Last Week
Bradley lost the opening two games of the series against Wichita State, setting up a must-win situation in the final game of the regular season for the Braves to have a chance to advance to the State Farm MVC Tournament. Senior Brittany Fairbairn went 3-for-4 with two RBI and delivered a walk-off, two-out single in the bottom of the seventh to power BU to a 5-4 win against the Shockers and help Bradley lock up the final spot in the Valley Tournament. Freshman Madeline Lynch-Crumrine went 3-for-3 at the plate and freshman Brianne Joseph was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI to help highlight the victory.
MVC Tournament History
Bradley will be playing in its 20th State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, but it will be the Braves' third appearance in the conference championship in the last 11 years. BU became the first and only host to win the tournament in 2009 in the squad's last tournament appearance. The team's last three appearances in the Valley Tournament have been in the state of Illinois (2000, 2007 & 2009) and the Braves will be participating in a conference championship outside the Land of Lincoln for the first time since 1999 (Wichita, Kan.). Bradley is 29-35 overall in tournament play and have one at least one game in the Valley tournament in each of the team's last four appearances, dating back to an 0-2 showing in 1997.
Series History vs. Missouri State
Missouri State swept the regular-season series from the Braves in Peoria back in mid-April and the Lady Bears have won four consecutive games against BU to push their lead in the all-time series to 45-25. Bradley has won three consecutive conference tournament games against Missouri State, however, eliminating the Lady Bears from the 2000, 2007 and 2009 events. Thursday's meeting will mark the fifth consecutive tournament appearance for BU in which the Braves will have faced Missouri State. The Lady Bears are 6-4 in tournament meetings against Bradley, including a 3-1 victory in 1984 in the only previous tournament meeting in Springfield, Mo.
Hits Just Keep On Coming
Senior Brittany Fairbairn had a career-best 11-game hit streak end with an 0-for-3 outing in the series opener against Wichita State, but went 3-for-4 in each of the last two games to push her team-leading season hit total to 60. Fairbairn is hitting .440 (22-for-50) with two doubles, three triples and nine RBI over the last 14 games. Her 60 hits are the most by a Bradley player since 2004 and is tied for the eighth best season total in school history. Since moving the cleanup spot in the lineup, Fairbairn boasts a .444 average (16-for-36).
Knocking Them In
Senior Kate Singler drove in her team-best 29th run of the year during the final weekend of the regular season. On pace to become just the fifth player in program history to lead the team in RBI in back-to-back years, her 29 RBI is tied for the ninth best season total in school history. Bradley's active career leader in RBI, she has driven in 53 runs in her two years on The Hilltop.
Carrying The Load
Freshman Madeline Lynch-Crumrine has carried the bulk of the pitching load for Bradley down the stretch, starting 10 of the last 12 games and tossing 59 of BU's last 84 innings (70 percent). Over her last 19 appearances she is 3-4 with a 2.16 ERA in 84.1 innings. Lynch-Crumrine walked just 10 batters in 71.1 innings against MVC opponents and owned a 2.45 ERA against league foes. In league play, she boasted a 4.1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Academic Honors
Seniors Brittany Fairbairn and Kate Singler were both First-Team Capital One Academic All-District selections. An elementary education major, Fairbairn owns a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade point average and leads the team in hits, batting average, doubles, triples and stolen bases. Singler leads the team in home runs (8) and RBI (29), while also pacing the team in walks. She is a secondary education major with a 3.93 cumulative grade point average. Bradley had an academic all-district selection for the first time since 2009 (Alycia Bachkora) and a first-team honoree for the first time since 2004 (Kristy Brod). The Braves had not had a pair of academic all-district selections in the same season since Julie Jehle and Amy Pera both earned Academic All-American honors in 1995.
Fairbairn's Hit Streak Ends At 11 Games
Senior Brittany Fairbairn brought an 11-game hit streak into the final weekend of the regular season and despite hitting .545 in the series against Wichita State had the streak come to an end with an 0-for-3 showing in the opener against the Shockers. Fairbairn's 11-game streak was the longest for a Bradley player since Trish Kowalewski boasted an 11-game hit streak during the 2005 season. Junior Julie Sherman also had a career-best 11-game hit streak of her own end a week earlier in the series finale against Evansville. A Bradley player has not had a hit streak of better than 11 games in the last decade.
Hitting The Long Ball
Senior Kate Singler collected her fourth home run in five games with a two-run blast in the second game of Bradley's doubleheader at Northern Iowa on April 27. Singler's eight home runs on the year are tied for the second best season total in program history, behind Alycia Bachkora's school record 10 home runs in 2009; and she has moved into a tie with Kim Suffield and Amy Pera for ninth in program history with 12 career home runs.
Swinging A Hot Bat
Freshman Brianne Joseph has been swinging a hot bat for the Braves after getting off to a slow start to the year. Joseph, who is 13-for-27 (.481) over the last eight games, is hitting .420 (21-for-50) over her last 15 outings. She opened the year with 15 hits in her first 82 career at bats, but has raised her season batting average nearly 90 points with her recent hot hitting and ranks fourth on the team with a .273 average. Joseph was second on the squad with a .348 average in Missouri Valley conference play.
Taking Extra Bases
Bradley ranks second in the Missouri Valley Conference in stolen bases with 59 stolen bases this season. BU's 59 steals are the most by the Braves in a season since swiping a then Missouri Valley Conference season record 99 in 2000. In addition, the 59 stolen bases rank as the sixth most in school history. Senior Brittany Fairbairn has a team-best 14 stolen bases on the year, which is the most by a Brave since 2004.
Moving To The Cleanup Spot
After hitting near the top of the order most of her Bradley career, senior Brittany Fairbairn has moved to the cleanup spot for the last 10 games. The move in the lineup did not impact Fairbairn, who his hitting .444 (16-for-36) with two doubles, three triples, five runs scored and nine RBI in her 10 games at the #4 spot in the lineup. The Braves are 5-5 on the year when Fairbairn is hitting cleanup.
Double Trouble
Senior Brittany Fairbairn leads Bradley with 60 hits and junior Julie Sherman has collected a career-high 56 hits through 53 games as the duo are the first BU pair to record 50 hits in the same season since three individuals finished the 2004 season with 50 or more hits. Fairbairn leads the squad with a .351 average, including a .400 average against MVC opponents, while Sherman is hitting .339 on the season. Bradley has not had two players hit .300 or better in the same season since three individuals finished the 2004 campaign hitting better than .300. Laura Harms and Stefanie Cheney both hit .354 during the 2004 season, while Brittany Mynsberge finished the season with a .303 average.
Turn Two
Bradley leads the Missouri Valley Conference with 18 doubles plays on the year. BU's 18 double plays are the most for the squad since finishing the 2005 season with a school record 21 double plays. The Braves turned an impressive 11 doubles plays in Missouri Valley Conference action (25 games).
Driving Them In
Scoring is up for the Braves in 2011 as the team is averaging 3.49 runs per contest compared to 2.94 runs per game in 2010. In fact the 3.49 runs per game average is the highest for a Bradley team since averaging 3.63 runs per tilt in 2006. BU has 155 RBI on the year which ranks as the team's highest season total since ending the 2004 season with 187 RBI.
Increased Output
Junior Julie Sherman might be one of the biggest surprises in the Missouri Valley Conference this season after making the switch to a left-handed slap hitter. Sherman entered the season with 32 career hits and a combined .176 batting average in her first two seasons on The Hilltop. This spring, she is second on the team in batting average (.339) and hits (56). In addition, the outfielder leads the team in runs scored and is second with 10 stolen bases. Sherman boasts a team-best .387 average with runners on base (29-for-75) and is hitting .333 with runners in scoring position.
Tough Slate
Bradley has played a total of 11 games against teams ranked in the top 50 in the NCAA's RPI report as of May 1 and 22 of 53 games (41.5 percent) this season have been against squads ranked in the top 100. Bradley has played an additional 10 games against squads ranked in the top 150, meaning 60.3 percent (32 of 53 games) have been against teams in the top 150.
Legging Them Out
Senior Brittany Fairbairn legged out her Missouri Valley Conference leading seventh triple of the season Sunday in the regular-season finale against Wichita State and paces the team with 17 extra-base hits. Fairbairn's seven triples are the most by a Bradley player since Kim Suffield had eight three-baggers in 2000 and is the fourth best season total in program history. Fairbairn is tied for sixth in school history with 10 career triples.
Pitching Coming Around
Bradley's pitchers got off to a rough start to the season, posting a 6.09 ERA in the first 17 games of the season, but BU's pitching staff has made a big improvement; combining for a 3.54 ERA in the last 36 games. During the opening stretch the Braves were surrendering 9.65 hits and 2.76 walks per game, but have lowered those numbers to 7.89 hits and 2.31 walks per contest over the last 36 outings. In league play, Bradley posted a 3.53 team ERA and opponents drew just 1.92 walks per outing.
Outfield Assists
In addition to being one of the team's top offensive threats, senior Brittany Fairbairn has been one of Bradley's top defensive players and has an impressive 14 outfield assists on the year. Fairbairn has recorded 14 of Bradley's 26 outfield assists this season and thrown out six runners at the plate. In 53 games this season she has recorded 51 more putouts and 10 more assists than she had in 41 starts in the outfield in 2010.
Rare Company
Freshman Madeline Lynch-Crumrine is the team's leader in innings pitched (118.2) and is looking to join an elite group. Lynch-Crumrine has pitched four more innings than junior Lindsay Hufeld for the team lead and would be the first freshman to lead the squad in innings pitched since Ashley Birdsong in 2006. Lynch-Crumrine would be the sixth freshman in program history to lead the team in innings pitched, joining a group which includes Birdsong and fellow all-conference performer Beth Hawkins along with Brittany Dehler (2003), Kacie Flinn (2002) and Jami Strinz (1998).
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 54-102 record (.346) 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 267-278 (.490) career coaching record and has taken teams to the NCAA Tournament four times.
Staying In State
After playing 25 games in five different states, Bradley opened Missouri Valley Conference play with a doubleheader at Illinois State March 19 to kick off a stretch in which the Braves played 17 of 20 games in the state of Illinois. BU played a three-game series in Omaha, Neb., April 2 & 3 for the only games outside the Land of Lincoln between a March 15 game at Fresno State and the April 27 doubleheader at Northern Iowa. Overall, the Braves closed the regular season with 20 of the final 28 games in the state of Illinois.
Game On
Bradley is tied for fourth in the MVC in games played (53) and the Braves have had just three games cancelled this season (one game against Drake and one of the Indiana State series along with the final game of the two games against in-state foe Western Illinois). BU's 28 regular-season non-conference games are the most since playing 32 non-Valley games in 2004. Bradley will match the 2009 squad's 54 games played Thursday against Missouri State and need just one contest to play the most games in a year since taking the field 58 times in 2004. The Braves reached the 50-game mark during the regular season for the first time since 2005.
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.
Looking For Rare Feat
Senior Kate Singler drove in a team-best 25 runs in 2010 as a junior and has a team-leading 29 RBI through 50 games this spring. Singler is looking to become just the fifth player in program history to lead the team in RBI in back-to-back years and would be the first player to drive in the most runs in consecutive seasons since Joanna Petit in 2005 & 2006. Singler has five more RBI than any other player on the roster and is Bradley's active career leader with 54 career runs batted in.
Bean Ball
Senior Kate Singler is nearing a dubious distinction after getting hit by a pitch against Western Illinois. Despite playing just under two full seasons on The Hilltop, Singler ranks third in school history after being hit by a pitch 11 times in her career. Only Christine Cooney (16) and Lauren Meister (14) have been hit by more pitches in their BU careers. Both Cooney and Meister were four-year letterwinners.
Moving Them Over
Junior Jackie Roth collected her team-leading seventh sacrifice hit of the season against Indiana State to push her career sacrifice hit total to 25. Her 25 sacrifice hits are the sixth best career total in school history. She needs two more to move into a tie with Brenda Nelson for fifth place in school history and is five short of becoming the fourth player in program history with 30 sacrifice bunts.
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.
