Bradley (7-2) will try to continue its hot start to the 2014 season this weekend by participating with co-hosts Dayton (3-6) and Wright State (3-8) in the annual UD/WSU Tournament in Dayton, Ohio ... Due to the extended cold and snow that has blanketed the Midwest, this weekend's entire schedule has been moved to the artificial surface at Wright State's Nischwitz Stadium and the start times have been adjusted slightly.
Weekend Breakdown
Games 10-13: Bradley (7-2) in the UD/WSU Tournament
Friday at Wright State (3-8) | 1 p.m. EST
Saturday vs. Dayton (3-6) | 1 p.m. EST
Saturday at Wright State | 4 p.m. EST
Sunday vs. Dayton | 11 a.m. EST
Live Stats: WSURaiders.com
Bradley Probable Pitching Rotation
Friday: David Koll, LHP, Jr., 0-1, 3.60 ERA, 15.0 IP, 4 BB, 17 K, .250 Opp Avg.
Saturday 1: Stephen Toma, RHP, Jr., 1-1, 5.87 ERA, 15.1 IP, 6 BB, 10 K, .276 Opp Avg.
Saturday 2: Eric Scheuermann, RHP, So., 2-0, 2.57 ERA, 14.0 IP, 3 BB, 12 K, .196 Opp Avg.
Sunday: Elliot Ashbeck, RHP, So., 1-0, 6.75 ERA, 5.1 IP, 0 BB, 3 K, .333 Opp. Avg.
Leading Off
Bradley, which won 2-of-3 games in last year's UD/WSU Tournament, is participating in the 3-team event for the second year in a row ... Including a pair of wins last weekend in Clarksville, Tenn., against Xavier and Dayton, Bradley is 9-1 in its last 10 games against teams from Ohio since the start of the 2011 campaign ... Bradley began the week ranked 12th nationally with a .319 team batting average, second by averaging 3.11 steals per game and sixth with 9.2 runs scored per game.
Series Notes
vs. Wright State | Bradley leads 4-3
Bradley split two games at Wright State last season during the 2013 UD/WSU Tournament.
vs. Dayton | Bradley leads 5-2
Bradley has won four straight in the series ... Bradley rallied from early 3-0 and 4-2 deficits for an 11-5 win against the Flyers last weekend at Austin Peay's Riverview Inn Classic.
Fast Start
Though the Braves have yet to experience an outdoor practice this winter, Bradley has opened the 2014 campaign with winning records in each of its first three weekends ... Bradley's current 7-2 record represents the team's best 9-game start since the 2005 Braves also opened 7-2 en route to a 28-22 final overall record ... Bradley boasts a 2-games-to-1 series win Feb. 21-23 at UALR, which enters the weekend 8-2 overall, as well as a 15-5 win last Friday against a Xavier (5-3) squad that allowed a total of just six runs in a 3-game series at North Carolina the previous weekend.
NCAA Stats
As the week began, Bradley ranked among the nation's top 50 in 15 different statistics categories charted by the NCAA, including 10 catergories among the top 20 ... At the top of the list, the Braves are second in the nation by averaging 3.11 stolen bases per game, fourth with 28 stolen bases and fourth with 2.78 doubles per game ... Individually, second baseman Chris Godinez is tied for first by averaging 1.0 stolen base per game; shortstop Tyler Leffler is tied for seventh by being hit-by-pitches 0.67 times per game, tied for 11th with six doubles and tied for 30th with a .583 on-base percentage; outfielder Max Murphy is tied for sixth with 1.56 runs scored per game and 13th with three home runs; senior DH Greg Partyka is tied for 11th by driving in 1.56 runs per game; and third baseman Spencer Gaa is tied for third with three sacrifice flies.
Late-Inning Rallies
Bradley has fallen behind in eight of the season's first nine games, but the Braves have rallied to win for six of its seven wins ... Through nine games, Bradley is being outscored 35-33 through five innings ... The Braves have turned the tide after the fifth, however, outscoring their opponents by a whopping 50-9 advantage from the sixth inning on ... As a result, Bradley is 5-2 when trailing (3-2) or tied (2-0) after six innings this season.
Bullpen Success
Bradley's bullpen has been the story of the first three weeks of the season ... During the first nine games, the bullpen is 6-1 with two saves and a 1.93 ERA, having allowed only 29 hits and nine walks against 46 strikeouts in its 42.0 total innings ... In nine games, junior Stephen Toma (1-1) is the only Bradley starter to earn a decision.
Leffler's Hot Start
Sophomore shortstop Tyler Leffler leads the Braves with a .429 batting average and .583 on-base percentage through the season's first nine games ... In Friday's 15-5 win against Xavier, Leffler was 3-for-3 with two doubles, three walks and five runs scored ... The five runs scored were the most by a Bradley player since Chad Johnson scored six times in a 1998 game ... Going back to his final three plate appearances in the Arkansas-Little Rock series, all resulting in hit-by-pitches, Leffler reached base in nine consecutive plate appearances ... After going 2-for-4 with a walk in Saturday's first game against Dayton and 2-for-5 in the weekend finale at Austin Peay, Leffler now has reached base safely in 14 of his last 19 plate appearances.
Outfield Quartet
Bradley has utilized a quartet of outfielders through the first three weekends of the season and all four have been swinging hot bats ... Junior Isaac Smith has been the primary starter in center field and is batting .435 with a .536 on-base percentage and five stolen bases ... A starter in five games, sophomore Brady Wilkin is batting .407 with three doubles and nine runs scored ... Junior Max Murphy remains a fixture in the outfield, but has played primarily in right field, and is batting .324 with a .622 slugging percentage and team-leading 14 runs scored ... Freshman Evan Gruener is batting .320 with six RBI's in his six games ... Together, the outfield quartet is batting .366 with 34 RBI's and 34 runs scored in nine games.
Braves Run Wild
Bradley has swiped 28 bases in 32 attempts during the first nine games of the season ... The Braves began the week ranked second nationally by averaging 3.11 steals per game ... Leadoff man Chris Godinez leads the charge by going 9-for-11 and he is tied for first nationally by averaging 1.0 stolen base per game ... Eight different Braves have contributed to the 28 stolen bases, including seven players with multiple steals.
Partyka Chasing 100 RBI's
Senior designated hitter Greg Partyka is Bradley's active leader in most every significant offensive category ... Partyka enters this weekend's UD/WSU Tournament with 99 career runs batted in, 27 shy of cracking Bradley's career top 10 ... Partyka is tied for 11th nationally by averaging 1.56 RBI's per game with 14 RBI's in nine games.
National Player of the Week
Junior outfielder Max Murphy has collected a pair of national player-of-the-week honors this week, following his performance during last weekend's Austin Peay Riverview Inn Classic ... Murphy hit .500 (6-12) with six runs scored and six RBI's in the event's three games ... Most notably, he tied the Bradley single-game records for home runs and total bases (12) by slugging three homers in the 11-5 win against Dayton March 1 ... In addition to being selected the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, Murphy has been named a national Player-of-the-Week by Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger and the NCAA.
