DES MOINES, Iowa – Junior Kelly Kapp (Freeburg, Ill./Gibault Catholic) collected six hits and scored four runs, but Drake hit four home runs during a doubleheader sweep of the Braves as the Bulldogs topped Bradley 8-6 and 10-4 Saturday afternoon at Ron Buel Field.

Bradley (18-28 overall, 12-13 MVC) led after the top of the third in both contests, but defending Missouri Valley Conference regular-season champion Drake (28-23 overall, 16-8 MVC) rallied to pull out the victory in both games. 

Kapp pushed her team-best batting average to .410, going 6-for-7 with a double, triple, two stolen bases and four runs scored to highlight the day offensively for the Braves, who are now tied for fifth in the MVC standings with Evansville at 12-13. 

In the opener, Kapp led off the contest with a triple and scored the first run of the day on a double steal to give Bradley an early 1-0 lead.  Drake answered with two runs in the bottom of the first, with Kelsey Wright leading off the frame with a solo homer and Tayn Pena adding a two-out solo shot of her own. 

Senior Kendall Duffy (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) tied it up at 2-2 in the top of the second with a two-out solo blast and Bradley added a run in the third to take a 3-2 lead.  Kapp led off the Bradley half of the third with a double and later scored on a wild pitch. 

Drake pulled even in the bottom of the third on a RBI single by Nicole Newman and a five-run fourth gave the Bulldogs an 8-3 advantage.   Kailee Smith provided the big hit of the fourth with a three-run homer. 

The Braves were able to come up with three runs in the top of the fifth to cut the deficit to two at 8-6.  Kapp drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a passed ball.  Sophomore Maria Schroeder (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) drew a two-out walk and both base runners scored on a Rachel Huggins (Mt. Zion, Ill./Mt. Zion) double.  Freshman Stephanie Campos (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) drove in another run with a double to center. 

Bradley was retired in order in the sixth, however, and couldn't take advantage of a Kapp single to open the seventh as Drake took the series opener 8-6.

In the nightcap, Bradley jumped out to a 4-0 lead, before Drake scored 10 unanswered run to take the game 10-4 and sweep the doubleheader. 

After a 3-for-3 performance in the first game, Kapp opened the second game with a single and sophomore Erika Hansen (Fillmore, Calif./Moorpark) followed with her eighth double of the year.  Campos drove in the first run of the contest with a single and senior Alyson Clemente (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley) added another run with a RBI single of her own as Bradley grabbed an early 2-0 lead. 

Drake left a pair of runners in scoring position in the bottom of the first and the Braves added two more runs in the top of the second.  Duffy and sophomore Elizabeth Leonard (Olathe, Kan./Olathe East) led off the frame with back-to-back singles and the bases were loaded after a one-out infield single by Kapp.  Schroeder drove in two more runs with a two-out single to right to give Bradley a 4-0 advantage. 

A pair of Bradley errors in the bottom of the second proved costly, though, with Newman reaching on an error to open the inning.  A walk and a one-out error led to Drake's first run of the game. 

Bradley's third error of the game to open the bottom of the third led to three more unearned runs as Drake knotted the game at 4-4.  Kaitlyn Finneran had a two-run single and Ashlei Chambers added a RBI single of her own to highlight the inning for the Bulldogs. 

The Braves stranded a pair in scoring position in the top of the fourth and Drake took its first lead of the game with two runs in the bottom half.  Wright hit a triple to open the inning and scored on a Kennedy Frank double.  Frank came around to score on a Megan Sowa double to give Drake a 6-4 advantage. 

Bradley once again left two in scoring position in the sixth and Drake put the game out of reach with a four-run bottom of the sixth.  Pena followed back-to-back singles to open the inning with a RBI single and Smith hit her second home run of the day with a three-run blast to left as Drake built a 10-4 lead. 

Smith retired the Braves in order in the top of the seventh to close out the contest as she earned her third win of the year for the Bulldogs. 

Bradley and Drake will close out the series Sunday with a single game at noon in Des Moines, Iowa in the final game of the 2016 regular season.