PEORIA, Ill. -- After playing a pair of mid-week non-conference road games against ranked teams, the Bradley softball team will return to Missouri Valley Conference play Thursday at Missouri State before heading to Evansville for a three-game weekend series against the Purple Aces Saturday and Sunday.
Sunday's series finale at Missouri State was postponed due to inclement weather, but the Braves will return to Springfield, Mo., Thursday for a 4 p.m. game against the Lady Bears to wrap up the regular-season series after playing at 17th-ranked Tulsa Wednesday afternoon. Bradley (10-17 overall, 1-1 MVC) and Missouri State (18-8 overall, 1-1 MVC) split Saturday's doubleheader with the Bears taking the opener 6-3 and the Braves winning the second game 4-0.
Bradley was scheduled to play its home opener against Evansville this weekend, but a record snowfall total in Peoria this winter and cold temperatures delayed preparations at Laura Bradley Park and the series was relocated to Evansville, Ind. The Purple Aces (10-9 overall, 1-1 MVC) split a doubleheader against Indiana State Saturday and will be wrapping up a season-long 15-game home stand with a pair of games against Southeast Missouri State Thursday and the weekend series against the Braves.
The series against Evansville opens with a noon doubleheader Saturday and concludes Sunday with a single game at noon. BradleyBraves.com will feature links to live stats for all four conference games. The Braves and Aces have split the last six games in the series and BU is 5-4 against Evansville over the last three seasons.
Bradley played a school record 16 games in the month of February and the Braves can tie the school mark for the most games before April 1 at 31 if all four games on the weekend slate are played. Weather permitting; Bradley will play a school record 35 games before the end of March.
With the weekend series moved to Evansville, Bradley will now play its home opener when the Braves welcome MVC newcomer Loyola to Laura Bradley Park for a three-game series April 5 & 6. The April 5 home opener would be the latest for Bradley since 1995.
The Braves are 1-8 in true road games this season, but four of the team's eight road losses have come against ranked teams, including Tuesday's setback to defending national champion Oklahoma and Bradley's six road foes have combined for a 122-45-1 (.729) record through Wednesday.
Senior Alyson Clemente (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley) owns a .464 batting average over the last 10 games and boasts a .545 on base percentage during that stretch. Clemente has scored or driving in 21 of Bradley's last 60 runs and pushed her team-best RBI total to 19 after driving in a pair of runs Wednesday at 17th-ranked Tulsa. She led the team with 21 RBI last year.
Fellow senior Brianne Joseph (Post Falls, Idaho/Post Falls) has reached base safely in 10 consecutive games and is closing in on Bradley's career top 10 in hits. Joseph, who paced the squad with 53 hits in 2013, has a team-high 26 hits this spring and is nine hits from moving into the top 10 in school history.
