The Bradley Softball team capped off its most successful Missouri Valley Conference season in 20 years with a MVC Tournament title and subsequent NCAA Tournament appearance as the Braves played in the postseason for the second time in six years. Bradley finished fourth in the MVC regular-season standings with a school record 15 league victories.
Head coach Amy Hayes reviews the 2014 softball season in an interview with Dave Snell in addition to previewing the upcoming 2015 campaign.
2014 Recap
• Bradley was 27-32 overall and finished fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 15-12 league record.
• The 27 victories were the most by the Braves since 2004 (29) and the 15 MVC wins surpassed the previous school record of 12. In addition, the fourth-place conference finish was Bradley's best since a second-place finish in 1994.
• One of just two teams to have at least one win against every MVC opponent in 2014, Bradley went on to win three games in three days and win the 2014 MVC Tournament title in Normal, Ill.
• The tournament title was Bradley's second and the Braves went on to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since winning the 2009 Valley Tournament.
• Bradley's .285 team batting average was the team's highest since 1985 and the Braves had school season records for runs (261), home runs (41), RBI (237), total bases (635), slugging percentage (.410) and walks (171).
Individual Notes
• Madeline Lynch-Crumrine became the first Bradley Softball player to capture all-conference honors in all four seasons and joined Beth Hawkins as the only three-time First-Team All-MVC performers in school history. Lynch-Crumrine went on to earn MVP honors at the MVC Tournament.
• Joining Lynch-Crumrine on the all-conference team were Marina Groenewegen and sophomore Kendall Duffy, who both earned second-team all-league honors.
• Groenewegen, who also earned a spot on the MVC All-Tournament team, had a team-high eight home runs, which is tied for the second most in school history. She hit seven of her eight homers against MVC opponents, including a pair in the MVC Tournament semifinal win against regular-season champion Wichita State. Groenewegen led the Braves with a .326 batting average and hit .406 during regular-season conference play.
• Alyson Clemente led the Braves with 37 RBI and 37 runs scored as she became the first player in school history with 35 RBI, 35 runs and 20 or more walks in a season.
• Brianne Joseph hit .636 (7-for-11) during Bradley's MVC Tournament run and landed on the MVC All-Tournament team. She led the Braves with 61 hits and finished her career sixth in school history with 176 hits.
• One of three players to drive in 30 or more runs, Shannon King was named to the MVC All-Tournament team after hitting .444 during the three victories. King hit a three-run homer in Bradley's comeback victory against Loyola in the championship game.
• Lynch-Crumrine earned a MVC leading 11 victories in conference play and her 18 wins in 2014 were the most by a Brave since 2009. She also had Bradley season records for pitching appearances (46) and pitching starts (35).
• Mariah Cole was named the MVC Elite 18 Award winner and was one of three Braves to garner First-Team MVC Scholar-Athlete honors. Bradley had three First-Team MVC Scholar-Athletes for the first time in program history, with fellow seniors Bailiegh Basham and Madeline Lynch-Crumrine joining Cole on the squad.
Historically Speaking
• Bradley's career leader in fielding assists, Alex Chandler is the only player in school history to rank in Bradley's career top 10 in doubles (T8th - 26), home runs (T4th - 14), RBI (T7th - 67), stolen bases (8th - 31) and walks (3rd - 63).
• Lynch-Crumrine became the third player in Missouri Valley Conference history with 150 or more hits at the plate and 45 or more career wins in the circle. She finished her career among Bradley's career top 10 in hits (9th - 156) and RBI (T7th - 67) offensively. Lynch-Crumrine made a school record 153 career pitching appearances and 45 career relief appearances along with her 108 career starts in the circle matching a school record. In addition, she is among Bradley's career top 10 in wins (4th - 47), innings pitched (2nd - 753.1), strikeouts (3rd - 427), shutouts (T10th - 8), complete games (3rd - 72) and saves (T4th - 4).
• Bailiegh Basham, the 2014 Charles Orsborn Award Winner, was limited to primarily a defensive role due to injuries but broke the Bradley career walks record with 70 and ended her career with a school record .491 on base percentage.
Looking Ahead to 2015
• The Braves return 13 of 19 letterwinners from last year's squad.
• Seniors Alyson Clemente and Shannon King will help highlight the Bradley offensive attack after both drove in more than 30 runs in 2014.
• Clemente is already sixth in school history with 74 career RBI and just four home runs from matching the school record of 16.
• Sophomore Jaelen Hull was the winning pitcher in the MVC Tournament championship game and her seven victories were the most by a Bradley freshman since Ashley Birdsong in 2006.
