Bradley Softball Set To Host MVC Championship

Softball 5/7/2019 1:23:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- For the first time since 2009 and the fourth time in program history, Bradley Softball will host the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with all 10 teams participating in the four-day event which will be held Wednesday through Saturday at Petersen Hotels Field at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex.

Bradley (28-20 overall, 15-10 MVC) received a double bye in the single-elimination tournament after a fourth-place league finish and will play Thursday at 4 p.m. against either #5 seed Missouri State, #8 seed Loyola or #9 seed Indiana State.

All 10 teams will participate in the MVC Tournament for the first time since 1994, with action getting underway Wednesday afternoon as Loyola takes on Indiana State in a 4 p.m. game in the opening round. All nine games of the tournament will be carried on ESPN+ and BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live stats throughout the event.

The Braves were the first host team to win the Valley Tournament title the last time BU hosted in 2009 and one of just three host squads to win the event (Missouri State - 2011 and Drake - 2018). Bradley owns a 9-3 record when hosting the MVC Tournament and has reached the championship two of the three previous times hosting the event (1986 & 2009).

Bradley finished fourth in the MVC standings, tying the school record for conference wins as the Braves wrapped up the league slate with a 15-10 mark. The 2015 campaign was the last time BU won 15 league games (15-12). Boasting its best MVC winning percentage since 1994, Bradley turned in its best Valley finish since 2014 (4th) as the Braves finished a half game behind third-place Northern Iowa. Bradley's 28 overall victories are its most since 2004 (29-29) and the Braves will close the season with a winning overall record for the first time since 2007.

The Braves have hit at least one home run in 22 of the last 24 games and 27 of the last 30 contests. In fact, Bradley's 68 homers are the most by a Valley team since 2015 (Illinois State - 70) and rank fourth among season totals in MVC history. Overall, Bradley is eighth in homers per game in the nation through games of May 5 and Bradley's 1.42 home runs per game average would break the MVC record of 1.34 homers per game by Illinois State set in 2007.

Junior Kealia Wysocki broke the Bradley season home run record, hitting her team-best 13th of the year Saturday against Southern Illinois. Sophomore Stacia Seeton, who has four homers in the last five games, added homers in each of the final two games of the SIU series to push her season total to 12. Bradley is the first MVC team to have three players with 12 or more homers since Illinois State in 2007 and one of just three teams in league history (SIU in 2005).

Senior Gabby Stoner made her return to the lineup for the series finale at Northern Iowa April 20 after missing 20 games due to an injury. Stoner started 18 of the first 19 games of the season and was hitting a team-best .415 (22-for-53) with 16 runs and seven RBI before missing the first six weeks of the conference schedule. Stoner, who was named MVC Player of the Week Monday, is 9-for-17 (.529) with two doubles, a triple, a home run, eight runs scored and four RBI since her return. She highlighted the weekend series at Southern Illinois by going 6-for-10 with five runs, two doubles, a homer and three RBI.

Still one of 12 teams in the nation to have five individuals with five or more homers, Bradley is one of just seven teams to have three individuals with 12 or more homers, joining a list which includes Arizona, Arizona State, Florida State, James Madison, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech. In addition, Bradley is the first team in Valley history to have four players with 38 or more RBI in the same season.

The winner of Bradley's opening game Thursday afternoon will advance to Friday's 11 a.m. semifinal against #1 seed Drake. The championship game will be played Saturday at 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Stacia Seeton: OF; 5' 9"; Sophomore; R/R

#11 Gabby Stoner: OF/U; 5' 10"; Senior; L/R

#19 Kealia Wysocki: C/U; 5' 9"; Junior; R/R

Players Mentioned

#13 Stacia Seeton
: 5' 9"; Sophomore; R/R
: OF

#11 Gabby Stoner
: 5' 10"; Senior; L/R
: OF/U

#19 Kealia Wysocki
: 5' 9"; Junior; R/R
: C/U

Bradley Softball Set To Host MVC Championship

Players Mentioned

#13 Stacia Seeton

#11 Gabby Stoner

#19 Kealia Wysocki

Players Mentioned

#13 Stacia Seeton

#11 Gabby Stoner

#19 Kealia Wysocki