Bradley Softball Hosts Missouri State For Cancer Awareness Weekend

Softball 4/5/2019 9:39:00 AM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Softball won four consecutive road games to open a stretch in which it plays 12 of 15 games on the road, but the Braves return to Petersen Hotels Field at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex for their only home games during the four-week stretch to host Missouri State in a three-game weekend series.

The series kicks off Saturday with a noon doubleheader and concludes Sunday with a single game at 11 a.m. All three games of the series will be available on ESPN3 and BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live stats for the three contests.

An 11-1 win at SIU Edwardsville Wednesday to wrap up the non-conference schedule improved Bradley to 18-13 overall and extended the Braves' road win streak to seven games. Bradley enters the weekend series tied with Southern Illinois for fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings at 5-3. Missouri State (20-13 overall, 6-4 MVC), which was #57 in Monday's RPI, is sixth in the league standings heading into the weekend.

Bradley has partnered with the American Cancer Society for Cancer Awareness Weekend. The top scoring team in the MVC at 6.45 runs per game, the Braves are inviting fans to make a pledge to the American Cancer Society for every run the team scores in the series against the Bears. Fans can also pledge a flat donation amount. Pledges can be made HERE.

Wednesday's game at SIU Edwardsville wrapped up the 2019 non-conference schedule for Bradley. The Braves finished 13-10 in non-conference action this year and won the final six non-conference contests after Wednesday's 11-1 win over the Cougars. Bradley's 13-10 non-conference record marked just the third time in the last 12 years the Braves had a winning non-conference record and this year's 13 non-conference wins were the most since 2013 (15-12).

Bradley got off to a slow start to the season, opening the year with a 5-9 record, but the Braves have gone 13-4 since the start of March. In February, Bradley hit .264 as a team and averaged 4.79 runs per game, but the Braves are hitting .326 and averaging an impressive 7.82 runs per outing over the last 17 games. It hasn't just been the offense that is improved, however, with Bradley pitchers combining for a 5.27 ERA and opponents hitting .325 in February. Since the start of March, BU hurlers have combined for a 2.57 ERA and limited opponents to a .270 average. The Braves have also been better in the field, boasting a .962 fielding percentage over the last 17 games vs. a .934 team fielding percentage in February.

Junior Allison Apke and sophomore Taise Thompson both bring five-game hit streaks into this weekend's series against Missouri State. Thompson, who is now hitting a team-best .364 on the year, owns a .529 average (9-for-17) with three doubles, three runs and 10 RBI during that stretch. Apke is hitting .500 (8-for-16) with a double, two homers, three runs and seven RBI over the last five games. In fact, Thompson has tallied hits in 11 of the last 13 games and owns a .391 average (18-for-46) with a team-high 18 RBI over that span. Apke has collected hits in eight of the last nine contests and boasts a .433 average (13-for-30) with 10 RBI during that stretch.

Bradley ranks among the top 10 in the nation in home runs per game (8th) through games of April 3 and the Braves recently broke the school season home run record set just last year. Freshman Grace French hit a solo homer to leadoff the third inning of Wednesday's 11-1 win at SIU Edwardsville for her first career home run as a Brave. Her homer was the 47th of the year for Bradley, breaking the previous school record of 46 homers from 2018.

The Braves need just four homers to push their season total among the top 15 in MVC history. French was the 12th different Bradley player to homer this season. The Braves have had 24 of 40 seasons with 12 or fewer team home runs. Bradley's 1.55 home runs per game average would break the MVC record of 1.34 homers per game by Illinois State set in 2007.

Following the weekend home series Bradley kicks off an eight-game road swing Wednesday with a 3 p.m. doubleheader at I-74 rival Illinois State.

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Players Mentioned

#16 Allison Apke: IF; 5' 6"; Junior; R/R

#1 Taise Thompson: P/U; 5' 3"; Sophomore; R/R

#32 Grace French: P/UT; 5' 4"; Freshman; R/R

Players Mentioned

#16 Allison Apke
: 5' 6"; Junior; R/R
: IF

#1 Taise Thompson
: 5' 3"; Sophomore; R/R
: P/U

#32 Grace French
: 5' 4"; Freshman; R/R
: P/UT

Bradley Softball Hosts Missouri State For Cancer Awareness Weekend

Players Mentioned

#16 Allison Apke

#1 Taise Thompson

#32 Grace French

Players Mentioned

#16 Allison Apke

#1 Taise Thompson

#32 Grace French