Normal, Ill. – Senior Rachel Huggins  (Mt. Zion, Ill./Mt. Zion) blasted a three-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh to give Bradley a 4-1 victory in opening game of a doubleheader at I-74 rival Illinois State Tuesday and the teams split the twinbill with the Redbirds rebounding to take the second game 11-3.

Bradley (15-26 overall, 9-11 MVC) was the home team for the day's opening game after the second game of last Thursday's scheduled doubleheader at Laura Bradley Park was postponed due to rain.  The last chance at the plate proved to be important with Huggins slugging her conference-leading 12th home run of the year to power the Braves to the 4-1 opening-game win. 

After taking last week's meeting 5-3, the 4-1 victory in the opener locked up the first regular-season series victory against Illinois State for Bradley since 1987. 

In the opener, Bradley starter Jaelen Hull (Clifton, Ill./Bishop McNamara) struck out six Redbirds and took a two-hit shutout bid into the sixth.  Senior Dani Cowan (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad/Buffalo/Palomar J.C.) took over in the circle for Hull after a pair of Bradley errors to open the frame.  Cowan, who retired all six batters she faced in the game, picked up the win out of the bullpen for her second victory of the year. 

The teams combined for four hits through the first four-and-a-half innings before Bradley finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the fifth.  With leadoff hitter Kelly Kapp (Freeburg, Ill./Gibault Catholic) at first and two outs, sophomore Erika Hansen (Fillmore, Calif./Moorpark) ripped her eighth double of the year to left center to drive in Kapp from first with the first run of the contest.

Illinois State (16-29 overall, 8-11 MVC) came right back in the top of the six with a run of its own.  Two Bradley errors to open the inning knocked Hull out the game and Cowan entered to strikeout the first batter she faced.  A sacrifice fly by Allison Spence drove in Regan Romshek from third and tied the game at 1-1.  

The Braves threated in the sixth, but left a pair of runners in scoring position.  In the seventh, Kapp got things started with a one-out single and Hansen reached on an error.  Bradley had runners at second and third after a groundout and Huggins gave her squad the 4-1 walk-off victory with a three-run homer to right center.  The home run was her eighth in MVC play to tie Alycia Bachkora's 2009 school record for homers in conference action. 

After Bradley held Illinois State to just two hits in the opener, the Redbird bats came alive in the nightcap and roughed up Braves pitchers for 11 runs on 14 hits. 

Bradley quickly found itself down 6-0 with Illinois State scoring three runs in both the first and second innings. 

The Braves cut the ISU lead in half at 6-3 with three runs of their own in the top of the fourth.  Sophomore Maria Schroeder (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) started a two-out rally with a double and fellow sophomore Elizabeth Leonard (Olathe, Kan./Olathe East) followed with a single.  Freshman Katie Habryle (Covington, Wash./Kentlake) belted the first pitch she saw over the fence in right center for a three-run shot which pushed her season total to five.

Illinois State pitcher Sarah Finck helped her own cause and helped put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fifth with a three-run homer of her own to push the Redbird advantage to 9-3.  In the seventh, Illinois State got a run on a Riley Standgard RBI triple and she later scored from third on a passed ball to close out the 11-3 Redbird victory.

Bradley returns to action this weekend, hosting Loyola in the final three home games of the 2016 season.  The Braves and Ramblers are slated to play a noon doubleheader Saturday at Laura Bradley Park and close out the series Sunday with a single game at noon.