Bradley University Athletics

Softball Set To Host Indiana State Friday & Saturday

BradleyBraves.com Softball 3/28/2013 5:00:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. – The Bradley softball team will play its first home games of the 2013 season after having last week's scheduled home opener moved to Edwardsville, Ill., because of inclement weather, with the Braves welcoming Indiana State to Laura Bradley Park for a three-game series Friday and Saturday.

The teams are scheduled to play a 2 p.m. doubleheader Friday at Laura Bradley Park and conclude the series Saturday with a noon game. BradleyBraves.com will offer a free video stream of all three contests in addition to links to live stats for the entire series.

Bradley (16-12 overall, 1-1 MVC) has had each of its first two Missouri Valley Conference series impacted by weather and have played just four of the last 10 scheduled games heading into the weekend matchup with the Sycamores (11-17 overall, 2-4 MVC).

Friday's home opener will mark the latest home opener for the Braves since facing Saint Louis on April 3 in the first home game of the 1996 season. Overall, Bradley has played 28 games away from home already and the team's 16 victories at road or neutral sites are the most wins away from home since earning 20 (11 road & nine neutral site) wins in 2004.

Bradley has won or split the regular-season series with Indiana State each of the last six years and BU owns a 51-28 (.646) lead in the all-time series. Since 1995, the Braves are 35-11 (.761) against the Sycamores and boast an impressive 17-4 (.810) home record vs. Indiana State during that stretch.

Including the weekend series against Indiana State, Bradley is slated to play 11 of the final 22 regular-season games at Laura Bradley Park. Starting with last week's victory at Illinois-Chicago, the Braves will play 17 of the final 25 games on the schedule in the state of Illinois.

Junior Madeline Lynch-Crumrine (Sedro-Woolley, Wash./Sedro-Woolley) was named the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week Monday after tossing a pair of complete game shutouts last week. In fact, she has thrown complete game shutouts in three of her last four starts and boasts a 4-1 record with a 1.66 ERA in her last five outings. Her back-to-back shutouts helped Bradley pitchers combine for 21 consecutive innings without giving up a run, before Wichita State's first run in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.

Weather has impacted the Valley schedule early on and the Braves find themselves in sixth in the league standings after playing just two of the first six league games on the 2013 schedule. Indiana State is behind Bradley in the Valley standings in seventh with a 2-4 league mark. The Sycamores went 1-2 against Wichita State in the opening weekend, before taking two of three games at home against Missouri State last weekend.

Following the weekend series, Bradley will play eight of the next nine games on the road starting with a three-game series at Creighton April 6 & 7.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Madeline Lynch-Crumrine: RHP/OF; 5' 9"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#12 Madeline Lynch-Crumrine
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: RHP/OF

Players Mentioned

#12 Madeline Lynch-Crumrine

Players Mentioned

#12 Madeline Lynch-Crumrine