PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Softball will spend the final weekend of the non-conference schedule in Cape Girardeau, Mo., taking part in the Southeast Games Saturday and Sunday where the Braves will play a pair of games each against tournament-host Southeast Missouri State and in-state foe Eastern Illinois.
Tournament action will begin Saturday at 11 a.m. against Eastern Illinois in the first meeting between the two in-state opponents since the Braves swept a doubleheader at home in 2007. The Panthers hold a slim 22-21-1 advantage in the series. Bradley and EIU will also play Sunday at noon.
The first of two games against host Southeast Missouri State will be Saturday at 1 p.m. and the teams will wrap up the weekend Sunday with a 2 p.m. contest. SEMO holds a 4-3 lead in the all-time series, but the Braves won the last matchup 3-2 at the 2007 SEMO Classic in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Bradley played just two of five scheduled games at last weekend's Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash., falling at Seattle 5-4 in eight innings in the first extra-inning game of the year. The Braves rallied from a 6-0 deficit against Boise State, using a four-run seventh to pull out a 7-6 win against the Broncos. The seventh inning rally ended a nine-game losing skid when the Braves trailed after six innings. Bradley has outscored opponents 14-6 in the seventh inning this season and a combined 33-12 in the sixth and seventh frames.
Sophomore Erika Hansen (Fillmore, Calif./Moorpark) returned to the lineup for both games at the Husky Classic after not appearing in the starting lineup in 13 consecutive games due to an injury. In her return at Seattle Friday, she was 2-for-3 with a double, home run, two RBI and a run scored.
Junior Kelly Kapp (Freeburg, Ill./Gibault Catholic) is second in the Missouri Valley Conference with a .579 batting average and her average ranked fifth in the country through Sunday. Kapp's .600 on base percentage ranks 20th in the nation and her 0.71 stolen bases per game is 26th in the NCAA.
Junior Jaelen Hull (Clifton, Ill./Bishop McNamara) closed out Saturday's victory against Boise State to earn her conference-leading third save of the year. Hull's three saves this season are the most by a Bradley hurler since Ashley Birdsong notched three saves in 2006 and one short of matching Glenda Nelson's 1998 school record of four. In addition, Hull now has five career saves, which is tied for the third highest career total in Bradley history and one short of the career mark of six shared by Birdsong and Beth Hawkins (1984-87).
Bradley is third in the MVC with 13 home run through 17 games with seniors Rachel Huggins (Mt. Zion, Ill./Mt. Zion) and Alyson Clemente (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley) tied for second in the conference with four home runs. Clemente has tied the Bradley career home run record with 16 and is closing in on becoming the fifth player in school history with 100 career RBI. She is seventh all-time with 90 career RBI, needing three to pass Joanna Pettit for sixth and eight to overtake former teammate Shannon King for fifth.
Huggins has already matched her career high with 12 hits this season and eight of her hits have gone for extra-base hits. She is second on the squad with 14 RBI through the first 17 games.
After the weekend trip to Cape Girardeau, Mo., the Braves will play the final non-conference road game of the year Tuesday, March 15 at Tennessee Tech (4 p.m.) in Cookeville, Tenn.
