Last Week Recap
Bradley was swept by Wichita State in the final series of the 2010 season. The Shockers belted eight home runs in the three games. Senior Jacqueline Vitale hit .444 (4-for-9) with two home runs, seven RBI and two runs scored in the three games. Wichita State opened the series with a 5-1 victory and rallied from a 6-3 deficit to take the second game 9-7. Vitale hit a two-run homer in the first inning of the series finale, but Wichita State hit three solo homers to complete the series sweep with a 3-2 come-from-behind win.
Illinois State Series
Bradley closes out the season May 8 & 9 with a three-game series against I-74 rival Illinois State at Laura Bradley Park. The Redbirds hold a 49-16 lead in the all-time series after ISU took two of three games in Peoria last season. Bradley's 2-0, eight-inning win in last year's series finale snapped a seven-game Illinois State win streak in the series.
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 15-31 overall, with five of the losses coming to teams ranked in the top 25. The Braves have dropped eight consecutive games after winning four of five in mid-April.
Senior Amanda Clack is hitting a team-best .331 on the year and also leads the team with an 8-8 record and 3.60 ERA in the circle. Clack also leads the team in hits (45), runs (20) and stolen bases (12). Senior Janay Mitchell has recorded a hit in 12 of the last 14 games and reached base safely in 15 of the last 16 contests. She is hitting .314 on the year, including a team-best .347 in Missouri Valley Conference play. Sophomore Jackie Roth boasts a .282 batting average and is hitting .291 in league play. Freshman Taylor Cox has drawn a Bradley season record 27 walks and owns a team-leading .405 on base percentage. Junior Kate Singler is hitting .256 leads the team with 25 RBI.
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 41-59 record (.410) 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 254-235 (.519) career coaching record and has taken teams to the NCAA Tournament four times.
Breaking Out Of A Funk
Senior Jacqueline Vitale was mired in an 0-for-18 slump heading into the series against preseason Valley favorite Creighton, but has hit in every game since the series opener against the Bluejays and brings a six-game hit streak into the final series of her Bradley career. The fifth-year senior had just two extra-base hits in her first 78 at bats of the season, but went 4-for-9 with a double and the first two homers of the season this weekend against Wichita State. Vitale has moved into sole possession of third on Bradley's career home run list with her two dingers against the Shockers and needs just one homer to tie Alycia Bachkora and Brittany Mynsberge for the BU career mark.
Walk This Way
Freshman Taylor Cox may have only collected two hits in the weekend series against Wichita State, but the Braves leadoff hitter drew four base on balls to push her season total to a Bradley season record 27 walks. Taylor leads the squad with a .405 on base percentage and is the only underclassmen to rank in the top 10 in the MVC in base on balls. Her 27 walks broke the previous school season mark of 25 which was shared by Alycia Bachkora (2009) and Julie Jehle (1996).
Balanced Attack
Bradley has five individuals with 30 or more hits and sophomore Jackie Roth enters the final week of the regular season needing one hit to join the group. The Braves also have eight individuals with 10 or more RBI this season. Bradley joins Drake and Illinois State as the only teams in the MVC to have five players with 30or more hits and eight individuals with 10 or more RBI. The Braves have not had six players reach the 30-hit mark in the same season since 2004 (6) and the eight individuals with 10 RBI or more are the most since eight accomplished the feat in 2000.
Senior Day
Sunday's season finale against Illinois State will mark the final home games for Bradley seniors Amanda Clack, Lauren Meister, Janay Mitchell, Megan O'Malley, Jacqueline Vitale and Lindsay Watkins. The Braves will end the regular-season with a home series for the third consecutive year and the fifth time in the last six years. Bradley will face I-74 rival Illinois State in the final home series of the year for the first time since splitting a doubleheader on May 5, 1995 to wrap up the home slate.
Climbing The Charts
Senior Amanda Clack will wrap up her career ranked in the career top 10 in at bats (9th - 535), doubles (T9th - 25), sacrifice hits (T9th - 22), pitching appearances (9th - 75), relief appearances (1st - 38) and strikeouts (8th - 210), but has a chance to crack a few more lists heading into the final three games of her career. Clack, who broke the BU record for relief appearances this past weekend at Wichita State, needs to play three games to move into the top 10 and is also three hits shy of joining BU's career top 10 leaders in that category. She is also one home run, one RBI and one stolen base short of moving into the career top 10 in all three offensive categories.
Clack Notches 200th Strikeout
Senior Amanda Clack recorded the 200th strikeout of her career in the series finale against Creighton, fanning six Bluejay hitters in 4.2 innings out of the bullpen. Clack is the 10th player in program history to reach 200 career strikeouts and recently moved up two spots on the career punchout list into eighth place. She enters the final week of her Bradley career with 210 strikeouts and needs 15 strikeouts to pass Glenda Nelson for seventh place.
Mitchell's Hit Streak Comes To An End
Senior Janay Mitchell had a career-best eight-game hit streak come to an end with an 0-for-1 effort in the series opener against Creighton. Mitchell, who did draw two walks in the game, raised her batting average from .293 to .314 during the hit streak and boasted a .367 batting average with six runs and six RBI during her hit streak. The eight-game hit streak ties junior Brittany Fairbairn for the longest of the year and is the longest hitting streak since Clack hit safely in nine consecutive games last year.
Bean Ball
Junior Kate Singler was hit by two pitches in the series against Creighton and has now been hit by a pitch a team-leading seven times. Singler's seven hit by pitches is the second highest season total in school history behind Christine Cooney's eight hit by pitch in 2007. A junior college transfer, Singler is already tied for fourth on the BU career list for hit by pitch. Senior Lauren Meister is second on the career chart, having been hit by 14 pitches in her near four years on The Hilltop.
Hit Parade
Senior Amanda Clack leads Bradley with 45 hits and a .331 batting average on the season. Clack's 45 hits on the year are the most for a BU player since Trish Kowalewski finished the 2005 season with 47 hits. Clack ranks ninth in school history with 535 career at bats and needs three hits to move into a tie for 10th on Bradley's career list. She is 11th in school history with 63 RBI, needing one run driven in to move into a tie for 10th.
Off And Running
Bradley has 48 stolen bases on the season with the senior duo of Amanda Clack (12 steals) and Janay Mitchell (11 steals) leading the way on the base paths. Bradley has two players with 10 or more steals in the same season for the first time since 2004. Mitchell ranks fifth all-time at BU with 36 career stolen bases, while Clack is 11th all-time with 23 steals. BU's 48 stolen bases are the most for the team since swiping a then Missouri Valley Conference record 99 bases in 2000. Bradley's 48 stolen bases is tied for the eighth best season total in program history.
Winning In Extras
Despite the 10-inning loss at Indiana State in the series finale, 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. The extra-inning 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.
In A Pinch
Sophomore Alison Kresl has emerged as Bradley's top pinch hitter, boasting a .313 batting average (5-for-16) 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).
Setting The Table
Freshman Taylor Cox has taken over as Bradley's leadoff hitter, appearing in that role in each of the last 17 games. Cox has done a good job reaching base, getting on 47 percent of the time when leading off an inning on the year. In Missouri Valley Conference play she has reached base 53 percent of the time when opening an inning and has reached 50 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 and 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 25th double of her career last weekend at Wichita State to move into a tie with Tara Pearson for ninth place Bradley's career doubles list. Clack is one double short of tying former teammate Trish Kowalewski for eighth place all-time.
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 .336 (36-for-107) with 18 runs scored, 12 RBI, 10 stolen bases and a .398 on base percentage in the last 34 games.
Enjoying Conference Play
Freshman Taylor Cox entered Missouri Valley Conference play with a .234 batting average, but has hit .308 against conference opponents (20-for-65). Cox has 15 runs scored and eight RBI in 23 league games. On the season, she leads the team with 27 base on balls and a .405 on base percentage, but owns an impressive .451 on base percentage in Valley play.
Driving Them In
Junior Kate Singler has driven in a team-best 25 runs this season. She 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 18 RBI.
Getting Ahead
Bradley is 7-9 on the year when scoring in the first inning and the Braves are 12-10 when they are first team to score. The Braves had won 11 consecutive games when leading after five innings, prior to Creighton's 7-3 come-from-behind win in the series opener. BU is 14-4 when leading after four innings compared to a 1-21 mark when the Braves trail after four 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 .347 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 79 contests against Missouri Valley Conference schools, Mitchell is 71-for-226 (.314) with 38 runs, 11 doubles, two triples and all three of her career home runs.
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.
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.
