PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley softball continues an eight-game home stand with a pair of midweek games this week, taking on Illinois-Chicago Tuesday at 4 p.m. in the final non-conference game of the year and closing out the regular-season series with I-74 rival Illinois State Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Laura Bradley Park.
The Braves have won three of the last four matchups with UIC over the last 10 seasons and own an 18-17 lead in the all-time series. The teams met 26 times between 1981 and 1997, but have played a total of eight games since that span.
Bradley is eighth in the MVC standings at 9-11 after a 4-2 win against preseason league favorite Wichita State Sunday. The Braves are three games out of third in the standings and will enter Wednesday's matchup with Illinois State (11-8 MVC) two-and-a-half game behind the fourth-place Redbirds.
A free video stream and links to live stats for both games will be available at BradleyBraves.com
Tuesday's game against the Flames marks the first time Bradley will play two non-conference home games in a season since 2011. The Braves rallied to top Western Illinois 10-8 on March 31 to win the only other non-conference home game on the 2015 schedule. Tuesday's game is the latest non-conference home game for Bradley since hosting now MVC member Loyola in a doubleheader on April 27, 2005. The Braves have a chance to win two non-conference home games at Laura Bradley Park for the first time since 2007.
Bradley and Illinois State split a doubleheader at Laura Bradley Park last year with the Braves blanking the Redbirds 1-0 in the first game. Illinois State won both games of a doubleheader last week in Normal, Ill.
Freshman Erika Hansen (Fillmore, Calif./Moorpark) continues to put up strong numbers and enters the week with a five-game hit streak to match her longest streak of the year. Hansen pushed her season RBI total to 35 and also drew her team-best 30th walk of the year during the weekend series against Wichita State to join Jamie Spivey of Southern Illinois as the only player in the Missouri Valley Conference since 2002 to collect 45 hits, 25 runs, 15 doubles, 35 RBI and 30 or more walks. Spivey reached those numbers last year for the Salukis.
Hansen has had hits in 11 of 13 home games this season and owns a .486 batting average at Laura Bradley Park with five doubles, two homers, 12 RBI, nine walks and 11 runs scored. She has posted a .583 on base percentage in home games as Bradley has collected its most home victories (8) since winning 16 home games in 2009.
In addition to Hansen, sophomore Kelly Kapp (Freeburg, Ill./Gibault Catholic) has collected 10 of her conference-best 21 steals in league play. She needs one stolen base in a conference game to push her MVC steal total into the top 10 in the history of the Valley. Kapp's 21 stolen bases are the most at Bradley since Katie Kiss swiped 24 bases in 2000 and she needs four hits to post just the fourth season in school history with more than 60 hits and 20 steals.
After the midweek contests, Bradley will close out the eight-game home stand and 2015 home schedule with a three-game weekend series against league-leading Drake Saturday and Sunday at Laura Bradley Park.
