PEORIA, Ill. -- For the second time in three years Bradley Softball will open Missouri Valley Conference play with a three-game series at Southern Illinois, heading to Carbondale, Ill., for a three-game series Saturday and Sunday.
After playing the first 25 games of 2017 outside the state of Illinois, Bradley (14-11 overall) will play 23 of the final 29 regular-season games in the state of Illinois, starting the stretch with Saturday's noon doubleheader at Southern Illinois (12-13). The Braves and Salukis will close out the series Sunday with a single at 11 a.m.
All three games of the series at Southern Illinois will be available on ESPN3 as part of The Valley On ESPN3 and can be viewed through WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app. In addition, BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live stats for all three contests.
Bradley went 3-2 at the Beehive Classic in Cedar City, Utah, last weekend as the Braves enter conference play with the team's most non-conference victories (14) since 2013 (15). Saturday's second game will mark the halfway point of Bradley's regular-season schedule, with the Braves four wins from matching their overall win total from 2016.
A series win at Indiana State to open the 2016 slate gave Bradley a MVC opening series victory for the second time in three seasons and the Braves have won at least one game the first weekend of Valley play in four of the last five years.
The weekend series features Bradley's high powered offense against one of the best pitching staffs in the Valley. The Braves rank fourth in the MVC in batting average (.304) and lead the league in both hits and RBI in addition to ranking second in the Valley in slugging percentage, runs, doubles, triples and home runs. SIU's pitching staff boasts a 2.82 ERA and has shutout five opponents this spring.
Senior
Kelly Kapp hit .611 (11-for-18) with nine runs and nine stolen bases in five games last weekend and brings a season-best 11-game hit streak into the SIU series. Kapp leads the MVC in runs (27), hits (41) and stolen bases (28), while ranking second in the Valley with a .471 batting average. She moved into third in league history in stolen bases, entering the weekend series four steals from breaking the Bradley career record of 88 held by Tara Pearson (1994-97). Kapp is also closing in on 200 career hits, needing four more to become the third player in program history to reach the mark.
Fellow senior
Caitlyn McCarron went 9-for-15 (.600) last weekend in Utah and has slugged a league-leading 11 doubles. In fact, McCarron was tied for the most doubles in the nation through games of March 12, with her total tied for the eighth-best season total in school history. She owns the top batting average in the MVC at .514, which ranks ninth nationally.
Junior catcher
Maria Schroeder has played a big role in Bradley's 10-5 record over the last 15 games after a 4-6 start to the year. Schroeder hit a solid .294 with five RBI in the first 11 games of the season, but owns a .422 average with three doubles, two triples, three homers and 20 RBI over the last 14 contests. Her league-best 25 RBI match her season total from last year and Schroeder has scored or driven in 40 percent of the team's runs over the last 14 outings.
Following the weekend series at Southern Illinois, Bradley will travel to Champaign, Ill., Wednesday, March 22 for the first of two midweek non-conference games on the schedule.
