Box Score EL PASO, Texas - Bradley jumped out to a 4-0 lead against tournament-host UTEP, but the Miners used a six-run sixth inning to rally for a 7-6 win against the Braves Saturday afternoon at the UTEP Invitational. Senior Brittany Fairbairn (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East/Kankakee C.C.) was 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI, while junior Julie Sherman (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) went 2-for-3 with a run and two driven in.
Fairbairn helped jumpstart the Bradley offense early on, leading off the game with a single. After stealing second, Fairbairn came around to score on a single by Sherman. The Braves took a 2-0 lead when Sherman scored on a sacrifice fly by senior Kate Singler (Witt, Ill./Nokomis/Heartland C.C.).
Bradley (3-10 overall) added two more runs in the top of the third inning to push the advantage to 4-0. Junior Alison Kresl (Kankakee, Ill./Bishop McNamara) was hit by a pitch to open the frame and scored on a Brianne Joseph (Post Falls, Idaho/Post Falls) infield single. Singler drove in her team-leading 10th run of the year and extended her hit streak to six games later in the inning, plating Joseph with a single to left.
Sophomore Mackenzie Camp (Mapleton, Ill./Limestone) allowed just one hit in the first three innings, but a leadoff single to open the fourth inning by UTEP's Samantha Alvillar proved costly. Alvillar stole second and scored the Miners first run of the game on a double off the bat of Kayla Black to cut BU's advantage to 4-1.
Black drove in another run in the bottom of the sixth inning to help spark a six-run inning for UTEP (7-6 overall). The Miners scored another run when Kayla Oranger reached on an error and Laura Ramos was hit by a pitch to load the bases for UTEP. Becky Smith cleared the bases with a grand slam to right center as the Miners scored six runs (five unearned) in the inning to grab a 7-4 lead.
The Braves rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh, but couldn't push another run across as UTEP held on for the 7-6 victory. Sophomore Heather Terry (Jones, Okla./Jones) had a pinch-hit double and Fairbairn followed with a triple to drive in the first run of the frame. Sherman drove in her second run of the game with a one-out infield single to plate Fairbairn, but UTEP hurler Courtney Auger struck out the next two batters she faced to close out the win.
Auger (5-2) struck out four and walked two while surrendering seven hits and six earned runs in the victory. Camp fanned a career-high seven batters and gave up just two earned runs (seven total) in the setback to fall to 1-2 on the year.
Bradley closes out play at the UTEP Invitational Sunday with a noon game against tournament-host UTEP.
