PEORIA, Ill. -- For the third year in a row, the Bradley softball team will travel to Tempe, Ariz., to open the season. The Braves will face a trio of ranked Pac-12 teams in addition to Big Sky Conference favorite Portland State and Big Ten Conference foe Indiana during the opening weekend of play.
Four of Bradley's first five opponents in 2013 made the NCAA Tournament last year, with one team advancing to the Women's College World Series and another making it to the NCAA Tournament Super Regionals last spring. The four teams combined for a 13-10 record in last year's NCAA Tournament with all four squads winning at least one game. Overall, the five Kajikawa Classic teams BU will face combined for a 189-99 (.656) record with four of the five teams winning 30 or more games in 2012.
The Braves are 2-8 all-time in two previous trips to Tempe, Ariz., for the Kajikawa Classic after posting a 2-3 record at last year's event. Three of BU's eight setbacks in the tournament were against teams which later advanced to the College World Series.
Bradley (21-30 overall in 2012) opens the season Thursday afternoon (5 p.m. CST) against 21st-ranked Stanford (40-19 in 2012). The Braves and Cardinal will be playing for the second consecutive year after the two teams played a pair of games at last year's Stanford Nike Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. Stanford posted a 2-2 record in NCAA Regional play last spring.
Friday's action features a 6:30 p.m. (CST) matchup with eight-time national champion Arizona (38-19 in 2012). The Wildcats are ranked 13th in the preseason national poll after last year's NCAA Super Regional appearance and have played in the national championship in 13 of the last 22 years.
The Braves will play a pair of games on Saturday, opening play with a 10:30 a.m. (CST) contest against Portland State (28-25 in 2012). Bradley head coach Amy Hayes was head coach of the Vikings for three seasons prior to taking over as head coach of the Braves in 2009. The preseason Big Sky Conference favorite, Portland State was 1-2 in NCAA Regional action in 2012.
Later that day, Bradley will take on Big Ten Conference foe Indiana (30-25 in 2012) at 3 p.m. (CST). The Hoosiers and Braves will be meeting for the second consecutive year after BU edged Indiana 3-2 last year in Woodstock, Ga. Indiana is coming off a fourth-place conference finish, posting a 14-10 record in the Big Ten.
Bradley concludes play at the Kajikawa Classic Sunday afternoon with a noon (CST) game against tournament-host and fourth-ranked Arizona State (53-11 in 2012). The Sun Devils have won two national championships in the last five years (2008 & 2011) and will be the highest ranked opponent for the Braves since facing then third-ranked California last year.
The Braves are 17-17 all-time in season openers after pulling out a 3-2, eight-inning victory against UC Santa Barbara last year and have won the opening game in six of the last seven years overall. Bradley is 11-11 overall when opening at a neutral site with Thursday's game against 21st-ranked Stanford marking the first time BU has opened the season against a ranked team. The Feb. 7 opener is tied for the second earliest season opener in program history.
Following the trip to Tempe, Ariz., the Braves will head west again next weekend, traveling to Albuquerque, N.M., for the New Mexico Lobo Classic Feb. 15-17.
