PEORIA, Ill. -- With the start of the 2013 softball season less than two weeks away, fifth-year Bradley head coach Amy Hayes and her squad are getting ready for a season in which the Braves are scheduled to play five non-conference games against teams ranked in the NFCA preseason top 25.
Recently picked to finish seventh in the pre-season Missouri Valley Conference coaches poll, Bradley is coming off a seventh-place conference finish in 2012. The Braves were 11-15 in league play after winning four of six MVC games to close the year to finish one game behind Missouri State for sixth in the 2012 conference race.
Bradley returns 12 letterwinners, including seven starters from last year's squad. Helping headline the group of returning players is two-time First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection Madeline Lynch-Crumrine (Sedro-Woolley, Wash./Sedro-Woolley) and 2012 MVC All-Tournament selection Bailiegh Basham (Mattoon, Ill./Mattoon/Lake Land).
"This group of young ladies has really bought into our plan this year," said Hayes. "They are constantly working to improve and it was clear that over winter break they had dedicated themselves to the team's goal of an MVC title."
A NFCA All-Mideast Region pick last year, Lynch-Crumrine is the fourth two-time first-team all-conference selection in program history after leading the team in batting average (.299), wins (11), innings pitched (196.1) and strikeouts (85). She was the only player in the MVC with 10 or more victories and 40 or more hits at the plate last year.
Lynch-Crumrine and senior Mackenzie Camp (Mapleton, Ill./Limestone) are expected to lead the BU pitching staff. The duo gives the Braves a pair of pitchers which won eight or more games the previous year for the first time since the 2000 season.
A junior, Basham had a big impact in her first season on The Hilltop, breaking school season records for walks (36), hit by pitch (12) and on base percentage (.480). The Lake Land College transfer was third on the team with a .276 batting average and her 24 RBI last spring rank as the sixth most runs batted in by a Bradley underclassmen.
The Braves open the season Feb. 7-10 at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., where BU will face three teams ranked in the NFCA pre-season top 25. Bradley opens play against 21st-ranked Stanford Thursday, Feb. 7 and faces 13th-ranked Arizona Friday, Feb. 8. Saturday's action includes games against NCAA Tournament participant Portland State and Big Ten foe Indiana, before the Braves conclude tournament action against fourth-ranked Arizona State Sunday.
"I believe that if you want to be playing in the postseason, you need to play some perennial powers in the preseason," stated Hayes. "We are going for a quality start and to test ourselves early to see where we match up. This group of young women is focused on winning. We have some big bats in the middle of the lineup with Basham, Marina Groenewegen and Alyson Clemente having the capability to help spark us to one of our most exciting offensive seasons yet."
Bradley will also make trips to Albuquerque, N.M., for the Lobo Classic (Feb. 15-17) following the opening weekend of play and finish out February at the Tiger Invitational in Nashville, Tenn. (Feb. 23 & 24). A matchup with 16th-ranked Washington at the Colorado State Classic in Ft. Collins, Colo., (March 1-3) kicks off the busiest month of the season and the Braves will face Washington again at the Husky Softball Classic (March 8 & 9) in Seattle, Wash.
Midweek games at Seattle (March 7), at Saint Louis (March 13), at Illinois-Chicago (March 19 & 20) and against SIU Edwardsville (April 9) complete the non-conference slate. Bradley opens Missouri Valley Conference play at league co-favorite Illinois State (March 16 & 17). The Braves open the home schedule with a doubleheader against Wichita State on March 23 to kick off a season-long six-game home stand.
