SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Bradley collected 16 hits in a 7-5 victory to open a doubleheader at Missouri State Saturday afternoon and junior Jaelen Hull (Clifton, Ill./Bishop McNamara) tossed a complete game, two-hit shutout in the nightcap as the Braves took the day's second game 1-0 to claim the season series from the Bears. 

In the opener, Bradley (9-17 overall, 4-2 MVC) turned in its second-highest hit total of the year with 16 hits to rally from a 3-0 deficit for the 7-5 victory.  The teams combined for 27 hits, but two home runs were the only extra-base hits in the contest. 

Missouri State (12-16 overall, 2-3 MVC) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a three-run homer by Erin Duewel.  The Braves answered with three runs of their own in the top of the second, however.  Senior Kendall Duffy (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) singled to lead off the second and sophomore Erika Hansen (Fillmore, Calif./Moorpark) reached on a fielder's choice.  Freshman Katie Habryle (Covington, Wash./Kentlake) tied the game at 3-3 with a three-run homer to left. 

A RBI single by Madison Jones in the bottom of the second put Missouri State back in front 4-3, but Bradley was able to answer in top of the third.  Singles by seniors Alyson Clemente (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley) and Rachel Huggins (Mt. Zion, Ill./Mt. Zion) to open the inning were followed by a Missouri State error which allowed Clemente to score and tie the game at 4-4. 

Bradley starter Julie Kestas (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) got out of a bases loaded jam in the third and the Bears loaded the bases again in the fourth.  Freshman Megan Mahaffy (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystale Lake Central) took over in the circle with the bases loaded and one out to get an out at the plate on a fielder's choice and a groundout as the teams went to the fifth knotted at 4-4. 

In the Bradley half of the fifth, the Braves loaded the bases on one-out singles by Hansen and Habryle along with a Gabby Stoner (Rockford, Ill./Boylan Catholic) walk.  Sophomore Elizabeth Leonard (Olathe, Kan./Olathe East) drove in the go-ahead run with a bases loaded single to center.  Sophomore Maria Schroeder (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) drove in another run with a bases loaded single up the middle and Bradley led 7-4 after Clemente plated another run with an infield single. 

The Braves had a potential insurance run throws out at the plate in the top of the seventh and Mahaffy worked around a one-out error in the bottom half.  Darian Frost reached on Bradley's lone error of the day with one out in the bottom of the seventh and Missouri State had runners at first and third with one out.  Frost scored on a fielder's choice to pull the Bears within two at 7-5, but Mahaffy got a groundout to end the game as she improved to 5-0 on the season with win out of the bullpen.  Mahaffy gave up one unearned run and four hits and 3.2 innings of work. 

Offense was at a premium in the nightcap after the squads combined for 27 hits, Bradley and Missouri State had a total of five hits in the day's second game. 

Missouri State had the first scoring chance of the second game in the fourth with Kaitlin Beason drawing a two-out walk and Duewel following with a double to right center.  Beason tried to score all the way from first on the double, but was thrown out at the plate from center field by Hansen. 

Bradley had its own chance in the top of the fifth after a Huggins walk and one-out single by Hansen.  The bases were loaded after a two-out walk by junior Caitlyn McCarron (Dallas, Ore./Dallas), but a fly out ended the inning. 

Huggins led off the top of the seventh inning with her team-best seventh homer of the year to give Bradley a 1-0 lead and provide the only scoring in the game.  The seven homers by Huggins moved her into a tie for the seventh most homers in a season in school history. 

Hull, who struck out five batters and walked two in a two-hit, complete-game shutout, retired Missouri State in order in the seventh to close out the victory.  She is now 2-7 on the year as she earned her first complete game shutout since March 28, 2015. 

A four-year starter at first base, Clemente broke Bradley's career record for putouts in the day's first game as she topped Brittany Mynsberge's (2002-05) previous career mark of 1,272.  She was one of four Braves with three hits during the doubleheader sweep of Missouri State. 

Bradley is 4-2 to open MVC play for the first time since starting the 2014 conference schedule with a 6-1 mark.  The Braves are in a three-way tie with Northern Iowa and Wichita State for third in the Valley standings at 4-2. 

After playing 25 of the first 26 games of the season away from home, Bradley will open a season-long, seven-game home stand Saturday with a noon doubleheader against Evansville at Laura Bradley Park to start a three-game series against the Purple Aces.