CARBONDALE, Ill. – A late Bradley rally attempt in the opener fell short in a 6-5 loss to Southern Illinois and the Salukis scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh in the second game to come back and top the Braves 3-2 Sunday as SIU completed a series sweep.

Bradley (22-26 overall, 7-14 MVC) had a 2-1 lead in the opener, but Southern Illinois (24-25 overall, 12-10 MVC) scored five runs in the bottom of third inning to take a 6-2 lead and held on to take the opener 6-5.  Sophomore Alyson Clemente (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley) went 5-for-8 at the plate in the doubleheader to help lead a Bradley offense which outhit the Salukis 21-15 Sunday.

In the opening game, the Braves loaded the bases in the top of the second on three consecutive singles and sophomore Shannon King (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) drove in the first run of the day with a sacrifice fly to put BU in front 1-0.

Southern Illinois answered with a run of its own in the bottom half of the seven to pull even at 1-1, but Clemente scored in top of the third to give Bradley a 2-1 lead.  Clemente led off the frame with a double and stole third before coming home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of freshman Kendall Duffy (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy).

The Salukis opened the bottom of the third inning with three consecutive doubles, however, to take a 3-2 lead and Allie VadeBoncouer followed with a two-run homer to push the SIU advantage to 5-2.  Michelle Bradley later capped a five-run third for Southern Illinois with a RBI double as the Salukis carried a 6-2 lead into the sixth inning.

King drove in another run in the sixth with a single to plate sophomore Brittany Burgess (Utica, Ill./St. Bede) to trim the SIU advantage to 6-3 and the Braves would try to rally in the seventh.  Junior Alex Chandler (Needles, Calif./Needles) singled to open the seventh and Clemente followed with a double.  Chandler scored on a wild pitch and junior Marina Groenewegen (Surrey, British Columbia/Elgin Park Secondary/Southern Idaho) trimmed the Salukis' lead to 6-5 with an RBI single to plate Clemente.

The Braves were unable to push another run across, however, as SIU held on for the 6-5 victory.  Senior Mackenzie Camp (Mapleton, Ill./Limestone) suffered the loss in the circle for the Braves, dropping to 8-12 on the season. 

Junior Madeline Lynch-Crumrine (Sedro-Woolley, Wash./Sedro-Woolley), who limited Southern Illinois to five hits and just one run in the final four innings of the opener, surrendered just five hits and two earned runs in the nightcap.  She struck out five and walked none in the setback, falling to 14-13 on the year.

Junior Brianne Joseph (Post Falls, Idaho/Post Falls) led off the second game with a walk and came around to score on a Kathryn Spenn (Williamsville, Ill./Williamsville) double as Bradley jumped out to an early 1-0 lead.

The Braves pushed the advantage to 2-0 in the top of the third on a Chandler solo home run.  The dinger was Chandler's team-leading fifth of the season. 

Southern Illinois would answer with a solo shot of its own to lead off the bottom of the third inning and cut the BU lead in half (2-1). 

Neither team had many scoring chances down the stretch, with Bradley leaving the bases loaded in the fifth and SIU collecting just three hits off Lynch-Crumrine in the first six innings as the Braves took a 2-1 lead into the seventh. 

A pair of BU errors in the bottom of the seventh proved costly, helping Southern Illinois rally for two runs and pull out a 3-2 victory.  Michelle Glenn got the rally started with a two-out double and Morgan Barchan drove her in with a single.  Barchan stole second and a pair of Bradley errors on the play allowed her to come all the way around to score the game-winning run.

“This weekend is hard to swallow,” said Bradley head coach Amy Hayes.  “To drop all three games by one run and to drop the final game in the seventh game is heartbreaking. We have more games to play and our goal is to continue to fight and get ourselves to the conference tournament.”

Bradley plays four of the final five regular-season games at Laura Bradley Park starting with a 3 p.m. home contest against Northern Iowa Tuesday.