Last Week
Bradley won the tournament title at the Troy Classic, going 3-1 and edging Troy on the run differential tie-breaker. Junior Julie Sherman and senior Kate Singler were both named to the all-tournament team as the duo helped the Braves outscore their opponents 26-14 in the four games. Sherman hit .545 (6-for-11) with three runs scored and one RBI in three games, while Singler drove in four and scored four times while going 5-for-12 (.417) at the plate.
UTEP Invitational
After making the first trips in program history to the states of Arizona and Alabama, Bradley continues the trends of firsts with the first-ever trip to El Paso, Texas, for the UTEP Invitational. The Braves own 1-0 records against New Mexico State, North Dakota and UTEP, while BU will face Texas State for the first time. BU was a 4-2 winner at New Mexico State last season in Las Cruces, N.M., and picked up a 4-3 victory in nine innings against UTEP in Las Vegas, Nev., during the 2008 season. Friday's game against North Dakota will be the first meetings between the two teams since Bradley posted a 9-0 victory in a game played in Fort Myers, Fla. The Braves are 1-3 all-time against teams from WAC and 2-0 vs. squads from the Southland Conference after last week's 4-1 win against Central Arkansas. Bradley owns a 15-6 mark against current members of Conference USA.
Braves Claim Tournament Title
Bradley was one of three teams to go 3-1 at the Troy Classic in Troy, Ala., and the Braves were declared champs of the tournament due to the run differential tie-breaker. BU opened play with a 10-2 win against Samford for the first win of the season, before falling in extra innings to Troy by the score of 8-7. Bradley rallied for a 4-1 victory against Central Arkansas later that day and capped things off with a 5-3 win against North Florida. Junior Julie Sherman hit .545 in three games, scoring three runs and driving in one to earn all-tournament honors. Senior Kate Singler joined Sherman on the all-tournament team, scoring four runs and driving in another four while hitting .417 in all four games.
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 third season, Hayes has led the Braves to a 44-68 record (.392) 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 10th 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 257-244 (.513) career coaching record and has taken teams to the NCAA Tournament four times.
On A Tear
Junior outfielder Julie Sherman has opened the season strong, hitting a team-best .455 in her first seven games and brings a team-best five-game hit streak into this weekend's UTEP Invitational. Sherman, who was named to the all-tournament team at last week's Troy Classic, is 8-for-16 (.500) with five runs scored, one RBI and two walks during her hit streak. Her longest previous hit streak was four games during her freshman season.
First Wins
Sophomore pitcher Mackenzie Camp picked up her first career victory in the circle for the Braves, tossing a complete game in a 10-2 win against Samford. Camp went 0-7 in 24 career appearances before picking up her first career win. She struck out three and walked three while scattering three hits over five innings of work. Freshman Madeline Lynch-Crumrine also earned her first career win, tossing her first complete game in a 4-1 victory against Central Arkansas. She struck out four and walked three in the win.
Snapping The Skid
Friday's 10-2 win against Samford ended a 16-game losing skid for the Braves which dated back to a 12-2 victory at Indiana State. The Braves went on to win back-to-back games to close out tournament play, marking the first time Bradley won consecutive non-conference games since topping Wagner and Florida International March 6 & 7 last year.
Putting It In Neutral
Bradley improved 17-17 (.500) when playing at a neutral site under head coach Amy Hayes and are now a combined 26-20 (.565) since the start of the 2007 campaign when playing at a neutral site.
Moving Up The Ranks
Bradley head coach Amy Hayes picked up her 44th career victory as head coach of the Braves and enters this week play needing two victories to pass Venus Taylor for sixth place on BU's career wins list. Buddy Foster is fifth all time in wins at Bradley with 63 victories on The Hilltop. Bradley's 4-1 win against Central Arkansas was Hayes' 500th game as a collegiate head coach.
Sitting Them Down
Senior pitcher Katie Dennis recorded her 100th career strikeout over the weekend, fanning two batters in a four-inning relief stint against North Florida. Dennis earned the victory against the Ospreys, for her first win of the year. She is Bradley's active career leader in ever statistical pitching category and needs 16 appearances to break into Bradley's career top 10.
Season Openers
Bradley had a five-game win streak in season openers with a 13-2 loss to Texas Tech Friday to open play at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. The Braves fell to 16-17 overall in season openers, including a 10-11 record when opening the season at a neutral site.
A Tale Of Three Cities
Bradley played the first of three games this season against Troy last Saturday in Troy, Ala., falling in extra innings to the Trojans. The two teams will play two more games against each other in two other cities - March 6 in Las Vegas, Nev., and March 11 in Fresno, Calif. The last time Bradley faced Troy was during the 1997 season, when the Braves played three games against the Trojans. The team's squared off in BU's 1997 season opener in Georgia and played twice in Florida as part of the Rebel Spring Games.
Going Yard
After missing the bulk of the 2010 season due to injury, senior Denise Jilka started three of four games she appeared in during the opening weekend and belted her first home run since her freshman season for Bradley's only run in a 3-1 loss to #19 Texas A&M on Feb. 13. Jilka hit her first career home run at Wichita State on March 15, 2008 and she matched her RBI output for the entire 2010 season with the solo homer against the Aggies.
Driving Them In
Seniors Kate Singler and Brittany Fairbairn led Bradley in RBI last year in their first year on The Hilltop and the duo is once again leading the team in runs batted in through two weeks of the season. Singler, who drove in a team-leading 25 runs in 2010, is the active career leader on the team with 32 RBI. Fairbairn was second on the team with 18 RBI as a junior before having her season cut short and has 22 career RBI. Singler has driven in three runs twice this season and five times in her career.
Road Openers
Bradley played the first of 22 road games on the 2011 schedule Saturday, falling to Troy in extra inning. The Braves have dropped the first true road game of the season in each of the last 16 seasons and are 6-27 in road openers all-time.
What's Back
Bradley returned nine of 19 letterwinners, including four starting position players from last year's team which finished 15-34 overall and was 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 5-21 league record. The Braves roster also features two of four pitchers and welcomes five freshmen and one junior college transfer. The top returning hitter in the lineup is senior Brittany Fairbairn who heat leadoff part of the year in her first season and ranked fourth on the team with a .288 batting average in addition to ranking second with 18 RBI. Fellow senior Kate Singler drove in a team-best 25 runs and paced the squad with six doubles and four home runs. Senior pitcher Katie Dennis is the top hurler for the Braves with 32 starts in 51 career appearances to her credit.
Welcome To The Squad
Bradley welcomed one of its largest recruiting classes in recent years to the 2011 squad, as five freshmen and one junior college transfer will make their debuts with the Braves. Pitcher/outfielder Madeline Lynch-Crumrine is her high schools career hits leader and posted a 50-8-2 record in the circle in addition to helping her high school to a state championship. Infield/utility player Brianne Joseph also helper her team to an Idaho state title, while Needles, Calif., native Alex Chandler was the Nevada Class 2A Player of the Year after helping her team to a state championship. Springfield, Ill., native Mariah Cole was a second-team all-state selection and KayCee Miller of Omaha, Neb., also earned second-team all-state honors. Illinois Central College transfer Lindsay Hufeld was an all-region selection at ICC last spring and helped the Cougars to a regional championship game appearance.
Bean Ball
In addition to ranking as the team's top power hitter in her first year on the team, senior Kate Singler also had a knack for getting on base as she ranked second on the squad with a .365 on base percentage. Singler was hit by a pitch seven times in 2010, which ranks as the second highest season total in school history. Despite only one season on The Hilltop, Singler is already tied for fourth with seven hit by pitches. The school career record is 16 held by Christine Cooney.
Schedule Notes
Bradley will make the program's first-ever trips to the states of Arizona, Alabama and Texas in 2011, along with the team's first venture to the state of California since the 2001 season. The Braves are slated to play 12 games against teams which advanced to the NCAA Tournament and combined for an 11-14 postseason record. BU will play three games against previous national championship (one against Texas A&M & two against Fresno State). Three non-conference opponents were ranked in the preseason top 25, while another four non-conference foes are receiving votes in the national polls. In a strange twist, Bradley will play three games against Troy in three different cities.
Braves Picked 10th In Preseason Valley Poll
Bradley was picked to finish 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll, voted on by the league coaches after a 10th-place finish in 2010. The Braves finish three points behind Indiana State for ninth. Illinois State and Southern Illinois finished in a tie for first with Illinois State receiving five of the 10 first-place votes and SIU garnering four first-place nods.
On The Internet
Fans can follow live stats of all Bradley home games, and select road contests 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.
Moving Around The Infield
Junior Jackie Roth was one of the top defensive third baseman in the Missouri Valley Conference, but has moved behind the plate this season, while seniors Kate Singler (third base) and Denise Jilka (first base) have moved to the corner infield positions. Roth, who hit .275 last season, ranked third on the squad in both walks and stolen bases last year. She has also proven to be one of the best bunters on the team, laying down 20 sacrifice bunts in her two-plus seasons on The Hilltop. Roth needs just two sacrifice hits to move into Bradley's career top 10 in the category.
Up Next
Bradley heads west for the third time in the first four weeks of the season, traveling to Las Vegas, Nev., for the first time since 2008 to play in the Eller Media Stadium Classic. The Braves will face Kansas, San Jose State, San Diego, tournament host UNLV and Troy during tournament play. BU was 3-2 in its last trip to Vegas, picking up wins against Wisconsin, UTEP and Oregon during tournament-play.
