RBI at the plate, while posting a 3-0 record and a 0.67 ERA during play at the Under Armour Invitational in Clearwater, Fla.
Louisiana Classics All-Tournament Honors
Three Bradley players earned all-tournament honors at the 24th annual Louisiana Classics. Headlining the group was junior transfer Kate Singler who led the Braves with a .429 batting average during the opening weekend. Singler also led the Braves in runs (5), RBI (5), slugging percentage (.714) and on base percentage (.500) in the opening weekend. Freshman Taylor Cox joined Singler on the all-tournament team. Cox started four of five games and was 4-for-11 (.364) with three runs scored and two stolen bases. Fellow freshman Brandi Ore also earned all-tournament honors. Ore was 1-0 in three appearances with 0.00 ERA in nine innings of work. She tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout against Bryant in her first career outing and also pitched two innings of scoreless relief in two appearances against 23rd-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette.
Troy Cox Classic All-Tournament Honors
Senior Amanda Clack and junior Kate Singler were both named to the all-tournament team at the Troy Cox Classic in Las Cruces, N.M. Clack hit .400 with six RBI and two runs scored, while also going 2-0 with a save and 1.70 ERA. Singler also hit .400 and clubbed three home runs and finished with seven RBI in five games. She boasted a 1.00 slugging percentage and .471 on base percentage in five games.
Julie Sherman Named BU Scholar-Athlete of the Week
Sophomore Julie Sherman was named the Bradley Country Financial Scholar-Athlete of the Week after helping Bradley to a 3-2 record at the season-opening Louisiana Classics. Sherman started three of four games and hit .300 with one run scored and three RBI during the first five games of the season. A psychology major, Sherman owns a 3.26 cumulative grade point average.
Mitchell Named Lowe's Senior CLASS Candidate
Senior outfielder Janay Mitchell is one of 30 national candidates and one of two candidates from the Missouri Valley Conference for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Mitchell has led Bradley in batting average each of the last two years and is the Braves active career leader in stolen bases and sacrifice hits. An international business major, she owns a 3.55 cumulative grade point average and serves as President of the Braves Council.
Vitale Earns Preseason Honor
Senior designated player/utility player Jacqueline Vitale was selected to the preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference team for the second time in her career. She also earned the honor following her freshman season, but missed the season due to injury. Last year, Vitale was third on the team with a .252 batting average and was second with six home runs, 21 RBI and a .441 slugging percentage. She drove in 10 runs in the final 11 games and hit a solo home run in the championship game of the NCAA Tournament. She is tied for fourth all-time with 13 career home runs and needs four dingers to break the career mark.
Braves Picked Eighth In Preseason Poll
Coming off a sixth-place finish in last year's regular-season Missouri Valley Conference race, Bradley was picked to finish eighth in the preseason coaches' poll. The Braves sixth place finish in 2009 was the best since placing fifth in 1995 and Bradley matched a school-record with 12 conference wins. Creighton received eight of 10 first-place votes and is the preseason favorite. Southern Illinois garnered one first-place vote and was second behind the Bluejays 97 points with 85. The Braves received 33 points in the poll to finish three points behind seventh-place Missouri State (36). Indiana State was in ninth place at 21 points and Evansville rounded out the poll in 10th place at 17 points.
