Last Week
Bradley went 2-3 last week, opening play at the Eller Media Stadium Classic in Las Vegas, Nev., with a 10-7 victory against Kansas and 3-1 win over San Jose State, before dropping games to San Diego (15-8), tournament-host UNLV (7-1) and Troy (9-1). Freshman Madeline Lynch-Crumrine hit .571 for the week with two doubles and two RBI in addition to picking up her first career save in the 3-1 victory against San Jose State. Senior Brittany Fairbairn hit .500 (9-for-18) with three doubles, one homer and three RBI to help highlight Bradley's offensive efforts.
Bayer CropScience Classic
The Braves make the team's first trip to the state of California since opening the 2001 season at the Loyola Marymount Invitational in Los Angeles, this week when Bradley plays in the Bayer CropScience Classic in Fresno, Calif. In addition to contest against former national champion Fresno State, Bradley will also face nationally-ranked California during tournament play. The 10th-ranked Bears and Braves will play Saturday afternoon in the second meeting with a PAC-10 school this season. BU opens tournament-play with the third and final game of the season against Troy. The Trojans beat Bradley 9-1 on Sunday to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Bradley is 9-12 all-time against Sun Belt Conference teams. The Braves play tournament-host Fresno State Friday night in the first meeting between the two teams. Bradley is 2-4 all-time against current WAC schools. A pair of games against Idaho State will mark the first meetings in program history between the two schools. Bradley is 4-7 all-time against Pacific Coast Softball Conference schools after last week's setback against San Diego.
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 46-76 record (.377) 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 259-252 (.507) career coaching record and has taken teams to the NCAA Tournament four times.
Final Non-Conference Weekend
This weekend's trip will mark the final non-conference weekend for the Braves before opening Missouri Valley Conference play March 19 & 20 at I-74 rival Illinois State. Bradley will play five games this weekend at the Bayer CropScience Classic in Fresno, Calif., and stick around to play Fresno State in a single game on Tuesday, March 15, before returning to the Midwest to open conference action. BU has four non-conference games remaining on the slate following the single game at Fresno State.
Singler's Hit Streak Ends At 10 Games
Senior Kate Singler drove in Bradley's run against UNLV, but had a career-best 10-game hit streak end with an 0-for-3 effort against the Rebels. The 10-game hit streak was the longest by a Bradley player since Trish Kowalewski hit safely in 11 consecutive games in 2005. during her 10-game streak, Singler hit .394 with three doubles, two homers, six runs scored and eight RBI. She currently ranks second in the MVC with 16 RBI and is Bradley's active career leader in home runs (7) and RBI (41).
Powering Up
Senior Brittany Fairbairn put on an offensive showcase in Bradley's setback against San Diego, going 3-for-3 with her first career home run and a pair of doubles. Fairbairn who belted her first career homer to lead off the bottom of the first inning, entered the game with four extra base hits on the season; before her power burst against the Toreros. Last season, Fairbairn finished with four doubles and three triples in 125 at bats. This season she has five doubles, two triples and a home run. She leads the team in walks (9) and is tied with Julie Sherman for team lead with 14 runs scored.
Power Surge
Brittany Fairbairn isn't the only player with increased power numbers for the Braves with BU already collecting 36 extra-base hits (23 doubles - 7 triples - six home runs) on the year through 19 games. In 49 games last season, Bradley totaled 46 extra base hits (34 doubles - 3 triples - 9 home runs).
Setting Things Up
Senior Brittany Fairbairn has taken over the top spot in Bradley's lineup and has reached base safely when opening an inning 56 percent of the time. Junior Julie Sherman has taken over as the #2 hitter in the lineup thanks in part to her team-leading .411 batting average. Sherman is hitting .571 with runners on base and owns a .500 batting average with runners in scoring position.
Patience At The Plate
In addition to raising her batting average 80 points to .368, junior Brittany Fairbairn has displayed a great deal of patience at the plate in her final season. Fairbairn leads the team with nine base on balls through 19 games and owns an impressive .463 on base percentage. Her nine walks this season are already two more than she had the entire 2010 season and she is the only Braves with more than four walks this year.
Increased Output
Junior Julie Sherman might be one of the biggest surprises in the Missouri Valley Conference this season, ranking among the league leaders with a .411 batting average on the year. Sherman entered the year with a career .176 batting average, but has already surpassed her career-best season totals of 18 hits and 12 runs from 2010 with 23 hits and 14 runs through the first 19 games of the season. Sherman is hitting .571 with runners on base and boasts a .500 batting average with runners in scoring position.
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.
First Win
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. Camp leads the team in victories and is 2-2 with a team-best 4.24 ERA in nine appearances this season.
Putting It In Neutral
Bradley is now 19-23 (.452) when playing at a neutral site under head coach Amy Hayes and the Braves are now a combined 28-26 (.519) since the start of the 2007 campaign when playing at a neutral site.
Moving Up The Ranks
Bradley head coach Amy Hayes moved into sixth on Bradley's career wins list with a pair of win last weekend at the Eller Media Stadium Classic. Hayes passed Venus Taylor on the wins chart and needs 18 victories to pass Buddy Foster for fifth place. 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 recently, 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 every statistical pitching category and needs 13 appearances to break into Bradley's career top 10.
Season Openers
Bradley had a five-game win streak in season openers snapped 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 will play the third and final of three games scheduled against Troy when the two teams face off in Fresno, Calif., Friday. The Trojans have won both meetings this season, defeating BU in extra innings in Troy, Ala., before topping Bradley last weekend in Las Vegas, Nev. Prior to this season, 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 four weeks of the season. Singler, who drove in a team-leading 25 runs in 2010, is the active career leader on the team with 41 RBI. Fairbairn was second on the team with 18 RBI as a junior before having her season cut short and has 28 career RBI. Singler has driven in three runs in a game three times this season and six times in her career. She leads the squad with 16 RBI through 19 games.
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 in 2010. Singler was hit by a pitch seven times last spring, which ranks as the second highest season total in school history. Despite playing only a little over one season on The Hilltop, Singler is already tied for third in school history with eight career 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 22 sacrifice bunts in her two-plus seasons on The Hilltop. Roth needs just three sacrifice hits to move into sixth in school history in the category.
Up Next
Bradley will stay in California to play a single game against Fresno State on Tuesday, March 15, before returning to the Midwest to open Missouri Valley Conference play with a three-game series at I-74 rival Illinois State March 19 & 20. The Redbirds swept the regular-season series from the Braves last season in Peoria and hold a 52-16 lead in the all-time series.
